Standard

The standard Ubuntu PATH for interactive usage, in most cases is:

PATH="/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/snap/bin"

The above is preferred hardcoded PATH for kernel, libc, shells, and similar use cases. For example, this is the built-in path that should be used by /bin/sh, if PATH is not already set in the environment.

Standard snap-less

If snapd is not installed on a classic system; container; chroot; the PATH can also be snap-less as typically snapd is responsible for appending /snap/bin:

PATH="/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin"

System managed non-interactive

System built-ins, daemons, system utilities, and upgrade scripts may use local-less PATH (optionally snap-less too):

PATH="/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/snap/bin"

This is to ensure that binaries in /usr/local do not hinder apt upgrades (including deb2snap conversions).

Examples of system-managed software: initramfs-tools, dracut, finalrd, dpkg maintainer script, do-release-upgrade, subiquity, curtin, d-i.

No Games

The games path is deprecated and should be removed from PATH. For reference, it used to look like this:

PATH="/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games:/snap/bin"

No Reordering

Reordering PATH components is not allowed - real location lead, symlinked locations follow; then sbin leads, and bin follows.

If sbin-merge is implemented, ensure that /usr/bin (real directory) is ahead of /usr/sbin (symlink). As of April 2025, there are no current plans to implement sbin-merge in Debian/Ubuntu.

No ~/bin

Logged-in user's path should not be automatically mangled to inject ~/bin, or ~/.local/bin or similar variants of thereof.

No PWD

Present working directory is not in PATH. Neither :: nor :.: should be in PATH, both of these values mean present working directory.

No changes with usr-merge

/bin and sbin will not be dropped from PATH in case of a usr-merged system. (Or vice vera /usr/[s]bin will not be dropped either).