When dealing with cron jobs executed by the www-data user in Debian, it's crucial to understand how environment variables propagate. Unlike interactive shells, cron doesn't inherit the same environment variables, so we need explicit configuration.

The most reliable approach is to edit the system-wide environment file:

sudo nano /etc/environment

Add or modify the PATH variable (keep existing paths):

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

For more precise control, create a custom profile file:

sudo nano /etc/profile.d/zend_path.sh

Add this content:

if [ "$(id -un)" = "www-data" ]; then
    PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/zend/bin"
    export PATH
fi

Make it executable:

sudo chmod +x /etc/profile.d/zend_path.sh

For cron jobs specifically, you can set PATH directly in the crontab:

sudo crontab -u www-data -e

Add PATH at the top:

PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/local/zend/bin
# Then your cron jobs below

To verify the changes, create a test script:

sudo -u www-data /bin/bash -c 'echo $PATH'

Or test with a cron job:

* * * * * /usr/bin/env > /tmp/cronenv.log

If changes don't take effect:

# Check file permissions
ls -la /etc/environment /etc/profile.d/

# Verify file sourcing
grep -r "profile.d" /etc/

# Test environment loading
sudo -u www-data env

When managing a Debian Lenny server, you might need the www-data user to access binaries in non-standard locations like /usr/local/zend/bin for cron job execution. The default PATH for www-data typically doesn't include custom binary directories, requiring manual configuration.

For www-data specifically (rather than all users), we have several technical options:

# Option 1: Modify the www-data shell profile
sudo nano /var/www/.profile

# Add this line at the end:
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/zend/bin

For production environments, modifying /etc/environment provides the most stable solution:

# Edit the environment file
sudo nano /etc/environment

# Append to the existing PATH (preserve original content):
PATH="/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/zend/bin"

When dealing with cron jobs, you should either:

• Set PATH directly in the crontab:

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

• Or source the profile in your script:

  #!/bin/bash
  source /etc/environment
  # Rest of your script
  

After making changes, verify with:

sudo -u www-data -i echo $PATH
# Or for cron testing:
sudo -u www-data /bin/bash -c 'echo $PATH'

Remember that modifying PATH for www-data affects all PHP scripts running under this user. Consider alternatives if security is critical:

# Instead of modifying PATH, use full paths in scripts:
/usr/local/zend/bin/your_command