Set shell environment variable via python script

Question

I have some instrument which requires environment variable which I want to set automatically from python code. So I tried several ways to make it happen, but none of them were successful. Here are some examples:

1. I insert following code in my python script

   import os
   os.system("export ENV_VAR=/some_path")
   

2. I created bash script(env.sh) and run it from python:

   #!/bin/bash
   export ENV_VAR=some_path
   
   #call it from python
   os.system("source env.sh")
   

3. I also tried os.putenv() and os.environ["ENV_VAR"] = "some_path"

Is it possible to set(export) environment variable using python, i.e without directly exporting it to shell?

Answer 1

Setting an environment variable sets it only for the current process and any child processes it launches. So using os.system will set it only for the shell that is running to execute the command you provided. When that command finishes, the shell goes away, and so does the environment variable. Setting it using os.putenv or os.environ has a similar effect; the environment variables are set for the Python process and any children of it.

I assume you are trying to have those variables set for the shell that you launch the script from, or globally. That can't work because the shell (or other process) is not a child of the Python script in which you are setting the variable.

You'll have better luck setting the variables in a shell script. If you then source that script (so that it runs in the current instance of the shell, rather than in a subshell) then they will remain set after the script ends.

Answer 2

As long as you start the "instrument" (a script I supposed) from the very same process it should work:

In [1]: os.putenv("VARIABLE", "123")

In [2]: os.system("echo $VARIABLE")
123

You can't change an environment variable of a different process or a parent process.

Answer 3

Depending on how you execute your instrument, you might be able to change environment specifically for the child process without affecting the parent. See documentation for os.spawn*e or subprocess.Popen which accept separate argument denoting child environment. For example, Replacing the os.spawn family in subprocess module documentation which provides both usages:

Environment example:

os.spawnlpe(os.P_NOWAIT, "/bin/mycmd", "mycmd", "myarg", env)
==>
Popen(["/bin/mycmd", "myarg"], env={"PATH": "/usr/bin"})