Windows environment PATH variable right click automation

README.md

Windows environment PATH variable right click automation for developers

By following the below instruction, you can create a right click context menu saying "Add to PATH" whenever you right click on a folder/directory

1. Save AddPath.ps1 to C:\cmdhost
2. Click here to download the icon file. Save this file to F:\icons\AddPath.ico
3. Download AddPath-Menu.reg
4. Run AddPath-Menu.reg by double clicking it

Note 1: If you are not saving the files in the locations mentioned, update the reg file accordingly to reflect the actual file locations

Note 2: The below configuration only shows the menu on Shift+Right Click. If you want the menu to be visible in plain Right Click, remove all "Extended"="" from the reg file

Note 3: The new path entries are always added to the end of $PATH variable

Features

• Loss protection: You don't have to worry about losing your PATH variable, since AddPath.ps1 creates backup at C:\cmdhost\.env_path_backup before altering the $PATH variable. So you could manually restore anytime, if the script fails and corrupts your $PATH
• Duplicate prevention: No duplicate paths will be added to your $PATH since whenever you add a path the script checks whether the path already exists before altering the $PATH

AddPath-Menu.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell\AddPath]
@="Add to PATH"
"Extended"=""
"Icon"="F:\\icons\\AddPath.ico"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell\AddPath\command]
@="powershell -File C:\\cmdhost\\AddPath.ps1 -arg1 \"%1\""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\AddPath]
@="Add to PATH"
"Extended"=""
"Icon"="F:\\icons\\AddPath.ico"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\AddPath\command]
@="powershell -File C:\\cmdhost\\AddPath.ps1 -arg1 \"%1\""

AddPath.ps1

param (
    [string]$arg1
)
$oldPath = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", "User")
echo "Old PATH: $oldPath`n"
$oldPath | Out-File -FilePath $PSScriptRoot\.env_path_backup -NoNewline
echo "Your old PATH is backed up at $PSScriptRoot\.env_path_backup`n"

if (-not($oldPath.Split(';') -contains $arg1)) {
    if ($oldPath.EndsWith(";")){
        $newPath = "$oldPath$arg1;"
    } else {
        $newPath = "$oldPath;$arg1;"
    }
    
    [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", $newPath, "User")
    echo "New PATH:"
    $updatedPath = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", "User")
    echo $updatedPath.Replace(";", "`n")
} else {
    echo "This path already exists`n"
}
pause