dirname – Remove Non-Directory Parts from Filenames

The dirname command is a Linux command that is used to remove non-directory parts from a filename. This command is used to extract the directory portion of a path and can be used to manipulate file paths in shell scripts.

Overview

The dirname command is used to remove the non-directory parts from a filename and return the directory portion of the path. This command is useful when you need to extract the directory portion of a path to use in a script or command. The syntax for the dirname command is as follows:

dirname [path]

Where [path] is the path to the file or directory that you want to extract the directory portion from.

Examples

Here are some examples of using the dirname command:

$ dirname /home/user/file.txt
/home/user

$ dirname /home/user/
/home

$ dirname /home/user
/home

In the first example, the dirname command returns the directory portion of the path /home/user/file.txt, which is /home/user. In the second example, the dirname command returns the directory portion of the path /home/user/, which is /home. In the third example, the dirname command returns the directory portion of the path /home/user, which is /home.

Options

The dirname command has the following options:

Troubleshooting Tips

Here are some troubleshooting tips for using the dirname command:

• If you receive an error message that says “dirname: missing operand,” it means that you did not provide a path argument to the command. Make sure to provide a path argument when using the dirname command.
• If you receive an error message that says “dirname: too many arguments,” it means that you provided more than one path argument to the command. The dirname command only accepts one path argument at a time.

Notes

• The dirname command does not check if the path argument is a valid path. It simply extracts the directory portion of the path.
• If the path argument ends with a slash (/), the dirname command will return the directory portion of the path without the trailing slash.