Add Find Any Dotfiles That Modify Path Env Var as a Unix TIL

unix/find-any-dotfiles-that-modify-path-env-var.md

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+# Find Any Dotfiles That Modify Path Env Var
+
+Whether you are using `zsh`, `bash`, or some other shell, there are a variety
+of dotfiles where you can place statements to update the `PATH` env var. These
+files don't all run in the same contexts and it can be tricky to debug if one
+is clobbering the path set by another.
+
+One way to audit how your `PATH` gets set and track down any issues is to find
+any place where the path may be getting modified in your dotfiles.
+
+I like to use [`rg` (ripgrep)](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep) for tasks
+like this.
+
+First, I want to check where the `PATH` is explicitly modified.
+
+```bash
+$ rg 'export PATH' ~/\.* --max-depth 0
+```
+
+This looks at all instances of dotfiles in my home directory where `export
+PATH` appears. That should catch the majority of ways that it gets updated.
+
+Next, because I am using `zsh` as my shell, I want to look for another way my
+path might be set. `zsh` defaults to setting up `path` as proxy for `PATH` that
+acts as an array.
+
+I check for any instances of `path=` or `path+=` in my dotfiles:
+
+```bash
+$ rg 'path\+?=' ~/\.* --max-depth 0
+```
+
+Note that the `--max-depth 0` is really important for both because otherwise a
+ton of irrelevant stuff buried in deeply-nested dot-directories will be
+surfaced.
+
+If you want just a file name summary of the results, tack on a `-l` flag.