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How can I make environment variables “exported” in a shell script stick around?

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.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{ margin-bottom:0;
}

52

19

I have multiple Amazon EC2 accounts and want to quickly be able to switch variables, such as $EC2_HOME, using a script.

I have have a shell script set up like this:

#!/bin/sh

export EC2_HOME=/home/me/.ec2

echo $EC2_HOME

When I run the script I know that EC2_HOME is set, but I thought that using export would make the variable stick around after the script completed. It does not, as running echo $EC_HOME does not show anything.

I know this must be very rudimentary Linux scripting knowledge, but I don't know it. I tried looking for related questions without luck - so my apologies if this is a duplicate.

bash shell-script shell environment-variables

share|improve this question

edited Nov 27 '16 at 20:32

Michael Homer

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asked Jan 27 '12 at 19:32

cwdcwd

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add a comment | 

52

19

I have multiple Amazon EC2 accounts and want to quickly be able to switch variables, such as $EC2_HOME, using a script.

I have have a shell script set up like this:

#!/bin/sh

export EC2_HOME=/home/me/.ec2

echo $EC2_HOME

When I run the script I know that EC2_HOME is set, but I thought that using export would make the variable stick around after the script completed. It does not, as running echo $EC_HOME does not show anything.

I know this must be very rudimentary Linux scripting knowledge, but I don't know it. I tried looking for related questions without luck - so my apologies if this is a duplicate.

bash shell-script shell environment-variables

share|improve this question

edited Nov 27 '16 at 20:32

Michael Homer

55.2k99 gold badges155155 silver badges188188 bronze badges

asked Jan 27 '12 at 19:32

cwdcwd

15.2k5656 gold badges121121 silver badges159159 bronze badges

add a comment | 

I have multiple Amazon EC2 accounts and want to quickly be able to switch variables, such as $EC2_HOME, using a script.

I have have a shell script set up like this:

#!/bin/sh

export EC2_HOME=/home/me/.ec2

echo $EC2_HOME

When I run the script I know that EC2_HOME is set, but I thought that using export would make the variable stick around after the script completed. It does not, as running echo $EC_HOME does not show anything.

I know this must be very rudimentary Linux scripting knowledge, but I don't know it. I tried looking for related questions without luck - so my apologies if this is a duplicate.

bash shell-script shell environment-variables

share|improve this question

edited Nov 27 '16 at 20:32

Michael Homer

55.2k99 gold badges155155 silver badges188188 bronze badges

asked Jan 27 '12 at 19:32

cwdcwd

15.2k5656 gold badges121121 silver badges159159 bronze badges

#!/bin/sh

export EC2_HOME=/home/me/.ec2

echo $EC2_HOME

share|improve this question

edited Nov 27 '16 at 20:32

Michael Homer

55.2k99 gold badges155155 silver badges188188 bronze badges

asked Jan 27 '12 at 19:32

cwdcwd

15.2k5656 gold badges121121 silver badges159159 bronze badges

share|improve this question

edited Nov 27 '16 at 20:32

Michael Homer

55.2k99 gold badges155155 silver badges188188 bronze badges

asked Jan 27 '12 at 19:32

cwdcwd

15.2k5656 gold badges121121 silver badges159159 bronze badges

edited Nov 27 '16 at 20:32

Michael Homer

55.2k99 gold badges155155 silver badges188188 bronze badges

edited Nov 27 '16 at 20:32

Michael Homer

55.2k99 gold badges155155 silver badges188188 bronze badges

asked Jan 27 '12 at 19:32

cwdcwd

15.2k5656 gold badges121121 silver badges159159 bronze badges

asked Jan 27 '12 at 19:32

cwdcwd

15.2k5656 gold badges121121 silver badges159159 bronze badges

3 Answers
3

active

oldest

votes

58

You should source your script, with

. ./script

or

source ./script

share|improve this answer

answered Jan 27 '12 at 20:12

enzotibenzotib

36.4k1010 gold badges107107 silver badges9797 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  19
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  the reason is that your script spawns a new shell process as a child of the current shell. Any environment changes you make in the child process cannot affect the parent. When you use . or source, you are not spawning a new child process, you are running the commands in the current shell.
  
  – glenn jackman
  Jan 27 '12 at 20:32
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @glennjackman I have a similar problem and I have tried your solution but it logs me off from shell when I do . or source. Why is this happening ?
  
  – Patryk
  Feb 21 '12 at 13:03
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  7
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Patryk: maybe your script has an exit statement, so it is not suitable to be sourced.
  
  – enzotib
  Feb 21 '12 at 13:24
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  While source ./script works completely fine, sudo source ./script.sh says sudo: source: command not found. How can I do this using sudo?
  
  – 71GA
  Sep 27 '14 at 13:37
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @71GA: depending on compilation preferences for sudo and depending on configuration settings in /etc/sudoers you can or cannot preserve your environment when running commands with sudo. I suggest you to try to source your script, and then run sudo with -E option to preserve the environment. If it does not work, I suppose there is very little you can do.
  
  – enzotib
  Sep 27 '14 at 13:52
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 2 more comments

35

When you run a script it gets its own shell and its own environment, which disappear again as soon as the script is finished. To keep the environment variables around, source the script into your current shell:

$ source ./a.sh

or equivalently (but a little more portably) use the POSIX dot command:

$ . ./a.sh

Then the definitions will be put into your current shell's environment and be inherited by any programs you launch from it.

To be closer to running a script, . a.sh will find a.sh by searching the directories in the PATH environment variable.

---

_{There are some subtleties in how these behave, and whether . and source are the same (or present at all). . ./a.sh will definitely behave the same in every POSIX-compatible shell, but source and ., and . a.sh and . ./a.sh, can vary. For Bash source and . are the same in all cases; for zsh source always checks the current directory first; ksh is essentially similar.}

_{If the script name is given as a path (containing a /), that path is used directly in all cases. The most portably reliable thing to do is . ./script or . /path/to/script.}

share|improve this answer

edited Nov 28 '16 at 0:01

answered Jun 27 '14 at 0:07

Michael HomerMichael Homer

55.2k99 gold badges155155 silver badges188188 bronze badges

add a comment | 

0

Just for record.

If you want run script from internet which exports env to system

you can use following format

source <(curl -s -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iamwwc/wwcdocker/master/install.sh)

For example:

source <(curl -s -L https://example.com/install.sh)

share|improve this answer

answered 17 mins ago

toffeetoffee

10122 bronze badges

New contributor

toffee is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

add a comment | 

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58

You should source your script, with

. ./script

or

source ./script

share|improve this answer

answered Jan 27 '12 at 20:12

enzotibenzotib

36.4k1010 gold badges107107 silver badges9797 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  19
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  the reason is that your script spawns a new shell process as a child of the current shell. Any environment changes you make in the child process cannot affect the parent. When you use . or source, you are not spawning a new child process, you are running the commands in the current shell.
  
  – glenn jackman
  Jan 27 '12 at 20:32
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @glennjackman I have a similar problem and I have tried your solution but it logs me off from shell when I do . or source. Why is this happening ?
  
  – Patryk
  Feb 21 '12 at 13:03
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  7
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Patryk: maybe your script has an exit statement, so it is not suitable to be sourced.
  
  – enzotib
  Feb 21 '12 at 13:24
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  While source ./script works completely fine, sudo source ./script.sh says sudo: source: command not found. How can I do this using sudo?
  
  – 71GA
  Sep 27 '14 at 13:37
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @71GA: depending on compilation preferences for sudo and depending on configuration settings in /etc/sudoers you can or cannot preserve your environment when running commands with sudo. I suggest you to try to source your script, and then run sudo with -E option to preserve the environment. If it does not work, I suppose there is very little you can do.
  
  – enzotib
  Sep 27 '14 at 13:52
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 2 more comments

58

You should source your script, with

. ./script

or

source ./script

share|improve this answer

answered Jan 27 '12 at 20:12

enzotibenzotib

36.4k1010 gold badges107107 silver badges9797 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  19
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  the reason is that your script spawns a new shell process as a child of the current shell. Any environment changes you make in the child process cannot affect the parent. When you use . or source, you are not spawning a new child process, you are running the commands in the current shell.
  
  – glenn jackman
  Jan 27 '12 at 20:32
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @glennjackman I have a similar problem and I have tried your solution but it logs me off from shell when I do . or source. Why is this happening ?
  
  – Patryk
  Feb 21 '12 at 13:03
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  7
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Patryk: maybe your script has an exit statement, so it is not suitable to be sourced.
  
  – enzotib
  Feb 21 '12 at 13:24
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  While source ./script works completely fine, sudo source ./script.sh says sudo: source: command not found. How can I do this using sudo?
  
  – 71GA
  Sep 27 '14 at 13:37
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @71GA: depending on compilation preferences for sudo and depending on configuration settings in /etc/sudoers you can or cannot preserve your environment when running commands with sudo. I suggest you to try to source your script, and then run sudo with -E option to preserve the environment. If it does not work, I suppose there is very little you can do.
  
  – enzotib
  Sep 27 '14 at 13:52
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 2 more comments

You should source your script, with

. ./script

or

source ./script

share|improve this answer

answered Jan 27 '12 at 20:12

enzotibenzotib

36.4k1010 gold badges107107 silver badges9797 bronze badges

. ./script

source ./script

share|improve this answer

answered Jan 27 '12 at 20:12

enzotibenzotib

36.4k1010 gold badges107107 silver badges9797 bronze badges

answered Jan 27 '12 at 20:12

enzotibenzotib

36.4k1010 gold badges107107 silver badges9797 bronze badges

answered Jan 27 '12 at 20:12

enzotibenzotib

36.4k1010 gold badges107107 silver badges9797 bronze badges

35

When you run a script it gets its own shell and its own environment, which disappear again as soon as the script is finished. To keep the environment variables around, source the script into your current shell:

$ source ./a.sh

or equivalently (but a little more portably) use the POSIX dot command:

$ . ./a.sh

Then the definitions will be put into your current shell's environment and be inherited by any programs you launch from it.

To be closer to running a script, . a.sh will find a.sh by searching the directories in the PATH environment variable.

---

_{There are some subtleties in how these behave, and whether . and source are the same (or present at all). . ./a.sh will definitely behave the same in every POSIX-compatible shell, but source and ., and . a.sh and . ./a.sh, can vary. For Bash source and . are the same in all cases; for zsh source always checks the current directory first; ksh is essentially similar.}

_{If the script name is given as a path (containing a /), that path is used directly in all cases. The most portably reliable thing to do is . ./script or . /path/to/script.}

share|improve this answer

edited Nov 28 '16 at 0:01

answered Jun 27 '14 at 0:07

Michael HomerMichael Homer

55.2k99 gold badges155155 silver badges188188 bronze badges

add a comment | 

35

When you run a script it gets its own shell and its own environment, which disappear again as soon as the script is finished. To keep the environment variables around, source the script into your current shell:

$ source ./a.sh

or equivalently (but a little more portably) use the POSIX dot command:

$ . ./a.sh

Then the definitions will be put into your current shell's environment and be inherited by any programs you launch from it.

To be closer to running a script, . a.sh will find a.sh by searching the directories in the PATH environment variable.

---

_{There are some subtleties in how these behave, and whether . and source are the same (or present at all). . ./a.sh will definitely behave the same in every POSIX-compatible shell, but source and ., and . a.sh and . ./a.sh, can vary. For Bash source and . are the same in all cases; for zsh source always checks the current directory first; ksh is essentially similar.}

_{If the script name is given as a path (containing a /), that path is used directly in all cases. The most portably reliable thing to do is . ./script or . /path/to/script.}

share|improve this answer

edited Nov 28 '16 at 0:01

answered Jun 27 '14 at 0:07

Michael HomerMichael Homer

55.2k99 gold badges155155 silver badges188188 bronze badges

add a comment | 

When you run a script it gets its own shell and its own environment, which disappear again as soon as the script is finished. To keep the environment variables around, source the script into your current shell:

$ source ./a.sh

or equivalently (but a little more portably) use the POSIX dot command:

$ . ./a.sh

Then the definitions will be put into your current shell's environment and be inherited by any programs you launch from it.

To be closer to running a script, . a.sh will find a.sh by searching the directories in the PATH environment variable.

---

_{There are some subtleties in how these behave, and whether . and source are the same (or present at all). . ./a.sh will definitely behave the same in every POSIX-compatible shell, but source and ., and . a.sh and . ./a.sh, can vary. For Bash source and . are the same in all cases; for zsh source always checks the current directory first; ksh is essentially similar.}

_{If the script name is given as a path (containing a /), that path is used directly in all cases. The most portably reliable thing to do is . ./script or . /path/to/script.}

share|improve this answer

edited Nov 28 '16 at 0:01

answered Jun 27 '14 at 0:07

Michael HomerMichael Homer

55.2k99 gold badges155155 silver badges188188 bronze badges

$ source ./a.sh

$ . ./a.sh

share|improve this answer

edited Nov 28 '16 at 0:01

answered Jun 27 '14 at 0:07

Michael HomerMichael Homer

55.2k99 gold badges155155 silver badges188188 bronze badges

answered Jun 27 '14 at 0:07

Michael HomerMichael Homer

55.2k99 gold badges155155 silver badges188188 bronze badges

answered Jun 27 '14 at 0:07

Michael HomerMichael Homer

55.2k99 gold badges155155 silver badges188188 bronze badges

0

Just for record.

If you want run script from internet which exports env to system

you can use following format

source <(curl -s -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iamwwc/wwcdocker/master/install.sh)

For example:

source <(curl -s -L https://example.com/install.sh)

share|improve this answer

answered 17 mins ago

toffeetoffee

10122 bronze badges

New contributor

toffee is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

add a comment | 

0

Just for record.

If you want run script from internet which exports env to system

you can use following format

source <(curl -s -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iamwwc/wwcdocker/master/install.sh)

For example:

source <(curl -s -L https://example.com/install.sh)

share|improve this answer

answered 17 mins ago

toffeetoffee

10122 bronze badges

New contributor

toffee is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

add a comment | 

Just for record.

If you want run script from internet which exports env to system

you can use following format

source <(curl -s -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iamwwc/wwcdocker/master/install.sh)

For example:

source <(curl -s -L https://example.com/install.sh)

share|improve this answer

answered 17 mins ago

toffeetoffee

10122 bronze badges

New contributor

toffee is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

source <(curl -s -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iamwwc/wwcdocker/master/install.sh)

source <(curl -s -L https://example.com/install.sh)

share|improve this answer

answered 17 mins ago

toffeetoffee

10122 bronze badges

New contributor

toffee is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

answered 17 mins ago

toffeetoffee

10122 bronze badges

New contributor

toffee is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

answered 17 mins ago

toffeetoffee

10122 bronze badges