Bug 11929 – emerge xfree does not include /usr/X11/bin in path

• Product: Gentoo Linux
• Status: RESOLVED INVALID

[Description Joseph Turian 2002-12-10 18:34:13 UTC]

I just switched to Gentoo (from Debian, FWIW) and have successfully installed 
basic console apps and rebooted. I then ran "emerge xfree" and compiled X 
windows, as described in the "Gentoo Linux Desktop Configuration Guide".

However, I cannot run startx without including "/usr/X11R6/bin/" to my path.
Is there a way this can be added automatically? Of course, if I log in to a 
new console, it will be in my path. But can it be added automatically so that 
after "emerge xfree" I can go about my business and run X apps without doing 
anything else?

[Comment 1 SpanKY 2002-12-10 18:39:23 UTC]

you have to run `source /etc/profile` when environment variables are updated 

[Comment 2 Joseph Turian 2002-12-10 21:25:44 UTC]

Let me point out that I personally have resolved this issue (I know how 
to "source /etc/profile"), but that other people reading the "Gentoo Linux 
Desktop Configuration Guide" may not know how to.

What I propose is that the ebuild script for xfree somehow alter the user's 
environment variables (although I'm not sure if a spawned process can do this) 
OR that the documentation be updated so that this is made clear.

[Comment 3 Martin Schlemmer (RETIRED) 2002-12-15 17:39:02 UTC]

You have to either:

1) source /etc/profile

2) log out and then in again to update the environment

3) reboot

Its a known thing in unix like environments that after you changed /etc/profile
or any other script that set environment at login time, that you have to
either source, or log out and back in to update your environment.

The other solution is to set all possible PATH's or what ever by default,
but that is ugly IMHO.