How to add /usr/bin to path after I mistakenly removed it (sudo and nano are no longer in path)

Clash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP

up vote
2
down vote

favorite

Lets get this out of the way, I did something stupid. Yes, stupid. Very stupid. I am well aware of how stupid this is. I am embarrassed and I regret doing it. Please help. I was installing a program, while also watching TV, and somehow managed to remove /usr/bin from path. NOOOOOO.

I'm using ubuntu 16.04. I added the new program bin to path by typing:

sudo nano ~/.bashrc

The new path was added, but then I tried to update using sudo and I got this error:

The command could not be located because '/usr/bin' is not included in the PATH environment variable.

However, the bin still exists:

 Command 'sudo' is available in '/usr/bin/sudo'

nano in available, ls is available - its all available - but not in path. So, simply trying:

sudo nano ~/.bashrc

and trying to add /usr/bin to path is not an option. Without sudo I dont have permission to open bashrc. I can cd into /usr/bin, but I cant ls anything, and I have no idea how to access sudo or nano once I'm in there. ./sudo, sudo.sh ./sudo.sh all returns "command not found".

How do I add /usr/bin to path in the event I remove it?

EDIT

I found the solution here: I think I accidently deleted the PATH variable

I replaced the PATH with the path of the program I added to my path. So, typing this into a terminal gave me access to sudo and nano again:

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin

permissions sudo environment-variables bashrc

share|improve this question

edited 57 mins ago

asked 1 hour ago

Phil_T

1717

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Try /usr/bin/sudo su.
  – N0rbert
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @N0rbert, I found the answer, please see my edit. I gotta turn the TV off is the real solution.
  – Phil_T
  56 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Possible duplicate of I think I accidently deleted the PATH variable
  – N0rbert
  55 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  FWIW you really shouldn't be using sudo to modify files in your own home directory
  – steeldriver
  6 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
2
down vote

favorite

Lets get this out of the way, I did something stupid. Yes, stupid. Very stupid. I am well aware of how stupid this is. I am embarrassed and I regret doing it. Please help. I was installing a program, while also watching TV, and somehow managed to remove /usr/bin from path. NOOOOOO.

I'm using ubuntu 16.04. I added the new program bin to path by typing:

sudo nano ~/.bashrc

The new path was added, but then I tried to update using sudo and I got this error:

The command could not be located because '/usr/bin' is not included in the PATH environment variable.

However, the bin still exists:

 Command 'sudo' is available in '/usr/bin/sudo'

nano in available, ls is available - its all available - but not in path. So, simply trying:

sudo nano ~/.bashrc

and trying to add /usr/bin to path is not an option. Without sudo I dont have permission to open bashrc. I can cd into /usr/bin, but I cant ls anything, and I have no idea how to access sudo or nano once I'm in there. ./sudo, sudo.sh ./sudo.sh all returns "command not found".

How do I add /usr/bin to path in the event I remove it?

EDIT

I found the solution here: I think I accidently deleted the PATH variable

I replaced the PATH with the path of the program I added to my path. So, typing this into a terminal gave me access to sudo and nano again:

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin

permissions sudo environment-variables bashrc

share|improve this question

edited 57 mins ago

asked 1 hour ago

Phil_T

1717

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Try /usr/bin/sudo su.
  – N0rbert
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @N0rbert, I found the answer, please see my edit. I gotta turn the TV off is the real solution.
  – Phil_T
  56 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Possible duplicate of I think I accidently deleted the PATH variable
  – N0rbert
  55 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  FWIW you really shouldn't be using sudo to modify files in your own home directory
  – steeldriver
  6 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
2
down vote

favorite

up vote
2
down vote

favorite

Lets get this out of the way, I did something stupid. Yes, stupid. Very stupid. I am well aware of how stupid this is. I am embarrassed and I regret doing it. Please help. I was installing a program, while also watching TV, and somehow managed to remove /usr/bin from path. NOOOOOO.

I'm using ubuntu 16.04. I added the new program bin to path by typing:

sudo nano ~/.bashrc

The new path was added, but then I tried to update using sudo and I got this error:

The command could not be located because '/usr/bin' is not included in the PATH environment variable.

However, the bin still exists:

 Command 'sudo' is available in '/usr/bin/sudo'

nano in available, ls is available - its all available - but not in path. So, simply trying:

sudo nano ~/.bashrc

and trying to add /usr/bin to path is not an option. Without sudo I dont have permission to open bashrc. I can cd into /usr/bin, but I cant ls anything, and I have no idea how to access sudo or nano once I'm in there. ./sudo, sudo.sh ./sudo.sh all returns "command not found".

How do I add /usr/bin to path in the event I remove it?

EDIT

I found the solution here: I think I accidently deleted the PATH variable

I replaced the PATH with the path of the program I added to my path. So, typing this into a terminal gave me access to sudo and nano again:

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin

permissions sudo environment-variables bashrc

share|improve this question

edited 57 mins ago

asked 1 hour ago

Phil_T

1717

Lets get this out of the way, I did something stupid. Yes, stupid. Very stupid. I am well aware of how stupid this is. I am embarrassed and I regret doing it. Please help. I was installing a program, while also watching TV, and somehow managed to remove /usr/bin from path. NOOOOOO.

I'm using ubuntu 16.04. I added the new program bin to path by typing:

sudo nano ~/.bashrc

The new path was added, but then I tried to update using sudo and I got this error:

The command could not be located because '/usr/bin' is not included in the PATH environment variable.

However, the bin still exists:

 Command 'sudo' is available in '/usr/bin/sudo'

nano in available, ls is available - its all available - but not in path. So, simply trying:

sudo nano ~/.bashrc

and trying to add /usr/bin to path is not an option. Without sudo I dont have permission to open bashrc. I can cd into /usr/bin, but I cant ls anything, and I have no idea how to access sudo or nano once I'm in there. ./sudo, sudo.sh ./sudo.sh all returns "command not found".

How do I add /usr/bin to path in the event I remove it?

EDIT

I found the solution here: I think I accidently deleted the PATH variable

I replaced the PATH with the path of the program I added to my path. So, typing this into a terminal gave me access to sudo and nano again:

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin

permissions sudo environment-variables bashrc

permissions sudo environment-variables bashrc

share|improve this question

edited 57 mins ago

asked 1 hour ago

Phil_T

1717

share|improve this question

edited 57 mins ago

asked 1 hour ago

Phil_T

1717

share|improve this question

share|improve this question

edited 57 mins ago

edited 57 mins ago

edited 57 mins ago

asked 1 hour ago

Phil_T

1717

asked 1 hour ago

Phil_T

1717

asked 1 hour ago

Phil_T

1717

1717

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Try /usr/bin/sudo su.
  – N0rbert
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @N0rbert, I found the answer, please see my edit. I gotta turn the TV off is the real solution.
  – Phil_T
  56 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Possible duplicate of I think I accidently deleted the PATH variable
  – N0rbert
  55 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  FWIW you really shouldn't be using sudo to modify files in your own home directory
  – steeldriver
  6 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Try /usr/bin/sudo su.
  – N0rbert
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @N0rbert, I found the answer, please see my edit. I gotta turn the TV off is the real solution.
  – Phil_T
  56 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Possible duplicate of I think I accidently deleted the PATH variable
  – N0rbert
  55 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  FWIW you really shouldn't be using sudo to modify files in your own home directory
  – steeldriver
  6 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

1

1

Try /usr/bin/sudo su.
– N0rbert
1 hour ago

Try /usr/bin/sudo su.
– N0rbert
1 hour ago

@N0rbert, I found the answer, please see my edit. I gotta turn the TV off is the real solution.
– Phil_T
56 mins ago

@N0rbert, I found the answer, please see my edit. I gotta turn the TV off is the real solution.
– Phil_T
56 mins ago

1

1

Possible duplicate of I think I accidently deleted the PATH variable
– N0rbert
55 mins ago

Possible duplicate of I think I accidently deleted the PATH variable
– N0rbert
55 mins ago

FWIW you really shouldn't be using sudo to modify files in your own home directory
– steeldriver
6 mins ago

FWIW you really shouldn't be using sudo to modify files in your own home directory
– steeldriver
6 mins ago

add a comment | 

1 Answer
1

active

oldest

votes

up vote
3
down vote



accepted

You can prefix the commands with the path:

/usr/bin/sudo /bin/nano ~/.bashrc

share|improve this answer

answered 59 mins ago

WinEunuuchs2Unix

37k760138

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Yeah, that works too. Thanks. My heart dropped for second when sudo stopped working.
  – Phil_T
  53 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @N0rbert Sorry I didn't notice any comments when I started writing the answer. It could be we were writing at same time? Also since the user is owner of ~/.bashrc using sudo isn't necessary.
  – WinEunuuchs2Unix
  48 mins ago
  
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

Your Answer

StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "89"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);

else
createEditor();

);

function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
convertImagesToLinks: true,
noModals: false,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: 10,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);



);

 

draft saved

draft discarded

Sign up or log in

StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);

Sign up using Google

Sign up using Facebook

Sign up using Email and Password

Post as a guest

Name Email

StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2faskubuntu.com%2fquestions%2f1081544%2fhow-to-add-usr-bin-to-path-after-i-mistakenly-removed-it-sudo-and-nano-are-no%23new-answer', 'question_page');

);

Post as a guest

Name Email

1 Answer
1

active

oldest

votes

1 Answer
1

active

oldest

votes

active

oldest

votes

active

oldest

votes

up vote
3
down vote



accepted

You can prefix the commands with the path:

/usr/bin/sudo /bin/nano ~/.bashrc

share|improve this answer

answered 59 mins ago

WinEunuuchs2Unix

37k760138

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Yeah, that works too. Thanks. My heart dropped for second when sudo stopped working.
  – Phil_T
  53 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @N0rbert Sorry I didn't notice any comments when I started writing the answer. It could be we were writing at same time? Also since the user is owner of ~/.bashrc using sudo isn't necessary.
  – WinEunuuchs2Unix
  48 mins ago
  
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
3
down vote



accepted

You can prefix the commands with the path:

/usr/bin/sudo /bin/nano ~/.bashrc

share|improve this answer

answered 59 mins ago

WinEunuuchs2Unix

37k760138

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Yeah, that works too. Thanks. My heart dropped for second when sudo stopped working.
  – Phil_T
  53 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @N0rbert Sorry I didn't notice any comments when I started writing the answer. It could be we were writing at same time? Also since the user is owner of ~/.bashrc using sudo isn't necessary.
  – WinEunuuchs2Unix
  48 mins ago
  
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
3
down vote



accepted

up vote
3
down vote



accepted

You can prefix the commands with the path:

/usr/bin/sudo /bin/nano ~/.bashrc

share|improve this answer

answered 59 mins ago

WinEunuuchs2Unix

37k760138

You can prefix the commands with the path:

/usr/bin/sudo /bin/nano ~/.bashrc

share|improve this answer

answered 59 mins ago

WinEunuuchs2Unix

37k760138

share|improve this answer

share|improve this answer

answered 59 mins ago

WinEunuuchs2Unix

37k760138

answered 59 mins ago

WinEunuuchs2Unix

37k760138

answered 59 mins ago

WinEunuuchs2Unix

37k760138

37k760138

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Yeah, that works too. Thanks. My heart dropped for second when sudo stopped working.
  – Phil_T
  53 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @N0rbert Sorry I didn't notice any comments when I started writing the answer. It could be we were writing at same time? Also since the user is owner of ~/.bashrc using sudo isn't necessary.
  – WinEunuuchs2Unix
  48 mins ago
  
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Yeah, that works too. Thanks. My heart dropped for second when sudo stopped working.
  – Phil_T
  53 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @N0rbert Sorry I didn't notice any comments when I started writing the answer. It could be we were writing at same time? Also since the user is owner of ~/.bashrc using sudo isn't necessary.
  – WinEunuuchs2Unix
  48 mins ago
  
  

  
  
  
  

Yeah, that works too. Thanks. My heart dropped for second when sudo stopped working.
– Phil_T
53 mins ago

Yeah, that works too. Thanks. My heart dropped for second when sudo stopped working.
– Phil_T
53 mins ago

@N0rbert Sorry I didn't notice any comments when I started writing the answer. It could be we were writing at same time? Also since the user is owner of ~/.bashrc using sudo isn't necessary.
– WinEunuuchs2Unix
48 mins ago

@N0rbert Sorry I didn't notice any comments when I started writing the answer. It could be we were writing at same time? Also since the user is owner of ~/.bashrc using sudo isn't necessary.
– WinEunuuchs2Unix
48 mins ago

add a comment | 

 

draft saved

draft discarded

 

draft saved

draft discarded

Sign up or log in

StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);

Sign up using Google

Sign up using Facebook

Sign up using Email and Password

Post as a guest

Name Email

StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2faskubuntu.com%2fquestions%2f1081544%2fhow-to-add-usr-bin-to-path-after-i-mistakenly-removed-it-sudo-and-nano-are-no%23new-answer', 'question_page');

);

Post as a guest

Name Email

Sign up or log in

StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);

Sign up using Google

Sign up using Facebook

Sign up using Email and Password

Post as a guest

Name Email

Sign up or log in

StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);

Sign up using Google

Sign up using Facebook

Sign up using Email and Password

Post as a guest

Name Email

Sign up or log in

StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);

Sign up using Google

Sign up using Facebook

Sign up using Email and Password

Sign up using Google

Sign up using Facebook

Sign up using Email and Password

Post as a guest

Name Email

Name Email

Name

Email

Name Email

Name

Email