Add to path is a simple and lightweight script enabling you to add things to $PATH with just one command. I created this app mostly due to the fact that I always forget how to add things to $PATH and end up googling (shame yep yep). Anyway, this very thing made me write this app in like half an hour and felt like sharing it here - maybe some of you have same problem, or just don't enjoy opening your .rc file everytime. 💚

Caution

Add to path supports only BASH and ZSH shells.
And likely won't ever support any other, since these are only two popular ones.

🌿 Installation

To install this script you need to have UV. If you need help installing it refer to this page: https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation.

If you have installed UV you can now proceed to installing this very executable. To do this simply run:

uv tool install git+https://github.com/TaXi0k/add_to_path.git

And that's it.

🍏 Alternative: manual download

If you for some reason don't feel like installing straight from GitHub you can clone this repository and install it manually. To do this run:

git clone https://github.com/TaXi0k/add_to_path
cd add_to_path
uv tool install .

🐍 Uninstallation

To uninstall this app run:

uv tool uninstall add_to_path

additionally if you installed it by manual download you might also want to remove the cloned directory.

🍃 Usage

To use this app simply run:

adtp <path>

or

add_to_path <path>

both versions are perfectly valid and do the same thing.

Note

After adding something to $PATH, your shell won’t refresh automatically.
You need to either restart your terminal or run source ~/.bashrc / source ~/.zshrc. 🌿

This tool doesn’t do that for you - on purpose. Injecting shell functions into your rc file felt a bit too intrusive, so I decided not to touch your config more than absolutely necessary.

If you want automatic refresh, you can add this one small function to your rc file:

adtp() {
  command adtp "$1"
  source ~/.bashrc # or ~/.zshrc
}

Now running adtp <path> will automatically reload your shell config.

🍀 How it works and FAQ

• 💚 Does this modify my rc file?
  Yes, this script adds literal two lines to your rc file - to be precise it adds the following string to end of your rc file: "\n# Created by add_to_path\nsource ~/.config/add_to_path/paths". If you want to investigate further check link_in_rc_file(shell) function in main.py.
  
  
• 💚 Is this safe?
  Well yes, it is - I created this app to use it myself (exacly what creator of malware would say). It can't damage your rc file - it opens it in append and read modes only, never in write mode.
  
  
• 💚 What if I use fish or any other shell?
  Then you can't use this script. I'm not planning to support it soon nor ever.
  
  
• 💚 Does it work on macOS?
  I haven't tried it but it technically should, since it uses BASH / ZSH.
  
  
• 💚 How does it work?
  • It doesn't modify any crucial system files (well any system files)
    Ok I kinda lied. As I said it appends two lines to rc file, but I promise that's it.
  • All paths are stored in a specific file
    All paths added to $PATH using this app are stored in ~/.config/add_to_path/paths file. That file is sourced inside your rc file to avoid cluttering your precious rc.
  • I think there's nothing more
    This app just automates something you otherwise have to do manually and from my experience takes a bit of time - and to me is unpleasant.

🦖 Credits

To me, I did this. I don't know why I even wrote this very line xd.

📗 License and Copyright Notice

© 2026 TaXi0k

This project is distributed under CC BY-NC 4.0 license. This means:

💚 You may:

• Use the code in your own projects
• Modify it, fork it, rewrite it
• Share it anywhere (GitHub, Discord etc.)
• Distribute it for free
• Accept optional donations (Ko-fi, BuyMeACoffee, tips)

🌱 You must:

• Give proper attribution (author + link to the original repo)
• Mention that it's licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
• Indicate if you made any modifications

🟥 You may not:

• Sell this code
• Sell projects that include this code
• Sell modified versions of this code
• Use this code in paid products, services, or subscriptions
• Offer premium/commercial versions based on this code

🟩 Commercial use is only allowed if:

You write entirely new code from scratch, without copying or deriving from this project - i.e. a proper clean room implementation.

For more info check LICENSE.

🌿 Attribution Example

If you use, modify or share this project, please include an attribution similar to the following:

Based on: "add_to_path" by TaXi0k
Original repository: https://github.com/TaXi0k/add_to_path
Licensed under: CC BY-NC 4.0
Modifications: none / minor changes / custom additions

💚 Notes:

• Of course you can phrase that differently - it just needs to contain these information or even more if you are that kind.
• A link to original repo is required whenever possible.
• Mentioning modifications is of course only required only if you actually changed the code.
• But really let's just be people and respect each other's work :3