set PATH globally in /etc/launchd.conf

[sorin.sbarnea@…]

It look that the *only* way to update PATH enviroment on OS X for all users and all kinds of applications (console or GUI) is to modify /et/launchd.conf

Currently macports does not do this.

Refference ​http://stackoverflow.com/questions/135688/setting-environment-variables-in-os-x

[ryandesign (Ryan Carsten Schmidt)]

The request to update the PATH of all users, instead of just the user who is logged in at the time that MacPorts is installed, is a duplicate of #24930.

The request to update PATH for GUI apps in addition to console apps is new AFAIK. What apps would benefit from this change?

I'm not familiar with /etc/launchd.conf or the implications of using it instead of or in addition to what we already do.

[sorin.sbarnea@…]

Yesterday I found the first application that was failing to detect hg because the tool was not found in path (PyCharm).

I studied the issue because previously I have similar issues on OS X, and I discovered that the only way to modify the path for the entire system and all applications is /etc/launchd.conf which by the way is empty by default.

The idea is thay GUI application that will want to use a macport installed command will fail if we do not update the PATH for gui applications.

[jmroot (Joshua Root)]

Changing the environment for all apps is a really bad idea. Anything that assumes that the commands it runs are the Apple-supplied versions will break when the MacPorts ones behave differently. GUI apps shouldn't rely on PATH having a particular value anyway.