cd(1) User Commands cd(1)NAME
cd, chdir, pushd, popd, dirs - change working directory
SYNOPSIS
/usr/bin/cd [directory]
sh
cd [argument]
chdir [argument]
csh
cd [dir]
chdir [dir]
pushd [+n | dir]
popd [+n]
dirs [-l]
ksh, ksh93
cd [-L] [-P] [arg]
cd old new
DESCRIPTION
/usr/bin/cd
The /usr/bin/cd utility changes the current directory in the context of
the cd utility only. This is in contrast to the version built into the
shell. /usr/bin/cd has no effect on the invoking process but can be
used to determine whether or not a given directory can be set as the
current directory.
sh
The Bourne shell built-in cd changes the current directory to argument.
The shell parameter HOME is the default argument. The shell parameter
CDPATH defines the search path for the directory containing argument.
Alternative directory names are separated by a colon (:). The default
path is <null> (specifying the current directory). The current direc‐
tory is specified by a null path name, which can appear immediately
after the equal sign or between the colon delimiters anywhere else in
the path list. If argument begins with `/', `.', or `..', the search
path is not used. Otherwise, each directory in the path is searched for
argument. cd must have execute (search) permission in argument. Because
a new process is created to execute each command, cd would be ineffec‐
tive if it were written as a normal command; therefore, it is recog‐
nized by and is internal to the shell. (See pwd(1), sh(1), and
chdir(2)).
chdir is just another way to call cd.
csh
If dir is not specified, the C shell built-in cd uses the value of
shell parameter HOME as the new working directory. If dir specifies a
complete path starting with `/', `.', or `..', dir becomes the new
working directory. If neither case applies, cd tries to find the desig‐
nated directory relative to one of the paths specified by the CDPATH
shell variable. CDPATH has the same syntax as, and similar semantics
to, the PATH shell variable. cd must have execute (search) permission
in dir. Because a new process is created to execute each command, cd
would be ineffective if it were written as a normal command; therefore,
it is recognized by and is internal to the C-shell. (See pwd(1), sh(1),
and chdir(2)).
chdir changes the shell's working directory to directory dir. If no
argument is given, change to the home directory of the user. If dir is
a relative pathname not found in the current directory, check for it in
those directories listed in the cdpath variable. If dir is the name of
a shell variable whose value starts with a /, change to the directory
named by that value.
pushd pushes a directory onto the directory stack. With no arguments,
exchange the top two elements.
+n Rotate the n'th entry to the top of the stack and cd to it.
dir Push the current working directory onto the stack and change to
dir.
popd pops the directory stack and cd to the new top directory. The ele‐
ments of the directory stack are numbered from 0 starting at the top.
+n Discard the n'th entry in the stack.
dirs prints the directory stack, most recent to the left; the first
directory shown is the current directory. With the -l argument, produce
an unabbreviated printout; use of the ~ notation is suppressed.
ksh, ksh93
The Korn shell built-in cd command can be in either of two forms. In
the first form it changes the current directory to arg. If arg is − the
directory is changed to the previous directory. The shell variable HOME
is the default arg. The environment variable PWD is set to the current
directory. If the PWD is changed, the OLDPWD environment variable shall
also be changed to the value of the old working directory, that is, the
current working directory immediately prior to the call to change
directory (cd). The shell variable CDPATH defines the search path for
the directory containing arg. Alternative directory names are separated
by a colon (:). The default path is null (specifying the current direc‐
tory). The current directory is specified by a null path name, which
can appear immediately after the equal sign or between the colon delim‐
iters anywhere else in the path list. If arg begins with a `/', `.', or
`..', then the search path is not used. Otherwise, each directory in
the path is searched for arg. If unsuccessful, cd attempts to change
directories to the pathname formed by the concatenation of the value of
PWD, a slash character, and arg.
-L Handles the operation dot-dot (..) logically. Symbolic link com‐
ponents are not resolved before dot-dot components are processed.
-P Handles the operand dot-dot physically. Symbolic link components
are resolved before dot-dot components are processed.
If both -L and -P options are specified, the last option to be invoked
is used and the other is ignored. If neither -L nor -P is specified,
the operand is handled dot-dot logically.
The second form of cd substitutes the string new for the string old in
the current directory name, PWD and tries to change to this new direc‐
tory.
The cd command cannot be executed by rksh. Because a new process is
created to execute each command, cd would be ineffective if it were
written as a normal command; therefore, it is recognized by and is
internal to the Korn shell. (See pwd(1), sh(1), and chdir(2)).
OPERANDS
The following operands are supported:
directory An absolute or relative pathname of the directory that
becomes the new working directory. The interpretation of a
relative pathname by cd depends on the CDPATH environment
variable.
OUTPUT
If a non-empty directory name from CDPATH is used, an absolute pathname
of the new working directory is written to the standard output as fol‐
lows:
"%s\n", <new directory>
Otherwise, there is no output.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
See environ(5) for descriptions of the following environment variables
that affect the execution of cd: LANG, LC_ALL, LC_CTYPE, LC_MESSAGES,
and NLSPATH.
CDPATH A colon-separated list of pathnames that refer to directo‐
ries. If the directory operand does not begin with a slash (
/ ) character, and the first component is not dot or dot-dot,
cd searches for directory relative to each directory named in
the CDPATH variable, in the order listed. The new working
directory sets to the first matching directory found. An
empty string in place of a directory pathname represents the
current directory. If CDPATH is not set, it is treated as if
it were an empty string.
HOME The name of the home directory, used when no directory oper‐
and is specified.
OLDPWD A pathname of the previous working directory, used by cd-.
PWD A pathname of the current working directory, set by cd after
it has changed to that directory.
EXIT STATUS
The following exit values are returned by cd:
0 The directory was successfully changed.
>0 An error occurred.
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
csh, ksh, sh
┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
│ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Availability │SUNWcs │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Interface Stability │Committed │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Standard │See standards(5). │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
ksh93
┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
│ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Availability │SUNWcsu │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Interface Stability │Uncommitted │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
SEE ALSOcsh(1), ksh(1), ksh93(1), pwd(1), sh(1), chdir(2), attributes(5), envi‐
ron(5), standards(5)SunOS 5.11 8 Apr 2008 cd(1)
