OSX 10.9 Mavericks环境变量：如何设置环境变量

Question

How I can EXPORT environment variable not just for one tab but for all system?

If i will use export JAVA_HOME=/Library/Java/Home it will set JAVA_HOME only for current terminal tab and after system restart I will need do it one more time.

How I can set environment variable globally to make by default?

How I can edit variables in $ env list?

Answer 1

Add an entry to ~/.bash_profile :

export JAVA_HOME=/Library/Java/Home

• save it, (or create it if it doesn't exist)
• quit Terminal.app
• re-launch and you're in business.

This is the best place to add the entry in my opinion, although for the distinct differences on OS X of where to add environment variables specifically for one reason or another see:

• https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/13019

And for a more generalized UNIX overview:

• What's the difference between .bashrc, .bash_profile, and .environment?

Answer 2

You can set environment variables by adding the export commands to various configuration files. Eg ~/.profile

You can find out more about what files can be used to modify your bash environment by reading the bash manual ( man bash ). If you're using a different shell then it's probably similar and its man page should contain the same info. You can also read this answer on unix.stackexchange.com, which has some of these details.

If you want to set environment variables for your entire user environment, including GUI applications, I believe you can do that using ~/.MacOSX/environment.plist .