Busybox automatically uses builtin commands, ignoring ones in $PATH

[Semphriss]

I've compiled GNU grep and sed and replaced the Busybox ones in my path, but calling them from the shell will always call the Busybox version unless I specify an absolute path.

Would it be possible to make Busybox give priority to executables in the path rather than its own builtins?

[rmyorston]

The shell in a default build of BusyBox for Windows always looks for a built-in applet before searching PATH. This preference for applets can be overridden by setting the shell variable BB_OVERRIDE_APPLETS (as described in the release notes for FRP-5181).

In the particular case above, setting BB_OVERRIDE_APPLETS="grep sed" will unconditionally override the two applets and always search for a suitable alternative on PATH.

Alternatively, the setting BB_OVERRIDE_APPLETS=";grep sed" will first look on PATH but if no matching executable is found it'll fall back to using the built-in applet.

It's also possible to configure this sort of setting at compile time, as mentioned in the FRP-5301 release notes.

For example, setting the build-time configuration OVERRIDE_APPLETS to the string + will result in a BusyBox shell which (by default) always searches PATH first and only uses a built-in applet if that search fails.

[Semphriss]

Thanks for the info!

Small typo, you wrote "BB_OVERRIDE_APPLET" (singular) in your usage examples. I'm specifying just in case somebody else comes across this issue and tries to copy-paste the examples.

[rmyorston]

Yes, I noticed the error myself and updated the comment.