Display the contents of the PATH environment variable: :echo $PATH Assign the PATH environment variable to a Vim variable: :let myvar = $PATH Change the PATH environment variable for the current session: :let $PATH = '/foo:/bar' Insert the contents of the PATH environment variable into the buffer: Press i to enter insert mode, press Ctrl-r then =$PATH and press Enter. Append to the Existing Path. :let $PATH .= ':/foo:/bar'