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dirs – Display the directory stack

The dirs command is a built-in shell command in Linux that displays the directory stack, which is a list of directories that have been visited by the user. The directory stack is used to keep track of the directories that the user has visited and can be used to quickly move back to previously visited directories.

Overview

The dirs command can be used to display the directory stack in the current shell session. By default, the dirs command displays the directory stack in a vertical list, with the most recent directory at the top of the list. Each directory in the list is displayed with its index number and the full path to the directory.

The directory stack can be manipulated using other shell commands such as pushd and popd. The pushd command adds a directory to the directory stack and changes the current directory to the specified directory. The popd command removes a directory from the directory stack and changes the current directory to the next directory in the stack.

Here are some examples of how to use the dirs command:

  • To display the directory stack in a vertical list:
$ dirs
/home/user/documents
/home/user/downloads
/home/user
  • To display the directory stack in a horizontal list:
$ dirs -l
/home/user/documents /home/user/downloads /home/user
  • To display the directory stack with index numbers:
$ dirs -v
 0  /home/user/documents
 1  /home/user/downloads
 2  /home/user
  • To change the current directory to a directory in the stack:
$ cd -2
/home/user

Options

The dirs command has the following options:

Option Description
-c Clears the directory stack.
-l Displays the directory stack in a horizontal list.
-p Displays the directory stack in a format that can be used as input to the cd command.
-v Displays the directory stack with index numbers.

Troubleshooting tips

  • If the dirs command does not display any directories, it means that the directory stack is empty. The user must visit a directory using the cd command before the directory is added to the stack.
  • If the dirs command displays an error message, it could be due to a syntax error in the command. Check the command syntax and try again.

Notes

  • The directory stack is specific to each shell session. If a new shell session is opened, the directory stack will be empty.
  • The directory stack can hold a maximum of 20 directories by default. This limit can be changed by modifying the DIRSTACKSIZE environment variable.

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