set load_path

Synopsis

/set load_path [<directory>[:<directory>...]]
/set -load_path

With no value, set displays the current path. The value is a colon-separated search list; setting it replaces the list. /set -load_path unsets it.

Description

Used by load, which, and which() to locate script files. Directories are searched in order and the first matching candidate is used. Tilde forms are processed by filename normalization.

A filename containing /, such as ./myscript or ~/myscript, is first tried directly after normalization. If that candidate is not found, path searching can still follow. A bare filename is searched through the configured list; the current directory is not implicitly searched first unless represented in that list. Use an explicit . entry for it.

Do not treat empty path components as the shell convention for the current directory: the current search implementation joins each component with / and the filename, so an empty component produces a root-relative candidate. Colon-containing directory names cannot be represented as one component in this format.

Startup default

At startup, EPIC copies the IRCPATH environment variable when it exists. Otherwise the compiled default is:

~/.epic:~/.irc:<irc-library>/script:.

The library prefix comes from IRCLIB in the environment or the compiled installation location. This initialization stores an ordinary load_path value. IRCPATH does not continue overriding later assignments during startup script loading or afterward.

Changing the setting affects subsequent searches; it does not reload scripts or change the process working directory. Unsetting it causes the loader to report LOAD_PATH has not been set, even before trying a supplied filename. A configured directory list does not guarantee that a file is readable or valid script text. Changing it sends no IRC request.

Examples

Set an explicit path including your home directory, an example installed library, and the current directory:

/set load_path ~:/usr/local/irc/script:.

Append a personal directory while preserving the existing value:

/eval set load_path ${load_path}:~/my_irc

Use the actual installation directory for your setup. Entries earlier in the list take precedence over same-named files in later entries.

Source references

• source/irc.c: startup chooses IRCPATH, IRCLIB, and the compiled search-list template.
• include/config.h: DEFAULT_IRCPATH template.
• source/commands.c: loader reads the setting and passes it to uzfopen.
• source/ircaux.c: path_search implements direct slash-containing filename checks and ordered component searches; uzfopen uses it.
• source/functions.c: function_which uses the configured script path.
• source/vars.c: string registration and unset handling.