Basic Usage Guide

Overview

This guide covers the essential operations you’ll perform with pathmaster, including PATH management, validation, and backup handling.

Managing PATH Entries

Adding Directories

# Single directory
pathmaster add ~/bin

# Multiple directories
pathmaster add ~/bin ~/scripts /usr/local/bin

Key points:

Directories are validated before adding
Duplicates are automatically prevented
Paths are normalized and expanded
Shell config is automatically updated

Removing Directories

# Single directory
pathmaster delete ~/old/bin

# Multiple directories
pathmaster delete ~/old/bin ~/deprecated/scripts

Key points:

Safe removal with automatic backups
Shell config is updated
Current session PATH is updated
Non-existent paths are ignored

Viewing PATH

pathmaster list

Output shows:

Current PATH entries
One entry per line
Full expanded paths
Invalid paths marked

Path Validation

Checking Paths

pathmaster check

Validates:

Directory existence
Read permissions
Path syntax
Duplicate entries

Cleaning Invalid Paths

pathmaster flush

Process:

Creates backup
Checks all PATH entries
Removes invalid entries
Updates shell config
Shows removal summary

Backup Management

Configuring Backups

# Default mode (both PATH and shell)
pathmaster --backup-mode default

# PATH-only backups
pathmaster --backup-mode path

# Shell-only backups
pathmaster --backup-mode shell

# Toggle between modes
pathmaster --backup-mode switch

Managing Backups

# View backup history
pathmaster history

# Restore latest backup
pathmaster restore

# Restore specific backup
pathmaster restore --timestamp 20240301120000

Best Practices

Regular Maintenance

Check PATH regularly:

pathmaster check

Clean invalid entries:

pathmaster flush

Verify changes:

pathmaster list

Safe Changes

Configure backup mode:

pathmaster --backup-mode default

Make changes
Verify results
Keep backup history

Troubleshooting

Check command output
Review error messages
Use backup history
Restore if needed

Next Steps

Explore advanced features
Review command documentation
Check backup history
Set up regular maintenance