Question

Is it possible to change current directory from a script?

I want to create a utility for directory navigation in Bash. I have created a test script that looks like the following:

#!/bin/bash
cd /home/artemb

When I execute the script from the Bash shell the current directory doesn’t change. Is it possible at all to change the current shell directory from a script?

Answer 1

You need to convert your script to a shell function:

#!/bin/bash
#
# this script should not be run directly,
# instead you need to source it from your .bashrc,
# by adding this line:
#   . ~/bin/myprog.sh
#

function myprog() {
  A=$1
  B=$2
  echo "aaa ${A} bbb ${B} ccc"
  cd /proc
}

The reason is that each process has its own current directory, and when you execute a program from the shell it is run in a new process. The standard “cd”, “pushd” and “popd” are builtin to the shell interpreter so that they affect the shell process.

By making your program a shell function, you are adding your own in-process command and then any directory change gets reflected in the shell process.