How do I set Windows environment variables permanently?

Question

I see that the Windows environment variables are reset when you close the command window. I want to set them permanently, so that I don't have to repeat the task every time I use the CLI.

This must already have been a mega duplicate in 2013. What is the canonical question? — Peter Mortensen, Dec 31 '22 at 14:08

score 10 · Answer 1 · edited Dec 31 '22 at 14:24

10

This can also be achieved from a command prompt. The following example sets a variable at the user level:

SETX variable_name value

For machine level, elevation is required:

SETX variable_name value /m

edited Dec 31 '22 at 14:24

Peter Mortensen

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answered Apr 26 '19 at 13:59

Alexei - check Codidact

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If you use this for updating %PATH%, this will cut it down to 1024 chars and potentially delete every path behind that range. So take care when using. – Gary Klasen Jan 22 '21 at 07:40

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 26 '13 at 05:46

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Right click on Computer, Advanced system settings, select Advanced tab and click Environment variables.

Note: once you modify the environment variables, you will have to restart your applications, including CLI.

answered Jun 26 '13 at 05:46

user1764961

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For windows 8 users: Typing "Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\System" in the file explorer exposes the "Advance System Settings" link. – amalgamate Jan 06 '16 at 20:30
This may [depend on the version of Windows](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9546324/adding-a-directory-to-the-path-environment-variable-in-windows/72341522#72341522). What version is it? – Peter Mortensen Dec 28 '22 at 18:50

How do I set Windows environment variables permanently?

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