ENVML(1)

💅 ENVML(1) — the envml page, but make it make sense 🎀

okay bestie, welcome to page one of Modules (like, section 1 of the manual, we're fancy like that) and honestly this one's a little gem. let's get into it ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

envml — run a command inside an environment that Modules set up for u 🫶

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

envml [MODULE_ACTION]... [--] COMMAND [ARG]...

like, module actions first, then ur actual command. simple. iconic. periodt 💅

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so the envml command configures the environment using whatever Environment Modules actions u give it, and then runs the given command. that's the whole vibe.

it's literally made for running a command in a modified environment without permanently altering ur current shell session. no cap, ur shell stays untouched. main character energy for the command, nothing for ur session 😌

and here's how it decides stuff: envml interprets its first arguments as module actions, then switches over to command execution after either hitting -- or determining that the remaining arguments form the actual command to run. like a vibe check, but for argv.

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✨ MODULE_ACTION FORMAT ✨

each module action argument can be one of these forms, ok? one bullet each, no skipping:

• purge — unload all currently loaded modulefiles. all of them. bye 👋
• restore[=coll] — restore the module environment from the named collection coll. if u don't give a name, it restores the default collection. defaults slay.
• unload=mod1[&mod2...] — unload one or more specified modulefiles.
• switch=mod1&mod2 — unload mod1 and load mod2. a swap. a glow-up 🔁
• [load=]mod1[&mod2...] — load one or more specified modulefiles. and guess what, load= can be omitted entirely. lowkey convenient.

multiple MODULE_ACTIONs can be passed in a single argument using the colon (:) separator. and the ampersand (&) is what u use to specify multiple modules in a single action. : between actions, & between modules. that's the whole alphabet soup, iykyk 🍓

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🔥 COMMAND EXECUTION 🔥

everything following the -- separator is treated as the command to execute in the modified environment. everything. no exceptions.

and if no -- separator is provided? envml assumes the first argument is a MODULE_ACTION and the remaining arguments form the command to execute. so like, it's guessing a little, which is why -- is ur bestie 💜

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🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

• --help, -h — display usage information and exit. that's it. that's the only option. she's minimal 💅

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⭐ EXAMPLES ⭐

restore the default module collection, then run command arg1 arg2:

envml restore command arg1 arg2

purge all modules, then load mod1 and mod2, and run the command:

envml purge:mod1:mod2 command arg1 arg2

use the -- separator to avoid ambiguity (highkey recommended):

envml restore load=mod1&mod2 -- command arg1 arg2

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💀 EXIT STATUS 💀

the envml command returns the exit status of the executed command, or 1 if a module action fails. so if ur command's fine, u get its status. if the module action flops, u get 1. not me getting a 1 😭

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🙈 DIAGNOSTICS 🙈

if the module command is not available in the shell (i.e., it's not a shell function), envml will print an error and exit. so like, make sure module actually exists as a shell function first, bestie. otherwise it's over before it started 🧚

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

module <#module-1>, modulecmd <#modulecmd-1>, ml <#ml-1>, modulefile <#modulefile-5> — go read ur siblings, they're all slaying in their own ways 👑

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👑 Copyright 👑

1996-2026, Modules Contributors — legends, fr fr 🫶

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okay that's the whole page!! written by the Modules Contributors, version 5.7.0, dated 2026-09-21, and that's on ENVML(1). go run something in a modified environment, u got this 💖✨