Windows cmd create environment variable

Tip: There are a number of other methods you can use to open the environment variables editor in Windows First of all, you can create a special shortcut to open it directly. Click the "Advanced System Settings" link on the left. In the next dialog, "System Properties", you will see the Environment Variables Moreover, the Advanced System Settings dialog can be directly opened with the systempropertiesadvanced command entered into the Run dialog.

Do not forget to restart your apps e. The setx command is a console tool that can be used to set or unset user and system environment variables. In the general case, the syntax is as follows:. The last parameter of the SetEnvironmentVariable call tells it to register the given variable as a system variable.

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However there are cases, especially when using the command line, that setting and updating environment variables is a necessity. In this series we talk about the various approaches we can take to set them. In this article we look at how to interface with environment variables using the Command Prompt and Windows PowerShell. We also note where in the registry the environment variables are set, if you needed to access them in such a fashion.

You can use environment variables in the values of other environment variables. It is then helpful to be able to see what environment variables are set already. This is how you do it:. To set persistent environment variables at the command line, we will use setx. Prior to that, it was part of the Windows Resource Kit. In this tutorial, we will cover different ways you can set, list, and unset environment variables in Windows The method for checking current environment variables depends on whether you are using the Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell:.

Both the Command Prompt and PowerShell use the echo command to list specific environment variables. The Environment Variables window is divided into two sections. The sections display user-specific and system-wide environment variables. To add a variable, click the New… button under the appropriate section. Use the setx command to set a new user-specific environment variable via the Command Prompt:. To unset an environment variable using the GUI, follow the steps in the section on setting environment variables via GUI to reach the Environment Variables window.

When you add an environment variable in Windows, the key-value pair is saved in the registry. The default registry folders for environment variables are:.