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How to list all variables names and their current values?

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316

80

How to list all variables names and their current values?

Including not only $HOME, $PWD etc but any other you have defined.

command-line bash environment-variables

share|improve this question

edited Aug 24 '16 at 12:25

7ochem

1741212

asked Mar 30 '13 at 0:36

StrapakowskyStrapakowsky

3,819112638

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  superuser.com/questions/420295/…
  
  – Ciro Santilli 新疆改造中心 六四事件 法轮功
  Nov 30 '15 at 14:46
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

316

80

How to list all variables names and their current values?

Including not only $HOME, $PWD etc but any other you have defined.

command-line bash environment-variables

share|improve this question

edited Aug 24 '16 at 12:25

7ochem

1741212

asked Mar 30 '13 at 0:36

StrapakowskyStrapakowsky

3,819112638

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  superuser.com/questions/420295/…
  
  – Ciro Santilli 新疆改造中心 六四事件 法轮功
  Nov 30 '15 at 14:46
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

How to list all variables names and their current values?

Including not only $HOME, $PWD etc but any other you have defined.

command-line bash environment-variables

share|improve this question

edited Aug 24 '16 at 12:25

7ochem

1741212

asked Mar 30 '13 at 0:36

StrapakowskyStrapakowsky

3,819112638

share|improve this question

edited Aug 24 '16 at 12:25

7ochem

1741212

asked Mar 30 '13 at 0:36

StrapakowskyStrapakowsky

3,819112638

share|improve this question

edited Aug 24 '16 at 12:25

7ochem

1741212

asked Mar 30 '13 at 0:36

StrapakowskyStrapakowsky

3,819112638

edited Aug 24 '16 at 12:25

7ochem

1741212

edited Aug 24 '16 at 12:25

7ochem

1741212

asked Mar 30 '13 at 0:36

StrapakowskyStrapakowsky

3,819112638

asked Mar 30 '13 at 0:36

StrapakowskyStrapakowsky

3,819112638

9 Answers
9

active

oldest

votes

445

For bash: (the standard shell in Ubuntu)

Enter the following command in a terminal to print all the environment variables:

printenv

For further information about this command, read the printenv man page.

---

To show a list including the "shell variables" you can enter the next command:

( set -o posix ; set ) | less

This will show you not only the shell variables, but the environment variables too.

For more information related with this topic read:

• 
  How to list variables declared in script in bash? from SO and


• 
  How to print all environment variables defined (but not necessarily
  exported) in bash from
  UnixSE
  


• Environment variable vs Shell variable, what's the difference?

---

For zsh: (an advanced shell)

Use the following command:

( setopt posixbuiltin; set; ) | less

For more information about ZSH options, see zshoptions man page.

share|improve this answer

edited Oct 3 '18 at 19:40

Fabby

26.9k1360161

answered Mar 30 '13 at 1:21

LucioLucio

12.6k2485161

• 
  
  
  

  
  11
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  If I go to the terminal and write MYNEWVARIABLE=Ubuntu and execute printenv it doesn't show there. Why is that, and how do those others show up?
  
  – Strapakowsky
  Mar 30 '13 at 3:30
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Probably you are seeing the difference between a shell variable and an environment variable. Try export MYNEWVARIABLE=Ubuntu and it will work as you expect.
  
  – Rmano
  Oct 12 '13 at 0:41
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  if you simply execute set, it lists the variable created by you as well. Or do set | grep myvar
  
  – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
  Jan 4 '15 at 15:01
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  printenv is an external command, so it only knows about (and prints) exported environment variables. set is an internal bash command, so it shows all the "shell variables" (unexported environment variables) as well as the exported environment variables.
  
  – Dan Pritts
  Jul 30 '15 at 15:33
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  To expand on @Rmano's reply to @Strapakowsky... This will not work unset MYNEWVARIABLE; MYNEWVARIABLE=Ubuntu; printenv | grep MYNEW, but this will unset MYNEWVARIABLE; export MYNEWVARIABLE=Ubuntu; printenv | grep MYNEW, and this will unset MYNEWVARIABLE; MYNEWVARIABLE=Ubuntu printenv | grep MYNEW. Using export says "the variable I'm setting should be part of the environment that gets passed to processes, not just a variable in this shell." My third example says "the variable should be part of the environment that gets passed to THIS process, but not stick around afterward."
  
  – Bruno Bronosky
  Aug 26 '16 at 17:39
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 3 more comments

47

I know that this question is quite old and answered, but I think I can add a bit of useful information.

In all the methods described above, the procedure that is suggested is:

• launch a terminal


• show the environment variables using env, or
  printenv or whatever

The problem of these solutions are that you are seeing the environment variables of the shell that is running into the terminal. You are not seeing the environment variables available to an application run, for example, directly by the graphic interface.

This is noticeable if, for example, you use your ~/.profile, or .bashrc, or .zshenv (depending on your shell) to modify the environment variables --- like the classic addition of directories to the path.

To see the environment variables available to the application started directly in the graphic environment, you can do the following (in Gnome Shell, I am sure there is an equivalent method in all the other DE):

• press Alt-F2


• run the command xterm -e bash --noprofile --norc
  

You now have a terminal with a shell that did not add any environment variables. You can use env here to list all your environment variables:

Obviously the new shell will have the environment variables added by the system files, but that variables should be available (by inheritance) to all programs in the system anyway.

I am posting this because it's the fourth time I have to search this trick again, checking my .pam_environment file. So now I will find it faster (and in the process, I hope helping someone else...)

share|improve this answer

edited Dec 25 '16 at 20:33

Byte Commander

65.4k27178302

answered Oct 12 '13 at 0:37

RmanoRmano

25.4k879147

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Requires you have a desktop environment, not useful for server CLI-only folk.
  
  – K7AAY
  Oct 21 '13 at 18:21
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Yes --- but then for CLI only the previous answer is ok. I was just pointing out that sometime you need to check environment variables available to application started by the graphical environment, which is not the same set you see when you start a terminal in it. For example, if you are trying to understand why your Kile app can't compile a LaTeX file, while in a terminal you can, the trick I posted here will help a lot.
  
  – Rmano
  Oct 21 '13 at 20:36
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Thanks for a very useful answer! I just linked to it from help.ubuntu.com/community/…
  
  – Gunnar Hjalmarsson
  Jan 2 '14 at 17:06
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Thanks. Did you recommend xterm -e bash --noprofile --norc because the startup files are not read and executed when Ubuntu is started with graphical interface ? See askubuntu.com/q/1025845/1471
  
  – Tim
  Apr 17 '18 at 14:49
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Tim basically it's just a way to have a shell without anything more than the environment variables available to the graphic environment. A standard terminal will read (or re-read) .bashrc for example...
  
  – Rmano
  Apr 17 '18 at 15:06
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

35

You can see all variables with the declare builtin.

declare -p

If you're only interested in environment variables, use

declare -xp

Run help declare to see what the other options are.

share|improve this answer

edited Apr 8 '13 at 6:07

answered Apr 4 '13 at 20:28

geirhageirha

31.1k95760

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  this is far neat-er solution than POSIXLY_CORRECT=1 set and it is also worthy of mention that declare is alias (in that context) for typeset, another bash builtin.
  
  – w17t
  Feb 7 '18 at 16:50
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

11

To list the environment variables in terminal with CTRL+ALT+T you can use env command.

for example :

[raja@localhost ~]$ env

XDG_VTNR=1

SSH_AGENT_PID=3671

XDG_SESSION_ID=3

HOSTNAME=localhost.localdomain

IMSETTINGS_INTEGRATE_DESKTOP=yes

GPG_AGENT_INFO=/home/raja/.gnupg/S.gpg-agent:3691:1

GLADE_PIXMAP_PATH=:

TERM=xterm-256color

SHELL=/bin/bash

XDG_MENU_PREFIX=xfce-

DESKTOP_STARTUP_ID=

HISTSIZE=1000

XDG_SESSION_COOKIE=0250277dd805498381e96c05d88068b0-1364679772.845276-1676152201

WINDOWID=65011716

GNOME_KEYRING_CONTROL=/home/raja/.cache/keyring-N3QoQ2

IMSETTINGS_MODULE=none

QT_GRAPHICSSYSTEM_CHECKED=1

USER=raja

etc.

hope that helps.

share|improve this answer

answered Mar 30 '13 at 16:41

rɑːdʒɑrɑːdʒɑ

58.2k85218302

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I've noticed that env misses some variables o_O. specifically after sourcing a VAR=VAL file.
  
  – ThorSummoner
  Aug 2 '17 at 19:43
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @ThorSummoner The answer here might help stackoverflow.com/questions/15474650/…
  
  – georaldc
  Aug 14 '17 at 17:48
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

4

In bash using compgen:

compgen -v | while read line; do echo $line=${!line};done  

share|improve this answer

edited Apr 11 '14 at 21:07

Seth♦

34.8k27112165

answered Apr 11 '14 at 20:53

tmgoblintmgoblin

491

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  This should be the accepted answer, as all others list more than just the name itself. In my case some variables contain multiline values which makes the other solutions not feasable.
  
  – Mene
  Nov 9 '17 at 15:20
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  A variant: compgen -v | while read line; do declare -p $line; done
  
  – Eljay
  Dec 13 '18 at 17:58
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

2

env is a POSIX 7 way:

export asdf=qwer

env | grep asdf

Sample output:

asdf=qwer

It only shows exported variables: non-exported variables are not usually considered "environment variables".

Prefer that over printenv, which is not POSIX. Both seem to do the same thing without arguments: https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/123473/what-is-the-difference-between-env-and-printenv

share|improve this answer

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:37

Community♦

1

answered Nov 30 '15 at 14:31

Ciro Santilli 新疆改造中心 六四事件 法轮功Ciro Santilli 新疆改造中心 六四事件 法轮功

9,83944550

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Already mentioned two years ago: askubuntu.com/a/276162/158442
  
  – muru
  Nov 30 '15 at 15:00
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @muru fair enough. Wish it had made env more visible with better formatting, and I've added more info.
  
  – Ciro Santilli 新疆改造中心 六四事件 法轮功
  Nov 30 '15 at 15:01
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  That's what editing is for.
  
  – muru
  Nov 30 '15 at 15:02
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

1

If you want a specific environment variable, rather than printing them all with printenv, you can for example print it by doing echo "$PWD"

share|improve this answer

answered Jan 8 '18 at 14:13

inigo333inigo333

1113

add a comment | 

1

Most solutions here either print only environment variables, or have the drawback that env or (set -o posix; posix) do not print values in parseable form (try to print variable A=$'arnb'...).

Here is a function that will print all variables, one variable per line, in the POSIX escaped form:

function dump_vars {

    local VARNAME

    compgen -v | while read -r VARNAME; do

        printf "$VARNAME=%qn" "${!VARNAME}"

    done

}

Thanks to @tmgoblin for pointing out the use of compgen -v.

share|improve this answer

answered Dec 15 '18 at 15:58

Ján LalinskýJán Lalinský

1112

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Excellent first answer! +1 Keep up the good work!
  
  – Fabby
  Dec 15 '18 at 16:29
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

0

printenv only lists exported variables,
CTRL+ALT+$
( "e$": complete-variable )
will list all variables.

share

answered 7 mins ago

user1133275user1133275

18410

add a comment | 

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445

For bash: (the standard shell in Ubuntu)

Enter the following command in a terminal to print all the environment variables:

printenv

For further information about this command, read the printenv man page.

---

To show a list including the "shell variables" you can enter the next command:

( set -o posix ; set ) | less

This will show you not only the shell variables, but the environment variables too.

For more information related with this topic read:

• 
  How to list variables declared in script in bash? from SO and


• 
  How to print all environment variables defined (but not necessarily
  exported) in bash from
  UnixSE
  


• Environment variable vs Shell variable, what's the difference?

---

For zsh: (an advanced shell)

Use the following command:

( setopt posixbuiltin; set; ) | less

For more information about ZSH options, see zshoptions man page.

share|improve this answer

edited Oct 3 '18 at 19:40

Fabby

26.9k1360161

answered Mar 30 '13 at 1:21

LucioLucio

12.6k2485161

• 
  
  
  

  
  11
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  If I go to the terminal and write MYNEWVARIABLE=Ubuntu and execute printenv it doesn't show there. Why is that, and how do those others show up?
  
  – Strapakowsky
  Mar 30 '13 at 3:30
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Probably you are seeing the difference between a shell variable and an environment variable. Try export MYNEWVARIABLE=Ubuntu and it will work as you expect.
  
  – Rmano
  Oct 12 '13 at 0:41
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  if you simply execute set, it lists the variable created by you as well. Or do set | grep myvar
  
  – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
  Jan 4 '15 at 15:01
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  printenv is an external command, so it only knows about (and prints) exported environment variables. set is an internal bash command, so it shows all the "shell variables" (unexported environment variables) as well as the exported environment variables.
  
  – Dan Pritts
  Jul 30 '15 at 15:33
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  To expand on @Rmano's reply to @Strapakowsky... This will not work unset MYNEWVARIABLE; MYNEWVARIABLE=Ubuntu; printenv | grep MYNEW, but this will unset MYNEWVARIABLE; export MYNEWVARIABLE=Ubuntu; printenv | grep MYNEW, and this will unset MYNEWVARIABLE; MYNEWVARIABLE=Ubuntu printenv | grep MYNEW. Using export says "the variable I'm setting should be part of the environment that gets passed to processes, not just a variable in this shell." My third example says "the variable should be part of the environment that gets passed to THIS process, but not stick around afterward."
  
  – Bruno Bronosky
  Aug 26 '16 at 17:39
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 3 more comments

445

For bash: (the standard shell in Ubuntu)

Enter the following command in a terminal to print all the environment variables:

printenv

For further information about this command, read the printenv man page.

---

To show a list including the "shell variables" you can enter the next command:

( set -o posix ; set ) | less

This will show you not only the shell variables, but the environment variables too.

For more information related with this topic read:

• 
  How to list variables declared in script in bash? from SO and


• 
  How to print all environment variables defined (but not necessarily
  exported) in bash from
  UnixSE
  


• Environment variable vs Shell variable, what's the difference?

---

For zsh: (an advanced shell)

Use the following command:

( setopt posixbuiltin; set; ) | less

For more information about ZSH options, see zshoptions man page.

share|improve this answer

edited Oct 3 '18 at 19:40

Fabby

26.9k1360161

answered Mar 30 '13 at 1:21

LucioLucio

12.6k2485161

• 
  
  
  

  
  11
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  If I go to the terminal and write MYNEWVARIABLE=Ubuntu and execute printenv it doesn't show there. Why is that, and how do those others show up?
  
  – Strapakowsky
  Mar 30 '13 at 3:30
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Probably you are seeing the difference between a shell variable and an environment variable. Try export MYNEWVARIABLE=Ubuntu and it will work as you expect.
  
  – Rmano
  Oct 12 '13 at 0:41
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  if you simply execute set, it lists the variable created by you as well. Or do set | grep myvar
  
  – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
  Jan 4 '15 at 15:01
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  printenv is an external command, so it only knows about (and prints) exported environment variables. set is an internal bash command, so it shows all the "shell variables" (unexported environment variables) as well as the exported environment variables.
  
  – Dan Pritts
  Jul 30 '15 at 15:33
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  To expand on @Rmano's reply to @Strapakowsky... This will not work unset MYNEWVARIABLE; MYNEWVARIABLE=Ubuntu; printenv | grep MYNEW, but this will unset MYNEWVARIABLE; export MYNEWVARIABLE=Ubuntu; printenv | grep MYNEW, and this will unset MYNEWVARIABLE; MYNEWVARIABLE=Ubuntu printenv | grep MYNEW. Using export says "the variable I'm setting should be part of the environment that gets passed to processes, not just a variable in this shell." My third example says "the variable should be part of the environment that gets passed to THIS process, but not stick around afterward."
  
  – Bruno Bronosky
  Aug 26 '16 at 17:39
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 3 more comments

For bash: (the standard shell in Ubuntu)

Enter the following command in a terminal to print all the environment variables:

printenv

For further information about this command, read the printenv man page.

---

To show a list including the "shell variables" you can enter the next command:

( set -o posix ; set ) | less

This will show you not only the shell variables, but the environment variables too.

For more information related with this topic read:

• 
  How to list variables declared in script in bash? from SO and


• 
  How to print all environment variables defined (but not necessarily
  exported) in bash from
  UnixSE
  


• Environment variable vs Shell variable, what's the difference?

---

For zsh: (an advanced shell)

Use the following command:

( setopt posixbuiltin; set; ) | less

For more information about ZSH options, see zshoptions man page.

share|improve this answer

edited Oct 3 '18 at 19:40

Fabby

26.9k1360161

answered Mar 30 '13 at 1:21

LucioLucio

12.6k2485161

printenv

( set -o posix ; set ) | less

( setopt posixbuiltin; set; ) | less

share|improve this answer

edited Oct 3 '18 at 19:40

Fabby

26.9k1360161

answered Mar 30 '13 at 1:21

LucioLucio

12.6k2485161

edited Oct 3 '18 at 19:40

Fabby

26.9k1360161

edited Oct 3 '18 at 19:40

Fabby

26.9k1360161

answered Mar 30 '13 at 1:21

LucioLucio

12.6k2485161

answered Mar 30 '13 at 1:21

LucioLucio

12.6k2485161

47

I know that this question is quite old and answered, but I think I can add a bit of useful information.

In all the methods described above, the procedure that is suggested is:

• launch a terminal


• show the environment variables using env, or
  printenv or whatever

The problem of these solutions are that you are seeing the environment variables of the shell that is running into the terminal. You are not seeing the environment variables available to an application run, for example, directly by the graphic interface.

This is noticeable if, for example, you use your ~/.profile, or .bashrc, or .zshenv (depending on your shell) to modify the environment variables --- like the classic addition of directories to the path.

To see the environment variables available to the application started directly in the graphic environment, you can do the following (in Gnome Shell, I am sure there is an equivalent method in all the other DE):

• press Alt-F2


• run the command xterm -e bash --noprofile --norc
  

You now have a terminal with a shell that did not add any environment variables. You can use env here to list all your environment variables:

Obviously the new shell will have the environment variables added by the system files, but that variables should be available (by inheritance) to all programs in the system anyway.

I am posting this because it's the fourth time I have to search this trick again, checking my .pam_environment file. So now I will find it faster (and in the process, I hope helping someone else...)

share|improve this answer

edited Dec 25 '16 at 20:33

Byte Commander

65.4k27178302

answered Oct 12 '13 at 0:37

RmanoRmano

25.4k879147

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Requires you have a desktop environment, not useful for server CLI-only folk.
  
  – K7AAY
  Oct 21 '13 at 18:21
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Yes --- but then for CLI only the previous answer is ok. I was just pointing out that sometime you need to check environment variables available to application started by the graphical environment, which is not the same set you see when you start a terminal in it. For example, if you are trying to understand why your Kile app can't compile a LaTeX file, while in a terminal you can, the trick I posted here will help a lot.
  
  – Rmano
  Oct 21 '13 at 20:36
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Thanks for a very useful answer! I just linked to it from help.ubuntu.com/community/…
  
  – Gunnar Hjalmarsson
  Jan 2 '14 at 17:06
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Thanks. Did you recommend xterm -e bash --noprofile --norc because the startup files are not read and executed when Ubuntu is started with graphical interface ? See askubuntu.com/q/1025845/1471
  
  – Tim
  Apr 17 '18 at 14:49
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Tim basically it's just a way to have a shell without anything more than the environment variables available to the graphic environment. A standard terminal will read (or re-read) .bashrc for example...
  
  – Rmano
  Apr 17 '18 at 15:06
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

47

I know that this question is quite old and answered, but I think I can add a bit of useful information.

In all the methods described above, the procedure that is suggested is:

• launch a terminal


• show the environment variables using env, or
  printenv or whatever

The problem of these solutions are that you are seeing the environment variables of the shell that is running into the terminal. You are not seeing the environment variables available to an application run, for example, directly by the graphic interface.

This is noticeable if, for example, you use your ~/.profile, or .bashrc, or .zshenv (depending on your shell) to modify the environment variables --- like the classic addition of directories to the path.

To see the environment variables available to the application started directly in the graphic environment, you can do the following (in Gnome Shell, I am sure there is an equivalent method in all the other DE):

• press Alt-F2


• run the command xterm -e bash --noprofile --norc
  

You now have a terminal with a shell that did not add any environment variables. You can use env here to list all your environment variables:

Obviously the new shell will have the environment variables added by the system files, but that variables should be available (by inheritance) to all programs in the system anyway.

I am posting this because it's the fourth time I have to search this trick again, checking my .pam_environment file. So now I will find it faster (and in the process, I hope helping someone else...)

share|improve this answer

edited Dec 25 '16 at 20:33

Byte Commander

65.4k27178302

answered Oct 12 '13 at 0:37

RmanoRmano

25.4k879147

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Requires you have a desktop environment, not useful for server CLI-only folk.
  
  – K7AAY
  Oct 21 '13 at 18:21
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Yes --- but then for CLI only the previous answer is ok. I was just pointing out that sometime you need to check environment variables available to application started by the graphical environment, which is not the same set you see when you start a terminal in it. For example, if you are trying to understand why your Kile app can't compile a LaTeX file, while in a terminal you can, the trick I posted here will help a lot.
  
  – Rmano
  Oct 21 '13 at 20:36
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Thanks for a very useful answer! I just linked to it from help.ubuntu.com/community/…
  
  – Gunnar Hjalmarsson
  Jan 2 '14 at 17:06
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Thanks. Did you recommend xterm -e bash --noprofile --norc because the startup files are not read and executed when Ubuntu is started with graphical interface ? See askubuntu.com/q/1025845/1471
  
  – Tim
  Apr 17 '18 at 14:49
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Tim basically it's just a way to have a shell without anything more than the environment variables available to the graphic environment. A standard terminal will read (or re-read) .bashrc for example...
  
  – Rmano
  Apr 17 '18 at 15:06
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

I know that this question is quite old and answered, but I think I can add a bit of useful information.

In all the methods described above, the procedure that is suggested is:

• launch a terminal


• show the environment variables using env, or
  printenv or whatever

The problem of these solutions are that you are seeing the environment variables of the shell that is running into the terminal. You are not seeing the environment variables available to an application run, for example, directly by the graphic interface.

This is noticeable if, for example, you use your ~/.profile, or .bashrc, or .zshenv (depending on your shell) to modify the environment variables --- like the classic addition of directories to the path.

To see the environment variables available to the application started directly in the graphic environment, you can do the following (in Gnome Shell, I am sure there is an equivalent method in all the other DE):

• press Alt-F2


• run the command xterm -e bash --noprofile --norc
  

You now have a terminal with a shell that did not add any environment variables. You can use env here to list all your environment variables:

Obviously the new shell will have the environment variables added by the system files, but that variables should be available (by inheritance) to all programs in the system anyway.

I am posting this because it's the fourth time I have to search this trick again, checking my .pam_environment file. So now I will find it faster (and in the process, I hope helping someone else...)

share|improve this answer

edited Dec 25 '16 at 20:33

Byte Commander

65.4k27178302

answered Oct 12 '13 at 0:37

RmanoRmano

25.4k879147

share|improve this answer

edited Dec 25 '16 at 20:33

Byte Commander

65.4k27178302

answered Oct 12 '13 at 0:37

RmanoRmano

25.4k879147

edited Dec 25 '16 at 20:33

Byte Commander

65.4k27178302

edited Dec 25 '16 at 20:33

Byte Commander

65.4k27178302

answered Oct 12 '13 at 0:37

RmanoRmano

25.4k879147

answered Oct 12 '13 at 0:37

RmanoRmano

25.4k879147

35

You can see all variables with the declare builtin.

declare -p

If you're only interested in environment variables, use

declare -xp

Run help declare to see what the other options are.

share|improve this answer

edited Apr 8 '13 at 6:07

answered Apr 4 '13 at 20:28

geirhageirha

31.1k95760

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  this is far neat-er solution than POSIXLY_CORRECT=1 set and it is also worthy of mention that declare is alias (in that context) for typeset, another bash builtin.
  
  – w17t
  Feb 7 '18 at 16:50
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

35

You can see all variables with the declare builtin.

declare -p

If you're only interested in environment variables, use

declare -xp

Run help declare to see what the other options are.

share|improve this answer

edited Apr 8 '13 at 6:07

answered Apr 4 '13 at 20:28

geirhageirha

31.1k95760

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  this is far neat-er solution than POSIXLY_CORRECT=1 set and it is also worthy of mention that declare is alias (in that context) for typeset, another bash builtin.
  
  – w17t
  Feb 7 '18 at 16:50
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

You can see all variables with the declare builtin.

declare -p

If you're only interested in environment variables, use

declare -xp

Run help declare to see what the other options are.

share|improve this answer

edited Apr 8 '13 at 6:07

answered Apr 4 '13 at 20:28

geirhageirha

31.1k95760

declare -p

declare -xp

share|improve this answer

edited Apr 8 '13 at 6:07

answered Apr 4 '13 at 20:28

geirhageirha

31.1k95760

answered Apr 4 '13 at 20:28

geirhageirha

31.1k95760

answered Apr 4 '13 at 20:28

geirhageirha

31.1k95760

[raja@localhost ~]$ env

XDG_VTNR=1

SSH_AGENT_PID=3671

XDG_SESSION_ID=3

HOSTNAME=localhost.localdomain

IMSETTINGS_INTEGRATE_DESKTOP=yes

GPG_AGENT_INFO=/home/raja/.gnupg/S.gpg-agent:3691:1

GLADE_PIXMAP_PATH=:

TERM=xterm-256color

SHELL=/bin/bash

XDG_MENU_PREFIX=xfce-

DESKTOP_STARTUP_ID=

HISTSIZE=1000

XDG_SESSION_COOKIE=0250277dd805498381e96c05d88068b0-1364679772.845276-1676152201

WINDOWID=65011716

GNOME_KEYRING_CONTROL=/home/raja/.cache/keyring-N3QoQ2

IMSETTINGS_MODULE=none

QT_GRAPHICSSYSTEM_CHECKED=1

USER=raja