Command line · RapidEE

RapidEE lets you create, delete, and edit environment variables and export them to a .reg file using command-line options.

Syntax

.\RapidEE.exe [options] <variable_name> [value]
.\RapidEE.exe -B [-M] [-U] <file.reg>
.\RapidEE.exe -?

Angle brackets indicate required arguments; square brackets indicate optional ones. Do not type the brackets.

Specify the variable name and its value. The value can contain a list of entries separated by ;. Quote arguments that contain spaces or ;.

Options can use a hyphen (-S) or a slash (/S) and are case-insensitive. The examples use a hyphen.

Options

Actions

Option	Action
`-S`	Create a variable or replace its entire value. The default action.
`-A`	Append a value to the list, separated by `;`.
`-I`	Prepend a value to the list, separated by `;`.
`-R`	Remove all list entries that match the specified value, ignoring case.
`-C`	Remove empty and duplicate entries. Keep the first occurrences.
`-D`	Delete the variable.

If no action is specified, RapidEE uses -S:

.\RapidEE.exe MY_VARIABLE hello

The command sets MY_VARIABLE to hello.

Variable scope and type

Option	Action
`-U`	Current user’s variables. The default scope.
`-M`	System variables. Changes usually require administrator privileges.
`-E`	Store the value as an expandable string (`REG_EXPAND_SZ`).
`-N`	Store the value as a normal string (`REG_SZ`).

Backup and help

Option	Action
`-B`	Export variables to a `.reg` file.
`-?`	Show help.

Examples

Create or replace a variable

.\RapidEE.exe -S -U MY_VARIABLE "hello world"

The command creates the user variable MY_VARIABLE with the value hello world, or replaces its current value.

Store a reference to another variable

.\RapidEE.exe -S -E -U MY_TOOLS "%USERPROFILE%\Tools"

The command stores %USERPROFILE%\Tools as an expandable string. PowerShell passes the reference literally.

In cmd.exe, place ^ before each % to prevent the shell from expanding the reference before RapidEE starts:

.\RapidEE.exe -S -E -U MY_TOOLS ^%USERPROFILE^%\Tools

The REG_EXPAND_SZ type allows Windows to expand references later, when it builds the environment.

Add a directory to PATH

.\RapidEE.exe -A -C -U PATH "C:\Tools\bin"

The command appends the directory to the user PATH. -C removes empty and duplicate entries from the result.

.\RapidEE.exe -I -C -M PATH "C:\PriorityTools\bin"

The command prepends the directory to the system PATH and cleans up the result. Run it with administrator privileges.

Remove a list entry

.\RapidEE.exe -R -U PATH "C:\Tools"

The command removes all matching entries from the user PATH, ignoring case. -R compares complete entries: C:\Tools does not match C:\Tools\bin or C:\Tools\. To remove several different entries, run a separate command for each one.

Delete a variable

.\RapidEE.exe -D -U MY_VARIABLE

The command deletes the user variable MY_VARIABLE.

Clean up a list

.\RapidEE.exe -S -C -U MY_LIST "one;two;one;;two"

The command sets MY_LIST to one;two.

-C cleans up the operation’s result, keeping the first occurrences in their original order. The paths C:\Tools\, C:/Tools, and C:\Tools are considered identical: case, separator style, and trailing slashes are ignored.

Backup

.\RapidEE.exe -B "C:\Backups\environment.reg"

The command exports system and user variables.

.\RapidEE.exe -B -M "C:\Backups\system.reg"

The command exports only system variables.

.\RapidEE.exe -B -U "C:\Backups\user.reg"

The command exports only user variables.

The destination directory must exist. An existing file is overwritten. To restore a backup, import the .reg file using Windows Registry Editor. Importing system variables requires permission to change them.

Using scripts

Exit code	Meaning
`0`	The operation completed successfully.
`1`	An error, such as a missing variable name, denied registry access, or a failure to write the file.

$process = Start-Process -FilePath '.\RapidEE.exe' `
    -ArgumentList '-S', '-U', 'MY_VARIABLE', 'hello' `
    -Wait -PassThru
if ($process.ExitCode -ne 0) {
    throw 'Could not update the environment variable.'
}

Start-Process -Wait -PassThru waits for RapidEE to finish and returns the process with its exit code. If an error occurs, the script throws an exception.

After changing a variable, RapidEE notifies other applications. Existing PowerShell and cmd.exe processes keep their previous environment. Launch a new shell from an application that has refreshed its environment.

Options for the RapidEE_setup.exe installer are documented separately: silent installation.