Apple - What is the Default content in /private/etc/paths?
The default content of /etc/paths until Mavericks (10.9) is:
/usr/bin
/bin
/usr/sbin
/sbin
/usr/local/bin
The default content of /etc/paths since Yosemite (10.10) is:
/usr/local/bin
/usr/bin
/bin
/usr/sbin
/sbin
In OS X 10.11 ( El Capitan ) the order and content of /etc/paths is:
/usr/local/bin
/usr/bin
/bin
/usr/sbin
/sbin
Additionally, having installed Xquartz via MacPorts, I note the addition of one entry in /etc/paths.d/ called 40-XQuartz, which contains the following:
/opt/X11/bin
As I recall, convention has it that /etc/paths is evaluated first, with any entries in /etc/paths.d being appended. Some optional / additional package managers make modifications to either the .profile or .bashrc at the root level of your user's home directory.
Are you having problems with the PATH variable related to optional / additional package managers like home-brew?
Warm Regards,
F.