Custom Binary Path

When you install Mnethos normally, the binary lands in your $PATH as mnethos. The ZSH plugin assumes that name and calls it directly. That works until it doesn't — when you're testing a local build, running a binary at an absolute path, or keeping multiple versions side by side.

MNETHOS_BIN lets you tell the ZSH plugin exactly which binary to use instead.

What It Controls

The ZSH plugin captures MNETHOS_BIN when it loads and uses it for every Mnethos command it runs on your behalf — commits, conversation management, command completion, path formatting, and more. Internally the plugin resolves the binary once:

_MNETHOS_BIN="${MNETHOS_BIN:-mnethos}"

Change it and you change which binary answers. The default is mnethos — whatever which mnethos resolves to on your system.

When to Change It

Local build from source. You've compiled Mnethos locally and want to test your changes without installing the binary system-wide:

export MNETHOS_BIN=/path/to/mnethos/target/debug/mnethos

Non-standard install path. The binary is on disk but not in a directory on your $PATH:

export MNETHOS_BIN=/opt/mnethos/bin/mnethos

Multiple versions. You have a stable release as mnethos and want to test a nightly build without replacing it:

export MNETHOS_BIN=~/bin/mnethos-nightly

In each case, the ZSH plugin picks up the change and routes every invocation through the specified binary.

Setting It

~/.zshrc — persistent

This is the right place for MNETHOS_BIN. It must be set before the ZSH plugin is loaded, so it belongs in your shell profile rather than ~/.env:

# ~/.zshrc
export MNETHOS_BIN=/path/to/your/mnethos
# Load the ZSH integration. Use $MNETHOS_BIN so the same binary
# that runs your commands also generates the plugin.
eval "$($MNETHOS_BIN zsh plugin)"

Reload your shell after editing:

source ~/.zshrc

Current session — temporary

To switch binaries for just the current terminal session:

export MNETHOS_BIN=~/builds/mnethos-dev
eval "$($MNETHOS_BIN zsh plugin)"

The change disappears when the session ends. This is useful for one-off testing without touching your permanent configuration.

Verifying the Change

After setting MNETHOS_BIN, confirm the right binary is being used:

echo $MNETHOS_BIN          # shows the path you set
$MNETHOS_BIN --version     # confirms the binary responds and shows its version

If $MNETHOS_BIN --version fails, the path is wrong or the binary isn't executable. Double-check the path and run chmod +x $MNETHOS_BIN if needed.

Reverting to the Default

Unset the variable to go back to the system-installed mnethos:

unset MNETHOS_BIN
eval "$(mnethos zsh plugin)"

Or remove the export MNETHOS_BIN=... line from your ~/.zshrc and reload.

For everything else the ZSH integration can do — agent selection, multiline input, file tagging — see the ZSH Support reference.