SSH script does not have access to full path variable

Question

When I ssh into host and echo $PATH:

$ ssh my@host
$ echo $PATH

I get a different value for $PATH than when I run a script locally:

ssh my@host '\
    echo $PATH;'

Any idea why?

NOTE: It seems I don't get the full path variable when sshing from a script versus [other] CLI.

ssh opens login shell and what happens depends on the shell you use and your setup. For example if you use bash only /etc/profile is processed. — Arkadiusz Drabczyk, Jul 19 '18 at 18:19

score 0 · Answer 1 · edited Jul 19 '18 at 19:20

0

Adding this line to bash script worked

source ~/.bash_profile

source

edited Jul 19 '18 at 19:20

slm

369,824

answered Jul 19 '18 at 18:30

the_prole

457

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 19 '18 at 18:44

This is due to the fact that when you run a command through ssh (ssh user@host 'command') it opens a non-login shell. An excellent breakdown of the differences between a login shell and a non-login shell can be found at this question. Essentially, what is causing you issue is that when you run the command through ssh your ~/.bash_profile is not sourced, meaning any modifications to the path it makes will not be available.

The solution is to either move these into your ~/.bashrc, which is sourced on opening a non-login shell, or as you found out, sourcing your .bash_profile directly in the script.

SSH script does not have access to full path variable

2 Answers2