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PATH Setup for rdash Command

How It Works

When you run pip install -e ., Python's setuptools automatically:

  1. Creates an executable script called rdash in your virtual environment's bin/ directory
  2. This happens because of the console_scripts entry point in setup.py: 
    entry_points={
    "console_scripts": [
        "rdash=render_dashboard.__main__:main",
    ],
}

No Manual PATH Setup Required

As long as your virtual environment is activated, the rdash command is automatically available in your PATH.

# Activate venv (adds .venv/bin to your PATH)
source .venv/bin/activate

# Now rdash is available
rdash service add chat
rdash chat logs
rdash  # Launch TUI

How to Check

# With venv activated:
which rdash
# Output: /path/to/render-dashboard/.venv/bin/rdash

# View the actual script:
cat .venv/bin/rdash
# It's a Python wrapper that calls render_dashboard.__main__:main()

Making It Always Available

If you want rdash available in all terminal sessions without manually activating the venv each time:

Option 1: Auto-activate venv in shell startup

Add to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:

# Auto-activate render-dashboard venv
source /path/to/render-dashboard/.venv/bin/activate

Pros: Simple, automatic Cons: Activates venv for all terminal sessions (may not want this)

Option 2: Create a shell alias

Add to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:

alias rdash='/path/to/render-dashboard/.venv/bin/rdash'

Pros: No venv activation needed, isolated Cons: Need to specify full path

Option 3: Symlink to local bin

# Create a local bin directory (if it doesn't exist)
mkdir -p ~/bin

# Add to PATH if not already (add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc)
export PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"

# Create symlink
ln -s /path/to/render-dashboard/.venv/bin/rdash ~/bin/rdash

Pros: Clean, works from any directory Cons: Symlink breaks if you recreate the venv

Option 4: Install in user site-packages (not recommended)

# Instead of pip install -e .
pip install --user .

Pros: Globally available Cons:

  • Not editable (changes to code won't take effect)
  • Harder to uninstall
  • Doesn't follow Python best practices

Recommended Approach

For development: Use Option 1 (auto-activate venv in shell)

Add this to your ~/.zshrc:

# Render Dashboard venv
if [[ -f "$HOME/projects/render-dashboard/.venv/bin/activate" ]]; then
    source "$HOME/projects/render-dashboard/.venv/bin/activate"
fi

This way:

  • ✅ rdash is always available
  • ✅ Virtual environment is properly isolated
  • ✅ Changes to code take effect immediately (because of -e flag)
  • ✅ No path conflicts

Troubleshooting

"rdash: command not found"

Problem: Virtual environment not activated

Solution:

source .venv/bin/activate
which rdash  # Should show path in .venv/bin/

"rdash is aliased to something else"

Problem: Shell alias conflicts (like rd → rmdir)

Solution:

# Check for conflicts
type rdash

# If aliased, unalias it
unalias rdash

# Or use full path
/path/to/render-dashboard/.venv/bin/rdash

"rdash exists but doesn't work"

Problem: Reinstallation needed

Solution:

source .venv/bin/activate
pip uninstall render-dashboard
pip install -e .

Summary

  • ✅ No manual PATH setup needed when venv is activated
  • ✅ pip install -e . automatically creates the rdash command
  • ✅ Command is located at .venv/bin/rdash
  • ✅ Just activate venv: source .venv/bin/activate
  • ✅ For permanent access, add activation to shell startup file

Note: We changed the command from rd to rdash to avoid conflicts with the common rd → rmdir alias.