Adding a directory to the system path variable through registry

Question

I am trying to add a directory to the PATH variable in windows. This is what I am entering the command line. (Or a batch file)

@echo off
set value=%path%;%ProgramFiles%\AtomScript\
reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Sessions Manager\Environment" /v Path /t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d %value% /f

And it comes up with this message

ERROR: Invalid syntax.
Type "REG ADD /?" for usage.

What am I doing wrong?

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 07 '16 at 00:33

4

You probably have to quote %value% (with double-quotes) because its expansion has embedded blanks for C:\Program Files, etc.

That would be

reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Sessions Manager\Environment" /v Path /t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d "%value%" /f

You can see what the actual expansions are by turning echo on in your script:

@echo on

answered Feb 07 '16 at 00:33

Thomas Dickey

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It spells `Session Manager` (singular Session) in my Window 2016 Data Center. – eel ghEEz Jan 12 '21 at 20:44
agreed, but that wouldn't answer OP's question about a syntax error. – Thomas Dickey Jan 12 '21 at 21:28
It is `Session Manager` (singular Session) in Windows 10. – Poikilos Nov 01 '22 at 22:27

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 24 '18 at 08:41

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Maybe you solved it already, but as far as I can see you also might have a misspelling in "...\Sessions Manager...". At least on my system it's "Session" without the extra s.

answered Jun 24 '18 at 08:41

Andy Smith

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The length and non-specificity of your answer indicates that it should be a comment instead. – rst-2cv Jun 24 '18 at 08:48

Adding a directory to the system path variable through registry

2 Answers2