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

README.md

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ pairing with smart people at Hashrocket.
 
 For a steady stream of TILs, [sign up for my newsletter](https://crafty-builder-6996.ck.page/e169c61186).
 
-_1452 TILs and counting..._
+_1453 TILs and counting..._
 
 ---
 
@@ -1396,6 +1396,7 @@ _1452 TILs and counting..._
 - [File Type Info With File](unix/file-type-info-with-file.md)
 - [Find All Files Matching A Name With fd](unix/find-all-files-matching-a-name-with-fd.md)
 - [Find All Files With A Specific Extension With fd](unix/find-all-files-with-a-specific-extension-with-fd.md)
+- [Find Any Dotfiles That Modify Path Env Var](unix/find-any-dotfiles-that-modify-path-env-var.md)
 - [Find A File Installed By Brew](unix/find-a-file-installed-by-brew.md)
 - [Find Duplicate Lines In A File](unix/find-duplicate-lines-in-a-file.md)
 - [Find Files With fd](unix/find-files-with-fd.md)

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

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# 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.