I added to the PATH in rc.local. Why won't it stick? Also, can I delete Apps?

LinuxTexan · 10-22-2008, 08:53 PM

Two questions. I have Puppy 4.1 retro on a USB thumbdrive. Persistence is working fine except that I cannot permanently change the PATH. I need to add a directory that I created and have it in the path on boot up. I modified /etc/rc.d/rc.local but it isn't persistent. Is this because my directory isn't present during initialization? My directory is in the pup_save file, however.

I think remastering with the PATH modified would create a build that would be persistent. Is that what I need to do?

Also, I'm wanting to use this in an embedded project that won't need some of the apps, like mpaint, etc. Can they be deleted or uninstalled safely? PET Package Manager only allows install/uninstall of programs that I don't currently have on it. If I can't remove them then I will live with it. It would just be nice to regain the storage space since the apps will never be run. I have another USB that I can put the full package on. Most of them are named "default" so I don't want to damage anything. Can anyone tell me how or if it is worth the effort?

gilead · 10-22-2008, 09:20 PM

I'm assuming you're using bash as your shell: The PATH variable gets set from /etc/profile or ~/.bash_profile. Setting it from rc.local won't have the effect you're looking for. I haven't used Puppy so I can't help with uninstalling apps.

LinuxTexan · 10-23-2008, 09:37 AM

Normally, I would agree with changing the profile. Puppy comes up as root user (which I like). I added the change to /etc/rc.d/profile/profile.sh as well and saw no effect.

Does anyone know what I'm missing?

gilead · 10-23-2008, 02:31 PM

Is the shell running as a login shell? For example if you start bash directly, is it as bash -l? Or, with aterm, aterm -ls, etc. From memory, the profile files are only read for login shells and the rc files (/etc/bashrc, ~/.bashrc) are read for non-login as well as login shells.

LinuxTexan · 10-24-2008, 07:37 AM

That's my recollection as well. Puppy doesn't require a login and automatically comes up as root and uses the bash shell. That's perfect for my use. I expected to modify the /etc/rc structure and there are notes in Puppy to that effect. It's just that I can't seem to make the PATH change persistent and it isn't obvious to me why.