I installed an application I downloaded from the Internet,
and everything seemed to go fine, but I still get "command not found"
when I type its name. I think I have the right name, so why will it
not it start?
If you are trying to start an application from the shell prompt and it
is not working, try adding ./ before the name of
the application's executable.
For example, imagine that you have downloaded the
setiathome client application and want to try it
out. You follow the directions for installing the software. Now, you
change to the directory in which you know the executable can be found
(as shown below).
To start the application now, precede the executable with a
./ as shown below:
The reason you need to use the ./ in order
to start the application is because the executable wasn't placed in a
directory where your user shell environment knew it could be found
(such as /usr/bin).
In such instances, you have to change into the directory which
holds the executable and start the application from there. That means
you will have to tell your shell where it can find the executable;
adding ./ tells your user shell that the
executable can be found in the current working directory.
You can customize your settings so that you won't be required to use
the ./ each time. To do this, you will have to
edit your PATH variables.
If you frequently start programs that are not located in a
directory that your user shell has configured by default, you will
have to edit your user shell configuration file to add the directory
containing the executable you wish to run. You can do this by adding
the directory to your PATH environment variable.
 | Caution |
|---|
| | These instructions are intended only for
user accounts. Avoid modifying files such as the root user's
.bash_profile, because of the potential
security risks. |
Start a text editor, such as pico, at a
shell prompt. You can open the file called
.bash_profile by typing the following:
You will see a PATH statement, similar to the one shown
below.
To the end of this statement, add ./ as shown
below:
PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin:/usr/lib/:/home/user/directory/ |
Replace user with your user name and
directory with the directory containing the
executable you wish to run.
Now, type
[Ctrl]-[x]; you will
be asked whether you want to save "the modified buffer" (that's what
Pico calls an updated file); type
[y] for "yes." Next, you will see the name the file
will be saved as; press the [Enter] key.
You can then make the changes to
.bash_profile take effect immediately by typing the
following command:
By doing the above, you do not have to manually add
./ to the beginning of the executable to start an
application located in the directory you've added to your
PATH.
