Why Don\'t Environment Variables Set via Go\'s `os` Package Persist in the Terminal Session?

Environment variable persistence in terminal sessions after setting via "os" package

Problem:
After setting an environment variable using the "os" package in a Go program, it remains inaccessible in the current terminal session.

Details:
A Go program setting an environment variable using os.Setenv("FOO", "BAR") allows printing the variable within the program using fmt.Println(os.Getenv("FOO")), but the variable remains absent when queried using echo $FOO in the terminal session.

Answer:
New processes inherit the environment of their parent process. Modifications to the environment within a child process do not affect the environment of the parent process. Consequently, in the given scenario, setting the environment variable in the Go program does not change the environment of the terminal session.

Solution:
To make the environment variable persistent in the terminal session, you need to start a shell after modifying the environment. This solution can be implemented using various approaches, including:

• Using the exec.Command function to execute the shell with the modified environment.
• Using the syscall package to directly call execve and create a new shell process.
• Launching a new shell explicitly using bash or sh with the appropriate arguments to set the environment variable and execute commands.

By adopting one of these approaches, you can ensure that the environment variable set within the Go program becomes available in the terminal session.

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