Question

I am trying to make a function that simply cd out of the working folder, and then moves that folder to somewhere else. However, when attempting this, I get a cannot move error, presumably because the folder is in use because that is where I launched the function.

e.g.

test() {
    cpath=$(pwd)
    cd ..
    mv $cpath $cpath"old"
    cd $cpath"old"
}

Is this even possible?

Answer 1

The problem is that you’re changing the directory in a different process. From your script you cannot touch the environment of the parent, unless you source it.