Solving Problems With Search Paths (Command not found)

A message of Command not found indicates one of the following:

• The command is not available on the system.

• The command directory is not in the search path.

To fix a search path problem, you need to know the pathname of the directory where the command is stored.

If the wrong version of the command is found, a directory that has a command of the same name is in the search path. In this case, the proper directory may be later in the search path or may not be present at all.

You can display your current search path by using the echo $PATH command.

Use the type command to determine whether you are running the wrong version of the command. For example:

$ type acroread 
acroread is /usr/bin/acroread

How to Diagnose and Correct Search Path Problems

1. Display the current search path to verify that the directory for the command is not in your path or that it isn't misspelled.

   $ echo $PATH 

2. Check the following:

   • Is the search path correct?

   • Is the search path listed before other search paths where another version of the command is found?

   • Is the command in one of the search paths?

   If the path needs correction, go to step 3. Otherwise, go to step 4.

3. Add the path to the appropriate file, as shown in this table.

   Shell File Syntax Notes bash and ksh93 $HOME/.profile $ PATH=$HOME/bin:/sbin:/usr/local /bin ... $ export PATH A colon separates path names.

4. Activate the new path as follows:

   Shell Path Location Command to Activate The Path bash and ksh93 .profile . $HOME/.profile .login hostname$ source $HOME/.login

5. Verify the new path.

   $ which command

Example 3-1  Diagnosing and Correcting Search Path Problems

This example shows that the mytool executable is not in any of the directories in the search path using the type command.

 $ mytool
  -bash: mytool: command not found
  $ type mytool
  -bash: type: mytool: not found
  $ echo $PATH
  /usr/bin:
  $ vi $HOME/.profile
  (Add appropriate command directory to the search path)
  $ . $HOME/.profile
  $ mytool

If you cannot find a command, look at the man page for its directory path.