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Hello I am following this page.. I'm installing Python onto my mac so that I can set up a Django / Eclipse development environment. However I am not too sure how to go about executing this step:

  • The script will explain what changes it will make and prompt you before the installation begins.
  • Once you’ve installed Homebrew, insert the Homebrew directory at the top of your PATH environment variable.
  • You can do this by adding the following line at the bottom of your ~/.bashrc file
  • export PATH=/usr/local/bin:$PATH

Where do I find the bashrc file on my mac and where do I find the homebrew directory?

I am running a macbook pro with OS 10.8.5.

John Smith
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pencilVester
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8 Answers8

129

The .bashrc file is in your home directory.

So from command line do:

cd
ls -a

This will show all the hidden files in your home directory. "cd" will get you home and ls -a will "list all".

In general when you see ~/ the tilda slash refers to your home directory. So ~/.bashrc is your home directory with the .bashrc file.

And the standard path to homebrew is in /usr/local/ so if you:

cd /usr/local
ls | grep -i homebrew

you should see the homebrew directory (/usr/local/homebrew). Source

Yes sometimes you may have to create this file and the typical format of a .bashrc file is:

# .bashrc

# User specific aliases and functions
. .alias
alias ducks='du -cks * | sort -rn | head -15'

# Source global definitions
if [ -f /etc/bashrc ]; then
    . /etc/bashrc
fi

PATH=$PATH:/home/username/bin:/usr/local/homebrew
export PATH

If you create your own .bashrc file make sure that the following line is in your ~/.bash_profile

# Get the aliases and functions
if [ -f ~/.bashrc ]; then
    . ~/.bashrc
fi
Peter Party Bus
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  • Thanks I tried `ls ~/.bashrc` but it says No such file or directory. Do I have to create it from scratch? – pencilVester Oct 29 '13 at 15:51
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    This answer helped me figure it out. and this comment will update the thread. I am on mac SierraOS found it '/etc/bashrc' ... the system wide bashrc was not hidden .bashrc. to manipulate it I had to 'sudo vi bashrc' to exit after editing: :wq! ... full command 'cd /etc/; sudo vi bashrc' – Michael Dimmitt Feb 04 '17 at 16:05
  • typically $PATH is at the end and customer directories at the start. That allows you to choose alternatives to system commands. PATH=/home/username/bin:/usr/local/homebrew:$PATH – null Jul 17 '19 at 11:19
  • Rather than /home/username perhaps use $HOME for a more flexible approach, so you don't need to change the username for a different user. – null Jul 17 '19 at 11:21
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    The other answer of just using .bash_profile is much quicker and simpler. – null Jul 17 '19 at 11:23
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDOVEDl2z84 This video explains and illustrate .bashrc and .bash_profile – Gayal Kuruppu May 27 '20 at 10:59
63

I would think you should add it to ~/.bash_profile instead of .bashrc, (creating .bash_profile if it doesn't exist.) Then you don't have to add the extra step of checking for ~/.bashrc in your .bash_profile

Are you comfortable working and editing in a terminal? Just in case, ~/ means your home directory, so if you open a new terminal window that is where you will be "located". And the dot at the front makes the file invisible to normal ls command, unless you put -a or specify the file name.

Check this answer for more detail.

Community
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beroe
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  • I get the following `Shajilhost:~ ShajilShocker$ sudo ~/.bash_profile Password: sudo: /Users/ShajilShocker/.bash_profile: command not found` could you please help me – Shajo Apr 26 '15 at 10:24
  • You have to use some kind of editor like `nano` or open it on your desktop. So it would be `nano ~/.bash_profile` The `sudo` command just runs whatever command follows it as a superuser, so you were trying to use the file name as a command (which is why it says "command not found"). – beroe Apr 26 '15 at 15:46
  • My intention is to create environment variable KEY is `ANDROID_NDK_HOME` and VALUE is `/Users/ShajilShocker/Documents/Android/NDK/android-ndk-r10b` ...so now I have to open the terminal and ` nano .bash_profile` and enter `ANDROID_NDK_HOME="/Users/ShajilShocker/Documents/Android/NDK/android-ndk-r10b"` am i correct ? or add the following line as well `export PATH=$PATH:ANDROID_NDK_HOME` correct me If I am wrong. – Shajo Apr 26 '15 at 18:51
  • I believe the first would be sufficient and correct, but haven't tried the Android SDK... – beroe Apr 27 '15 at 05:53
16

On your Terminal:

  • Type cd ~/ to go to your home folder.

  • Type touch .bash_profile to create your new file.

  • Edit .bash_profile with your code editor (or you can just type open -e .bash_profile to open it in TextEdit).
  • Type . .bash_profile to reload .bash_profile and update any functions you add.
Azametzin
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samuel samer
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    `. . bash_profile ` didn't work for me, still got **"no such file or directory: .bash_profile"**. then I did this `source ~/.bash_profile` and the `.bash_profile` was reloaded – Kolawole Emmanuel Izzy Feb 28 '21 at 15:04
  • This works fine, but then I have to do `source ~/.bash_profile` after each reboot. Any idea how to fix? – Sliq Jul 06 '21 at 07:11
14

In my macOS Monterey version, zsh is the default terminal shell. zsh executes ~/.zshrc every time the terminal is opened.

vi ~/.zshrc
#Add your path export to .zshrc
PATH=/usr/local/bin:$PATH

Now, when you open the terminal, the path will be set correctly.

Penny Liu
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Karthik Sankar
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6

On some system, instead of the .bashrc file, you can edit your profils' specific by editing:

sudo nano /etc/profile
Nioooooo
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4

The .bash_profile for macOS is found in the $HOME directory. You can create the file if it does not exit. Sublime Text 3 can help.

  • If you follow the instruction from OS X Command Line - Sublime Text to launch ST3 with subl then you can just do this

    $ subl ~/.bash_profile

  • An easier method is to use open

    $ open ~/.bash_profile -a "Sublime Text"

Use Command + Shift + . in Finder to view hidden files in your home directory.

grg
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pensebien
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3

~/.bashrc is already a path to .bashrc.

If you do echo ~ you'll see that it's a path to your home directory.

Homebrew directory is /usr/local/bin. Homebrew is installed inside it and everything installed by homebrew will be installed there.

For example, if you do brew install python Homebrew will put Python binary in /usr/local/bin.

Finally, to add Homebrew directory to your path you can run echo "export PATH=/usr/local/lib:$PATH" >> ~/.bashrc. It will create .bashrc file if it doesn't exist and then append the needed line to the end.

You can check the result by running tail ~/.bashrc.

Kzhi
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2

Open Terminal and execute commands given below.

cd /etc
subl bashrc

subl denotes Sublime editor. You can replace subl with vi to open bashrc file in default editor. This will workout only if you have bashrc file, created earlier.

Balasubramani M
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