Tramp: how to set path to remote shell?

Tramp: how to set path to remote shell?

[Ethan]

The path to my shell on my local machine is /bin/bash.  When
attempting to bring up a shell on the remote machine I get the error:

exec: /bin/bash: not found

Process shell<2> exited abnormally with code 127


It seems that tramp is using the path from my local machine as the
path on the remote machine.  The actual remote machine path for bash
is /usr/local/bin/bash.  Does anyone know which variable to set so
that tramp uses the correct path to bash on the remote machine?   I
did RTFM, but didn't find it.

Thanks.

Re: Tramp: how to set path to remote shell?

[Michael Albinus]

Ethan <ethandbrown@gmail.com> writes:

Hi,

> The path to my shell on my local machine is /bin/bash.  When
> attempting to bring up a shell on the remote machine I get the error:
>
> exec: /bin/bash: not found
>
> Process shell<2> exited abnormally with code 127
>
> It seems that tramp is using the path from my local machine as the
> path on the remote machine.  The actual remote machine path for bash
> is /usr/local/bin/bash.  Does anyone know which variable to set so
> that tramp uses the correct path to bash on the remote machine?   I
> did RTFM, but didn't find it.

I suspect you have applied "M-x shell", haven't you? In this case,
`shell-file-name' (your local login shell) is used for opening the
shell. You can overwrite this by either setting environment variable
$ESHELL, or by setting `explicit-shell-file-name'.

> Thanks.

Best regards, Michael.

Re: Tramp: how to set path to remote shell?

[Ethan Brown]

On Sun, Mar 13, 2011 at 12:52 AM, Michael Albinus
<michael.albinus@gmx.de> wrote:
> Ethan <ethandbrown@gmail.com> writes:
>
> Hi,
>
>> The path to my shell on my local machine is /bin/bash.  When
>> attempting to bring up a shell on the remote machine I get the error:
>>
>> exec: /bin/bash: not found
>>
>> Process shell<2> exited abnormally with code 127
>>
>> It seems that tramp is using the path from my local machine as the
>> path on the remote machine.  The actual remote machine path for bash
>> is /usr/local/bin/bash.  Does anyone know which variable to set so
>> that tramp uses the correct path to bash on the remote machine?   I
>> did RTFM, but didn't find it.
>
> I suspect you have applied "M-x shell", haven't you? In this case,
> `shell-file-name' (your local login shell) is used for opening the
> shell. You can overwrite this by either setting environment variable
> $ESHELL, or by setting `explicit-shell-file-name'.
>
>> Thanks.
>
> Best regards, Michael.
>

Hi Michael--

Thanks so much for your quick response.  You are correct that I'm
running "M-x shell".  I suppose I'll need to write a bit of code to
toggle the shell path so I can reset it to the local path when I'm
running "M-x shell" locally instead of remotely.  Too bad there isn't
something to set that works only in the tramp context.

--Ethan

Re: Tramp: how to set path to remote shell?

[Michael Albinus]

Ethan Brown <ethandbrown@gmail.com> writes:

> Hi Michael

Hi Ethan,

> Thanks so much for your quick response.  You are correct that I'm
> running "M-x shell".  I suppose I'll need to write a bit of code to
> toggle the shell path so I can reset it to the local path when I'm
> running "M-x shell" locally instead of remotely.  Too bad there isn't
> something to set that works only in the tramp context.

Tramp cannot do anything in this context; it is just a set of basic
functions which are called when you're on a remote host. It does not
know the context.

I have applied a patch to Emacs' trunk (aka Emacs 24). When "M-x shell"
is called interactively, and you're on a remote host, you will be asked
for the shell path to be used.

> --Ethan

Best regards, Michael.

Re: Tramp: how to set path to remote shell?

[Ethan Brown]

On Mon, Mar 14, 2011 at 2:59 AM, Michael Albinus <michael.albinus@gmx.de> wrote:
> Ethan Brown <ethandbrown@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> Hi Michael
>
> Hi Ethan,
>
>> Thanks so much for your quick response.  You are correct that I'm
>> running "M-x shell".  I suppose I'll need to write a bit of code to
>> toggle the shell path so I can reset it to the local path when I'm
>> running "M-x shell" locally instead of remotely.  Too bad there isn't
>> something to set that works only in the tramp context.
>
> Tramp cannot do anything in this context; it is just a set of basic
> functions which are called when you're on a remote host. It does not
> know the context.
>
> I have applied a patch to Emacs' trunk (aka Emacs 24). When "M-x shell"
> is called interactively, and you're on a remote host, you will be asked
> for the shell path to be used.
>
>> --Ethan
>
> Best regards, Michael.
>

Thanks Michael.  I should also mention to you how much I appreciate
having the tramp functionality.  Just one more feature that makes
Emacs  a joy to use.

All my best,

--Ethan