I tried below command on Mac OS enabled remote login service. (also PermitRootLogin yes on /etc/sshd_config) $ sudo ssh localhost env | grep PATH PATH=/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin But, it was different from interactive shell mode. $ sudo ssh localhost # env | grep PATH PATH=/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/X11/bin In /etc/profile, if [ -x /usr/libexec/path_helper ]; then eval `/u