Viewing and Setting Environment Variables in Every Shell

*Every Shell That I Use

I write software on Windows, Mac and occasionally Linux. I always find myself forgetting what magic words to use for different shells, and Googling usually results in a surprising amount of friction for finding exactly what I want, so I’ve compiled a quick reference below.

• Windows Powershell
• Windows Command Prompt
• Bash/Git Bash/Zsh

Windows Powershell

# list all environment variables
ls env:

# fetch a specific environment variable
$env:VariableName

# pretty print the PATH variable (one path per line)
$env:PATH -split ';'

# set an environment variable for the current session
$env:VariableName = "Value"

# delete an environment variable for the current session
Remove-Item Env:\VariableName

Windows Command Prompt (CMD)

# list all environment variables
set

# fetch a specific environment variable
echo %VariableName%

# pretty print the PATH variable (one path per line)
for %A in ("%PATH:;=" "%") do @echo %~A

# set an environment variable for the current session
set VariableName=Value

# delete an environment variable for the current session
set VariableName=

Bash/Git Bash/Zsh

# list all environment variables
printenv

# fetch a specific environment variable
echo $VariableName

# pretty print the PATH variable (one path per line)
echo $PATH | tr ':' '\n'

# set an environment variable for the current session
export VariableName=Value

# delete an environment variable for the current session
unset VariableName

If you think I’m missing your favourite shell, leave a comment with the commands, because I’ll be unable to test them.