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In a Bash script, is it possible to run a command in a specific folder? For example, I'd like to create a script that prints the contents of the /home folder using ls, no matter which directory the script is saved in.

Anderson Green
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1 Answers1

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Actually, you can use cd to change directory in a script (but it'll not affect its parent shell). Try

#!/bin/bash
# myscript.sh
cd /home
pwd
ls

It'll print current directory (which is /home) and list the content of it. No matter what location of myscript.sh is.

kev
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  • I found this question that led me to believe that it wasn't possible to use cd in a shell script: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/255414/why-doesnt-cd-work-in-a-bash-shell-script – Anderson Green Oct 17 '12 at 01:55
  • So would it be better to use an alias (as suggested in the question above), or to simply use the cd command? – Anderson Green Oct 17 '12 at 01:56
  • `bash` will start a subshell to run your script which cannot change directory of its parent shell. – kev Oct 17 '12 at 01:57