Run compiled c program from any location

Question

Quick question. After compiling a program, I always have to explicitly tell it to run from the current directory by prepending ./ to the name. For example $ ./testprog -argument1

Is there a way to set up some kind of alias which would allow me to call it simply by saying $ testprog -argument1 , essentially allowing me to run the program from any location?

Current directory should not be in your path for security reasons. If the directory is shared with other users. — Zoredache, Apr 03 '12 at 21:35
http://serverfault.com/questions/81431/running-a-shell-script-in-nix — Zoredache, Apr 03 '12 at 21:41
See related on the Unix & Linux Stack Exchange: [Why do we use “./” to execute a file?](http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/4430/why-do-we-use-to-execute-a-file/4459) — mattdm, Apr 04 '12 at 00:13

score 5 · Answer 1 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:14

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PATH=$PATH:. ... is easy for taking care of the ./ part... which you focused on, but paying more attention isn't really the meat of it. Besides that, many of us frown on it for security reasons. See Adding current directory to path for more discussion that aspect.

~~In case I've mis-interpreted~~ (I have), I'll expand on what @DavidShwartz is saying.

Your remaining options include specifying the directory in question as part of the path (PATH=$PATH:/to/your/executable/dir), or if you only have a few programs in mind or they're scattered across many locations, using symlinks. If you're going the symlink route, I suggest setting ~/bin to be at the end of your path and creating your symlinks in ~/bin...

ln -s /to/your/executable/dir/program ~/bin/program

It is almost always best to put extra paths at the end of your $PATH statement. It is very rare that you want anything to override the system files. That will take care of reaching it.

For the last part, you can put a shell script in one of you $PATH directories which includes the options you want to pass. You can really cheat and skip the whole path thing entirely: alias runmyprogram '/to/your/executable/dir/program -argument1' (you can also include opening arguments here if you always want them)

There are more, but a shell script in your path or an alias command should do it.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:14

Community

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answered Apr 03 '12 at 21:35

Jeff Ferland

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Because if you are working in a directory were other users have write access, then they can trick you into trashing your stuff. – Zoredache Apr 03 '12 at 21:36
@Zoredache Mainly because someone can forge an executable like `ls` or `man` and put it somewhere where you frequently run some stuff. If your PATH has '.' in it, local forged executable been started, not what you think. – Kondybas Apr 03 '12 at 21:57
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I almost wish you didn't tell him that. :-) – Kyle Smith Apr 03 '12 at 22:40
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This doesn't solve the OP's problem. It creates security issues and doesn't even let him run the executable regardless of his current working directory, which is what he asked about. – David Schwartz Apr 03 '12 at 23:52
@DavidSchwartz That's how I interpreted this: *I always have to explicitly tell it to run from the current directory*... and yes, the "frowning" on it part is because of security and a better explanation was linked to. If he wants something specific he can either soft link it to another directory or add the path if he really needs it. ~/bin is particularly good if that's the approach. – Jeff Ferland Apr 04 '12 at 00:45
He's annoyed that he has to specify the current directory not because the specification is tedious, but because it means he always has to be in the same directory as the executable. That's why he asked how "to run the program from any location". – David Schwartz Apr 04 '12 at 00:59
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@DavidSchwartz Sneak attack direction change at the end of the question. Got it. I got title fixation. :) – Jeff Ferland Apr 04 '12 at 01:39

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 03 '12 at 21:34

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Put your executable to folder in $PATH or add directory that contains this executable to $PATH

answered Apr 03 '12 at 21:34

ghloogh

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score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 03 '12 at 23:54

Most platforms provide a user-specific bin directory for just such things.

You can try a command like echo "${PATH}" to see if you have such a directory in your path. Look for something like /home/fred/bin in the path. It's usually very close to the beginning to allow you to override standard commands if you want. (Be careful!)

If you see that, make sure you have a bin directory in your home directory and put the executable there.

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Apr 03 '12 at 21:38

You can put the program somewhere you like, create a bashscript that invokes your program (meaning that points to it's location) and passes arguments. Call it mycommand and put it /usr/bin. Do chmod +x /usr/bin/mycommand and you now have a command that invokes your program.

Run compiled c program from any location

4 Answers4