Windows: Shells and PATH Configuration

Shell-specific details and diagnostic commands for Windows.

Windows Shells

PowerShell

The modern default. Uses $env:PATH syntax.

Profile script customizes startup. Location varies; run $PROFILE to see yours.

Command Prompt (cmd)

Legacy shell. Uses %PATH% syntax. Different startup configuration than PowerShell. Not recommended for development work.

Git Bash

Bash-like shell bundled with Git for Windows. Uses bash config files in your Windows user home (as seen by Git Bash): ~/.bashrc and sometimes ~/.bash_profile.

A tool can work in PowerShell but not Git Bash (or vice versa) depending on where PATH is set.

System vs User Environment Variables

Windows maintains two scopes:

Scope	Applies To	Common Use
System	All users	OS-level tools
User	Single account	Developer tools like uv

The effective PATH merges both. Changes apply only to newly started processes. Reopen terminals after changes, and sometimes restart the machine.

Inspecting Your Environment

PowerShell

# Which shell process
Get-Process -Id $PID | Select-Object ProcessName

# Find a command
Get-Command uv

# Show PATH
$env:Path

# All environment variables
Get-ChildItem Env:

Command Prompt (cmd)

# Show PATH
echo %PATH%

# Find a command
where uv

Git Bash

# Which shell
echo $0

# Show PATH
echo $PATH

# Find a command
command -v uv
type -a uv

Finding the Source of Truth

GUI Method

1. Open Start Menu.
2. Search "Edit the system environment variables".
3. Click "Environment Variables...".
4. Check both User variables > Path and System variables > Path.
5. Confirm the folder containing the missing tool, e.g., uv is listed.

After changes, close and reopen all terminals and VS Code.

Quick Comparison Checklist

Run these in both terminals (working and failing):

Check	PowerShell	cmd	Git Bash
Shell	Get-Process -Id $PID	—	echo $0
PATH	$env:Path	echo %PATH%	echo $PATH
Find uv	Get-Command uv	where uv	command -v uv

The difference between outputs explains the problem.