gives the default list of directories to search in attempting to find an external file.
$Path
gives the default list of directories to search in attempting to find an external file.
Details
- The structure of directory and file names may differ from one computer system to another.
- $Path is used both for files in Get and for external programs in Install .
- The setting for $Path can be overridden in specific functions using the Path option.
- The directory names are specified by strings. The full file names tested are of the form FileNameJoin [{directory,name}].
- On most computer systems, the following special characters can be used in directory names:
-
. the current directory.. the directory one level up in the hierarchy~ the user’s home directory
- $Path can contain nested sublists.
Examples
Basic Examples (1)
Add a directory in which to look for files after all of the system defaults:
Add a directory in which to look for files before any of the system defaults:
Tech Notes
History
Introduced in 1988 (1.0) | Updated in 2007 (6.0)
Text
Wolfram Research (1988), $Path, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/$Path.html (updated 2007).
CMS
Wolfram Language. 1988. "$Path." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2007. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/$Path.html.
APA
Wolfram Language. (1988). $Path. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/$Path.html
BibTeX
@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_$path, author="Wolfram Research", title="{$Path}", year="2007", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/$Path.html}", note=[Accessed: 05-December-2025]}
BibLaTeX
@online{reference.wolfram_2025_$path, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={$Path}, year={2007}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/$Path.html}, note=[Accessed: 05-December-2025]}