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Everytime I open the terminal, I have to source .bash_profile to enable the $JAVA_HOME or other variables.

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11 Answers 11

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256

Yes, it's called ~/.zshenv.

Here's how I have $JAVA_HOME set in ~/.zshenv:

export JAVA_HOME="$(/usr/libexec/java_home)"

Keep in mind, however, that zsh is not bash, so just 'cause you have to source your .bash_profile every time you open a terminal does not mean that you have to do that with zsh. With zsh, I only have to re-source my ~/.zshenv when I make changes to it, and then only for terminals which are already open: new terminals should have already sourced my new and improved ~/.zshenv.

NOTE

I often find it helpful, when trying to determine which of my zsh startup files I should place things in to consult zsh startup files.

A newer version of the documentation for startup files can be found here.

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12 Comments

Actually, .zprofile is closer in meaning to .bash_profile, in that both are only sourced by their respective shells for login shells. .zshenv is executed for all instances of zsh, whether or not they are login shells.
@chepner .zshenv is where all environment variables should be defined. See here
Agreed; .bash_profile has to do for bash what .zshenv and .zprofile/.zlogin together do for zsh. That link provides good information on what should go where.
I disagree with that comment. .zshenv is sourced for any shell (including non-login interactive shells and non-interactive shells), which means it would be used far more often than is necessary for configuring your environment variables. I restrict that file to zsh-specific things, like zstyle commands: things that will not be inherited from a parent process.
It's not in the current man page, though. Note that your link was last updated in 1995.
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I know this is an old question, but I recently upgraded MacOs to Catalina which changed the default shell from bash to zsh.

I ended up doing this:

 echo source ~/.bash_profile > ~/.zshenv && source ~/.zshenv

To have zsh source my original .bash_profile.

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5 Comments

Use the command like this to ensure that the file is created in the users home directory: echo source ~/.bash_profile > ~/.zshenv
Is the use of echo important here? What does that do?
@QASam, echo is a must here, X > Y only pass what X outputted. Without echo, nothing is outputted.
This works to find my aliases but I still need to source to get the terminal to lad the correct prompt/colors for some reason.
This worked fine for me.
23

Recently, with the upgrade to macOS Catalina, the default shell changed to zsh, which uses ~/.zshrc as the resource file.

We usually had ~/.bash_profile inside user home directory the solution is to simply

  1. Open ~/.bash_profile by running vim ~/.bash_profile
  2. Open ~/.zshrc by running vim ~/.zshrc
  3. Copy the content of ~/.bash_profile into ~/.zshrc

Open a new terminal window and run your previous aliases/scripts, which should work flawlessly.

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You could also add source ~/.bash_profile at the end of the ~/.zshrc.
note that all aliases should also be added at the bottom of ~/.zshrc.
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There are five separate profile scripts that get executed (in the order given below) when we launch a zsh shell or close it out.

(1) .zshenv --> This is always sourced first but can be overridden by other

(2).zprofile --> This is equivalent for users coming from ksh experience

(3).zshrc --> This is for all of the interactive customizations of zsh

(4).zlogin --> This executes after first three are done

(5).zlogout --> This is executed when we logout of the zsh shell it would be advisable to put your stuff in .zshenv or in .zshrc

It is not mandatory to have any one of these files. But if it is there, it will be sourced from and executed in the above order.

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13

Other simple alternative to continue using your .bash_profile is add this file to your .zshrc file:

  1. Open your .zhsrc file > vim ~/.zshrc
  2. Add this line to your .zshrc file > source ~/.bash_profile

with this simple solution you can continue adding your .bash_prifile if you like zhs.

Adding .bash_profile

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could there be some differences between bash and zsh that caused bash_profile not to start properly? see zsh.sourceforge.net/FAQ/zshfaq02.html#l14
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In Mac Catalina onwards osx versions, the terminal uses zsh. There is a system-wide profile /etc/zprofile.

Output example for cat /etc/zprofile:

# System-wide profile for interactive zsh(1) login shells. # Setup user specific overrides for this in ~/.zprofile. See zshbuiltins(1) # and zshoptions(1) for more details. if [ -x /usr/libexec/path_helper ]; then eval `/usr/libexec/path_helper -s` fi

it says , if you want to override then create ~/.zprofile.

touch ~/.zprofile.
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update: macOS Monterey 12.4

yes - for Zsh, it is the file: .zshrc add there your parameter.

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This does not provide an answer to the question. Once you have sufficient reputation you will be able to comment on any post; instead, provide answers that don't require clarification from the asker. - From Review
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In Mac Catalina, terminal uses zsh. Instead of having .bash_profile, good to have .zshenv and write your script there.

When you open terminal next every time, scripts inside .zshenv gets executed.

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I was running into this issue and I followed Zack and Luke Schoen's answer, but my $PATH didn't look the same as what I had in bash.

This post explains what the different config files do: https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/71253/what-should-shouldnt-go-in-zshenv-zshrc-zlogin-zprofile-zlogout

I found that splitting my .bash_profile path exports into .zprofile and my aliases into .zshrc worked best for what I wanted.

I found why Zack and Luke Schoen's answer didn't work for me:

The path exports that I listed in .zshenv were executed first and /usr/libexec/path_helper was executed afterwards, which prepended the paths listed in /etc/paths.

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I found the profile file under /etc/zprofile location. This will be for zsh

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-1

yes --> .zshrc is similar to .bash_profile in MAC Ventura

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This has already been mentioned in other answers.

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