4.2 A bin Directory for Your Programs and Scripts

If you compile programs (52.8) or write shell scripts (1.5), it's good to put them in one directory. This can be a subdirectory of your home directory. Or, if several people want to use these programs, you could pick any other directory - as long as you have write access to it. Usually, the directory's name is something like bin-though I name mine .bin (with a leading dot) (1.15) to keep it from cluttering my ls listings.

1. For instance, to make a bin under your home directory, type:

   % cd
   % mkdir bin

2. Once you have a directory for storing programs, be sure that the shell can find the programs in it. Type the command echo $PATH and look for the directory's pathname. For instance, if your directory is called /u/walt/bin, you should see:

   % echo $PATH
   ...:/u/walt/bin:...

   If the directory isn't in your PATH, add it (8.7).

3. Finally, if other people are sharing the directory, use a command like chmod go+rx bin (22.7) to give them access.

When you add a new program to your bin directory, if you use the C shell, you need to use the shell's rehash command. That's because the C shell doesn't search your path directly but instead uses a hash table to find the commands more quickly.