# OS X rails path problem **URL:** \ **Category:** Rails\ **Created:** [July 28, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/os-x-rails-path-problem/172789 "2009-07-28T03:12:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![indigoi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@indigoi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/indigoi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/os-x-rails-path-problem/172789/1 "2009-07-28T03:12:42Z")
I have had rails up and running for about 2 years now, but while troubleshooting an arduino problem, I inadvertently changed something related to my path variable that caused scrip/server to no longer run, after a reinstalling the basics… ruby-gems, etc… everything seemed to run smoothly but now i cannot run rake. I obviously have two versions of almost every gem on my system, but I have no clue how to start cleaning up my machine. I want to point everything to a single copy of my correct resources. Can anyone recomend some good material on troubleshooting path/gem install issues, or just some good solid resources on OS X/Unix architecture. I understand what a path is, and what it does, but until now i’ve been mostly just doing rather than understanding. OS X 10.5.7 ---
**Author:** ![indigoi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@indigoi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/indigoi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/os-x-rails-path-problem/172789/2 "2009-07-28T03:30:31Z")
System information here: [http://pastie.org/561126](http://pastie.org/561126) ---
**Author:** ![indigoi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@indigoi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/indigoi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/os-x-rails-path-problem/172789/3 "2009-07-28T15:37:57Z")
On Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 6:12 PM, Richard Schneeman[removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > some good material on troubleshooting path/gem install issues, or just > some good solid resources on OS X/Unix architecture. I understand what a > path is, and what it does, but until now i’ve been mostly just doing > rather than understanding. From your pastie: /usr/bin:/usr/local/lib/ruby/gems/1.8:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/X11/bin:/usr/local/git/bin/:/opt/local/bin:/Users/richard/bin/bin/:/usr/local/bin I would first remove ‘/usr/local/lib/ruby/gems/1.8’ – there shouldn’t be any executables in that directory. Also, you’ve got duplicate directories in that PATH statement. Then this: richard-s-macbook-pro:restapp richard$ which ruby /usr/local/bin/ruby richard-s-macbook-pro:restapp richard$ which rails /usr/bin/rails richard-s-macbook-pro:restapp richard$ which rake /usr/bin/rake If you type `ruby -v` is it the version you want? If so, I suspect you have a /usr/local/bin/rails, /usr/local/bin/rake, etc. but because /usr/bin is first in your PATH, they are not being used. Open a new shell and set your PATH to /usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/X11/bin:/usr/local/git/bin/:/opt/local/bin:/Users/richard/bin/bin (is that last “bin/bin” correct?) Then see what `which rake` produces. – Hassan S. ------------------------ removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid twitter: @hassan ---
**Author:** ![indigoi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@indigoi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/indigoi)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 12:36am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/os-x-rails-path-problem/172789/4 "2009-07-29T00:36:29Z")
You were right it was the /usr/bin in front and the ‘/usr/local/lib/ruby/gems/1.8’ that was screwing everything up [http://pastie.org/562566d](http://pastie.org/562566d) Everything works again, thanks! Besides the ‘profile’, ‘bashrc’, and ‘bash\_profile’ are there any other common locations where the PATH variable would be set? A few of those declarations could not be accounted for in those three files. ---
**Author:** ![indigoi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@indigoi](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/indigoi)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/os-x-rails-path-problem/172789/5 "2009-07-29T01:27:29Z")
On Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 3:36 PM, Richard Schneeman[removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > Everything works again, thanks! Besides the ‘profile’, ‘bashrc’, and > ‘bash\_profile’ are there any other common locations where the PATH > variable would be set? A few of those declarations could not be > accounted for in those three files. Nothing comes immediately to my mind, but I suppose some errant installer could do it, especially if you decided to CTRL-C out of the middle of an install. 🙂 Something to keep in mind, I suppose. ## HTH, Hassan S. ------------------------ removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid twitter: @hassan