Why do you need ./ (dot-slash) before executable or script name to run it in bash?

Question

When running scripts in bash, I have to write ./ in the beginning:

$ ./manage.py syncdb

If I don\'t, I get an error message:

Answer 1

When bash interprets the command line, it looks for commands in locations described in the environment variable $PATH. To see it type:

echo $PATH

You will have some paths separated by colons. As you will see the current path . is usually not in $PATH. So Bash cannot find your command if it is in the current directory. You can change it by having:

PATH=$PATH:.

This line adds the current directory in $PATH so you can do:

manage.py syncdb

It is not recommended as it has security issue, plus you can have weird behaviours, as . varies upon the directory you are in :)

Avoid:

PATH=.:$PATH

As you can “mask” some standard command and open the door to security breach :)

Just my two cents.