0
Is there a way a cd command may accept a regular file path
and jump to the dir where the file resides?
Image you could do:
vim /usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/legacy/legacy.module
cd <alt>+<.> # for last command argument
git add <alt>+<.>
would love that
ptica
Posted 2015-03-06T09:02:15.247
Reputation: 103
1
Here’s an approach that’s a little less typing, but you need to be a bit careful with it.
It involves the !$ history reference (which jcbermu also used),
which means the last word of the most recent command.
(This is available in most shells: definitely bash, csh, and tcsh.)
Append the :h modifier to remove a trailing file name component,
leaving only the head, and your command is cd !$:h.
In the following examples, the bold text is what you type:
~ $ vim /usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/legacy/legacy.module (edit the file) ~ $ cd !$:h cd /usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/legacy /usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/legacy $
It can handle spaces in the directory name, up to a point:
~ $ vim /usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/old\ code/legacy.module (edit the file) ~ $ cd !$:h cd /usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/old\ code /usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/old code $
or
~ $ vim /usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/"old code"/legacy.module (edit the file) ~ $ cd !$:h cd /usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/"old code" /usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/old code $
But, I think a good general statement is that it fails if the last / in the filename is quoted:
~ $ vim "/usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/old code/legacy.module" (edit the file) ~ $ cd !$:h cd "/usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/old code > Ctrl+C (Shell asks for continuation text because it sees an unmatched quote character.)
It also fails if the file is in the current directory:
~ $ vim legacy.module (edit the file) ~ $ cd !$:h cd legacy.module -bash: cd: legacy.module: No such file or directory ~ $ (:h has no effect because !$ doesn’t contain a /)
but that’s trivial.
If the file is in the current directory, you just wouldn’t do the cd at all.
Another problem would be if you put the filename into a variable:
~ $ fn=/usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/legacy/legacy.module ~ $ vim "$fn" (edit the file) ~ $ cd !$:h cd "$fn" -bash: cd: /usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/legacy/legacy.module: Not a directory ~ $ (:h has no effect because !$ (which is "$fn") doesn’t contain a /)
You can handle this as follows:
~ $ fn=/usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/legacy/legacy.module
~ $ vim
(edit the file)
~ $ cd "${fn%/*}"
/usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/legacy $
As the other answers suggested, use . or "$PWD" for the git add command.
Scott
Posted 2015-03-06T09:02:15.247
Reputation: 17 653
1
Two steps:
Create a shell script "cdfile" containing cd "$(dirname "$1")", make it executable and put it somewhere, where it will be found.
Now use
vim /usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/legacy/legacy.module
cdfile <alt>+<.> # for last command attribute
git add .
Eugen Rieck
Posted 2015-03-06T09:02:15.247
Reputation: 15 128
0
Here's a quick and dirty way to cd to a binary directory...
> cd "$(dirname "`which bash`")"
Eddie B
Posted 2015-03-06T09:02:15.247
Reputation: 909
0
There is a way to extract the directory name from the file name, it's called dirname
cd `dirname /your/file/path`
Dan
Posted 2015-03-06T09:02:15.247
Reputation: 324
This will break if the directory name contains a space in its path. – slhck – 2015-03-06T09:30:06.490
True, it was meant more like an example, a starting point – Dan – 2015-03-06T09:33:45.590
0
Using dirname and !$:
vim /usr/share/drupal7/sites/all/modules/legacy/legacy.module
cd "$(dirname !$)"
git add "$PWD"
jcbermu
Posted 2015-03-06T09:02:15.247
Reputation: 15 868
This will break if the directory or file name contain a space in their path. You need to quote the substitution properly. – slhck – 2015-03-06T09:30:21.943
Corrected for space on file name or directory name – jcbermu – 2015-03-06T09:56:13.760
You could also just create a shell function with the same name. – slhck – 2015-03-06T10:22:40.833
@slhck Yes, you could - but it would reduce the usefullnes to the shell. Using a separate executable file makes the functionality available for every context – Eugen Rieck – 2015-03-06T10:45:24.047
I've got the "cdfile" as listed above, but it seems it changes the cwd just in the subshell - is that possible? – ptica – 2015-03-06T19:57:29.137
1Absolutely: it is not only possible, but inevitable and predictable that a
cdin a shell script will affect only the rest of the script -- and if the script is only that one command, then "the rest of the script" is nothing. A script cannot affect the working directory of the parent shell that invokes the script. – Scott – 2015-03-08T07:59:52.033Depending on how you call the script - if you have no hashbang at the start you don't create a subshell. It definitly works here on CentOS 6.4 standard installation. – Eugen Rieck – 2015-03-10T18:38:26.250