env Command
Purpose
Displays the current environment or sets the environment for the execution of a command.
Syntax
To Display Multiple Environment Variables
env [ -i | - ] [Name=Value ]... [Command [ Argument ... ] ]
To Display A Single Environment Variable
env [Name]
Description
The env command allows you to display your current environment or run a specified command in a changed environment.
If no flags or parameters are specified, the env command displays your current environment, showing one Name=Value pair per line.
Flags
Item | Description |
---|---|
-i | Ignores the inherited environment and invokes the command specified by the Command parameter with the environment specified by the Name=Value parameters. |
Parameters
Item | Description |
---|---|
Name=Value | You can run a command in a modified version of the current environment by specifying one or more Name=Value parameters. Use the -i flag if you wish to replace the entire current environment with the specified Name =Value parameters. In either case, environment changes are effective only while the specified command is running. |
Command | The Command parameter has an optional Argument variable. If the specified command is one of the Korn shell special built-in commands, results are unspecified. Korn shell built-in commands are described in the ksh command. |
Exit Status
If the Command parameter is specified, the exit status of the env command is the exit status of the command specified in the Command parameter. Otherwise, the env command exits with one of the following values:
Item | Description |
---|---|
0 | The env command completed successfully. |
1-125 | An error occurred in the env command. |
126 | The command specified by the Command parameter was found, but could not be invoked. |
127 | The command specified by the Command parameter was not found. |
Examples
- To change the TZ environment variable while running the date command, type:
ORTZ=MST7MDT date
Each of these commands displays the time in mountain time and the current date. The two commands shown are equivalent. When the date command is finished, the previous value of the TZ environment variable takes effect again.env TZ=MST7MDT date
- To run the make command in an environment that consists only of definitions for
the PATH, IDIR, and LIBDIR environment variables, type:
You must specify the PATH environment variable so that the shell can find the make command. When the make command is finished, the previous environment takes effect.env -i PATH=$PATH IDIR=/$HOME/include LIBDIR=/$HOME/lib make
Files
Item | Description |
---|---|
/usr/bin/env | Contains the env command. |