How can I add cretueusebiu/valet-windows to path env variable?

Recovering my Windows Environment Variables and Restoring Valet Functionality

Hello, fellow tech enthusiasts! I recently found myself in quite a pickle when I accidentally deleted all the entries in my Windows environment variables. As you can imagine, this caused quite a disruption, especially since I regularly use various development tools like PHP, Java, and Laravel Valet.

Initially, I thought all was lost, but fortunately, I was able to gradually restore most of the functionality by copying environment variables from a friend’s computer. This approach worked for PHP, Java, and a few other tools. However, I still had a significant hurdle to overcome – my inability to use the Laravel Valet command in the Command Prompt (CMD). Given the importance of Valet in my daily workflows, I knew I needed a solid fix.

Here’s a detailed account of how I approached the problem and finally got everything, including Valet, up and running again.

Step 1: Reinstalling Valet

My first attempt to fix the issue involved trying to remove Valet using the Composer command:

“`

composer global remove cretueusebiu/valet-windows

“`

However, this didn’t work as expected; it seems the command couldn’t execute due to the corrupted or missing environment path settings. Realizing this, I decided to manually clean up any remnants of the previous Valet installation from the composer installed directories which are typically located at %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Composer\vendor.

After cleaning up, I proceeded to reinstall Valet. First, ensure that Composer’s global bin directory is in your system’s PATH. This directory is usually located at %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Composer\vendor\bin. Here’s how you can add it back to the PATH if it’s missing:

1. Right-click on ‘This PC’ or ‘My Computer’ and select ‘Properties’.

1. Click on ‘Advanced system settings’.

1. In the System Properties window, select the ‘Advanced’ tab, and click on ‘Environment Variables’.

1. Under the ‘System variables’ section, find and select the ‘Path’ variable, then click ‘Edit’.

1. Add a new entry: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Composer\vendor\bin and click ‘OK’.

After updating the PATH, I installed Valet again using Composer:

“`

composer global require cretueusebiu/valet-windows

“`

Step 2: Verifying Installation and Path Configuration

Once the installation finished, I opened a new CMD window (important, as existing windows won’t pick up the updated path) and typed valet. To my relief, it displayed the usual list of commands available, indicating that the Valet installation was successful and correctly added to the PATH.

Step 3: Configuring and Starting Valet

The next step was to configure Valet to serve my projects. I navigated to my projects directory and ran:

“`

valet park

“`

This command tells Valet to serve any project in this directory as a site. I verified that my projects were being served by Valet by accessing http://project-name.test in my browser. Everything loaded perfectly!

Conclusion

Accidentally deleting environment variables can seem catastrophic, but as I discovered, it doesn’t have to be. With a systematic approach to reinstall key tools and correctly configure paths, you can restore functionality effectively. I learned a valuable lesson about the importance of backing up settings (which I’ve since done!) and also realized that a bit of methodical troubleshooting can save the day.

I hope sharing my experience helps others who might find themselves in a similar daunting situation. Happy coding!