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We need to have /usr/local/bin in cron's path for all users. Is there a way to set it system-wide, without needing to edit each individual user's crontab?

We've tried adding PATH to /etc/crontab:

# grep PATH /etc/crontab
PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin

But when users have this in their crontab:

$ crontab -l | grep PATH
* * * * * echo $PATH > /tmp/current_cron_path

...it reveals that their path is still set to default:

$ cat /tmp/current_cron_path
/usr/bin:/bin
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4 Answers 4

Reset to default
5

You can configure your PATH in crontab configuration file as shown in the first code except there. First specify the env variables, then specify jobs.

UPD: Due to fact that link is broken, here's an excerpt:

SHELL=/bin/bash
PATH=/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin
MAILTO=root
HOME=/

# run-parts
01 * * * * root run-parts /etc/cron.hourly
02 4 * * * root run-parts /etc/cron.daily
22 4 * * 0 root run-parts /etc/cron.weekly
42 4 1 * * root run-parts /etc/cron.monthly
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  • 1
    does not work on ubuntu, even after restarting cron
    – grosser
    Jul 19, 2010 at 7:01
  • 1
    @grosser: Well, it should. Please post your complete crontab (edit your answer), along with the output it produces and why you believe it does not work. Then we'll see...
    – sleske
    Jul 19, 2010 at 10:06
  • Also note that the format of the VARIABLE=value lines is somewhat more restricted than in a shell script: Each assignment must be on a line of its own, and you may not use variables on the right-hand-side (e.g. PATH=$PATH:/bla will not work).
    – sleske
    Jul 19, 2010 at 10:12
  • i updated the question, setting the PATH in an individual crontab did work, just the global change did not work
    – grosser
    Jul 21, 2010 at 6:10
  • Try specifying PATH variables in each crontab where you need it. Probably it's done due to security issues. BTW, in ubuntu (I've checked) PATH is defined in /etc/crontab and /etc/cron.d/anacron in ubuntu. So it seems that it is not being inherited from /etc/crontab. Just try defining it in root's crontab (sudo crontab -e)
    – igorp1024
    Jul 21, 2010 at 14:53
3

Setting the PATH variable should work in Ubuntu, how do you say it is not working ?

Refer #14: Linux Crontab: 15 Awesome Cron Job Examples

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  • i updated the question, setting the PATH in an individual crontab did work, just the global change did not work
    – grosser
    Jul 21, 2010 at 6:22
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I could not find a solution for this either. The closest I got to a decent solution is the following (taken from https://raymii.org/s/tutorials/Better_cron_env_and_shell_control_with_the_SHELL_variale.html).

  • Change the shell for your cron job and point it to a bash script. I.e., at the top of the cronjob, add: SHELL=/path/to/setup/cron.bash
  • In this shell script, load environment variables and specify other vars. Make sure to include the following 4 lines at the top. It resets the SHELL variable to bash, and executes a bash shell to run the cronjobs.

For example:

#!/bin/bash
set -e

source /etc/environment
source /etc/profile
# restore SHELL env var for cron
SHELL=/bin/bash

# execute the cron command in an actual shell
exec /bin/bash --norc "$@"

Downside: this requires you to specify the SHELL=... at the top of every cronjob. Upside: you'll be using regular environment variables, and you won't have to worry about keeping variables consistent between cron and others

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If you're able to be root, can you try editing /etc/init.d/cron and changing the PATH there? I haven't tested this, but would be interesting to check.

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  • did not seem to work, i just added PATH=xxx into /etc/init.d/cron but the * * * * * echo $PATH output was the same
    – grosser
    Aug 5, 2010 at 7:21

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