Why can't I change directories using "cd" in a script?

Shell scripts are run inside a subshell, and each subshell has its own concept of what the current directory is. The cd succeeds, but as soon as the subshell exits, you're back in the interactive shell and nothing ever changed there.

One way to get around this is to use an alias instead:

alias proj="cd /home/tree/projects/java"

You're doing nothing wrong! You've changed the directory, but only within the subshell that runs the script.

You can run the script in your current process with the "dot" command:

. proj

But I'd prefer Greg's suggestion to use an alias in this simple case.

The cd is done within the script's shell. When the script ends, that shell exits, and then you are left in the directory you were. "Source" the script, don't run it. Instead of:

./myscript.sh

do

. ./myscript.sh

(Notice the dot and space before the script name.)

Jeremy Ruten's idea of using a symlink triggered a thought that hasn't crossed any other answer. Use:

CDPATH=:$HOME/projects

The leading colon is important; it means that if there is a directory 'dir' in the current directory, then 'cd dir' will change to that, rather than hopping off somewhere else. With the value set as shown, you can do:

cd java

and, if there is no sub-directory called java in the current directory, then it will take you directly to $HOME/projects/java - no aliases, no scripts, no dubious execs or dot commands.

My $HOME is /Users/jleffler; my $CDPATH is:

:/Users/jleffler:/Users/jleffler/mail:/Users/jleffler/src:/Users/jleffler/src/perl:/Users/jleffler/src/sqltools:/Users/jleffler/lib:/Users/jleffler/doc:/Users/jleffler/work

When you fire a shell script, it runs a new instance of that shell (/bin/bash). Thus, your script just fires up a shell, changes the directory and exits. Put another way, cd (and other such commands) within a shell script do not affect nor have access to the shell from which they were launched.

You can do following:

#!/bin/bash
cd /your/project/directory
# start another shell and replacing the current
exec /bin/bash

EDIT: This could be 'dotted' as well, to prevent creation of subsequent shells.

Example:

. ./previous_script  (with or without the first line)

It only changes the directory for the script itself, while your current directory stays the same.

You might want to use a symbolic link instead. It allows you to make a "shortcut" to a file or directory, so you'd only have to type something like cd my-project.

You can combine an alias and a script,

alias proj="cd \`/usr/bin/proj !*\`"

provided that the script echos the destination path. Note that those are backticks surrounding the script name. 

For example, your script could be

#!/bin/bash
echo /home/askgelal/projects/java/$1

The advantage with this technique is that the script could take any number of command line parameters and emit different destinations calculated by possibly complex logic.

to navigate directories quicky, there's $CDPATH, cdargs, and ways to generate aliases automatically

http://jackndempsey.blogspot.com/2008/07/cdargs.html

http://muness.blogspot.com/2008/06/lazy-bash-cd-aliaes.html

https://web.archive.org/web/1/http://articles.techrepublic%2ecom%2ecom/5100-10878_11-5827311.html

This should do what you want. Change to the directory of interest (from within the script), and then spawn a new bash shell.

#!/bin/bash

# saved as mov_dir.sh
cd ~/mt/v3/rt_linux-rt-tools/
bash

If you run this, it will take you to the directory of interest and when you exit it it will bring you back to the original place.

root@intel-corei7-64:~# ./mov_dir.sh

root@intel-corei7-64:~/mt/v3/rt_linux-rt-tools# exit
root@intel-corei7-64:~#

This will even take you to back to your original directory when you exit (CTRL+d)

Note the discussion How do I set the working directory of the parent process?

It contains some hackish answers, e.g. https://stackoverflow.com/a/2375174/755804 (changing the parent process directory via gdb, don't do this) and https://stackoverflow.com/a/51985735/755804 (the command tailcd that injects cd dirname to the input stream of the parent process; well, ideally it should be a part of bash rather than a hack)

It is an old question, but I am really surprised I don't see this trick here

Instead of using cd you can use

export PWD=the/path/you/want

No need to create subshells or use aliases.

Note that it is your responsibility to make sure the/path/you/want exists.

I have to work in tcsh, and I know this is not an elegant solution, but for example, if I had to change folders to a path where one word is different, the whole thing can be done in the alias

a alias_name 'set a = `pwd`; set b = `echo $a | replace "Trees" "Tests"` ; cd $b'

If the path is always fixed, the just

a alias_name2 'cd path/you/always/need'

should work In the line above, the new folder path is set

This combines the answer by Serge with an unrelated answer by David. It changes the directory, and then instead of forcing a bash shell, it launches the user's default shell. It however requires both getent and /etc/passwd to detect the default shell.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
cd desired/directory
USER_SHELL=$(getent passwd <USER> | cut -d : -f 7)
$USER_SHELL

Of course this still has the same deficiency of creating a nested shell.

instead of excute a script file and cd to the certain folder,

we can make it by:

• source or . certain shell script
• alias the cd command
• define a function ant cd to folder

examples:

. script
# or
source script

alias ghqc='cd $(ghq root)/$(ghq list | fzf)'

ghqc() {
  cd $(ghq root)/$1
}