Crate onpath 

Safe, idempotent PATH management across shells and operating systems.

onpath lets any Rust CLI tool or installer add directories to the user’s PATH persistently — across Bash, Zsh, Fish, Nushell, PowerShell, Tcsh, Xonsh, and Windows (via the registry).

Quick Start

// Add ~/.myapp/bin to PATH for all detected shells
let report = onpath::add("/home/user/.myapp/bin", "myapp")?;
println!("{report}");

How It Works

On Unix, onpath uses a two-layer approach (pioneered by rustup):

1. Env scripts — Self-guarding shell scripts that check if the directory is already in PATH before adding it (e.g., ~/.myapp/env, ~/.myapp/env.fish).

2. Source lines — A single source line added to each shell’s RC file, bracketed with identifiable markers for clean removal.

On Windows, it modifies HKCU\Environment\PATH in the registry and broadcasts WM_SETTINGCHANGE to notify running applications.

Re-exports

pub use config::Position;

pub use error::Error;

pub use manager::PathManager;

pub use report::Action;

pub use report::ActionKind;

pub use report::Report;

pub use shell_kind::ShellKind;

Modules

config

PATH position configuration.

error

Error types for PATH management operations.

manager

The PathManager builder for configuring PATH operations.

report

Report types describing actions taken during PATH operations.

shell_kind

Shell type identifiers shared across all platforms.

Structs

SystemContext

System context providing home directory and environment variables.

Functions

add

Convenience function: add a directory to PATH for all detected shells.

remove

Convenience function: remove a directory from PATH for all detected shells.