Run C++ program like a command from the terminal

Question

Hi,

I've created a small program in C++ I would like to run like a command from the terminal. With that I mean that I can open the program from and in the terminal (as it is a console application) regardless of which directory I'm in, without having to specify the path to the program. I know how to arrange it so that I would only have to type /program_name, but I'm interested in how the above would work. Thanks in advance!

Put the compiled executable in a directory that's on your PATH: see How to run a program without typing the full path? — steeldriver, Jan 27 '16 at 22:22
@steeldriver Thanks, I didn't find that thread on my searches, sorry — simeon, Jan 27 '16 at 22:30
If the program is just for you, put it in ~/bin/program_name. Then you can run it from anywhere via program_name. — Doug Smythies, Jan 27 '16 at 22:52

score 0 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:37

You can either copy your executable to some folder in your $PATH (if you compiled your app statically) to see what is in your $PATH type:

echo $PATH

/usr/local/bin is probably the best choice. So copy it there by:

sudo cp yourexe /usr/local/bin

Or you can add additional directory to your PATH. You can do this by putting:

PATH=$PATH:/path/to/some/folder

in your ~/.profile file. Read more about it here. You will probably need to logout after doing this.

Run C++ program like a command from the terminal

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