bash Quick Reference

Name

cd

Synopsis

cd [-LP] [dir]
cd [-LP] [-]

With no arguments, change to home directory of user. Otherwise, change working directory to dir. Bash searches the CDPATH variable first, and then looks in the current directory for dir. A directory of - stands for the previous directory.

Options

-L

Use the logical path (what the user typed, including any symbolic links) for cd .. and the value of PWD. This is the default.

-P

Use the actual filesystem physical path for cd .. and the value of PWD.

Example

$ ls -ld /usr/tmp		/usr/tmp is a symbolic link
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root 10 Dec 30  2004 /usr/tmp -> ../var/tmp 
$ cd -L /usr/tmp		Logical change directory
$ pwd				Show location
/usr/tmp				Result is logical location
$ cd -P /usr/tmp		Physical change directory
$ pwd				Show location
/var/tmp				Result is physical location