OS Manuals

export(1)

export - compatibility function for exporting variables

EXPORT(1) fish-shell EXPORT(1)

export - compatibility function for exporting variables

export
export NAME=VALUE

export is a function included for compatibility with POSIX shells. In general, the set <> builtin should be used instead.

When called without arguments, export prints a list of currently-exported variables, like set -x.

When called with a NAME=VALUE pair, the variable NAME is set to VALUE in the global scope, and exported as an environment variable to other commands.

There are no options available.

The following commands have an identical effect.

set -gx PAGER bat
export PAGER=bat


Note: If you want to add to e.g. $PATH, you need to be careful to combine the list <#cartesian-product>. Quote it, like so:

export PATH="$PATH:/opt/bin"


Or just use set, which avoids this:

set -gx PATH $PATH /opt/bin


1.
The set <> command.

fish-shell developers

October 26, 2026 4.9

fish 4.9.3-r4 · os · ingested 2026-10-27