Name

chdir, fchdir — change working directory

Synopsis

#include <unistd.h>
int chdir( const char *path);
 
int fchdir( int fd);
 
[Note] Note
Feature Test Macro Requirements for glibc (see feature_test_macros(7)):
fchdir():
_BSD_SOURCE || _XOPEN_SOURCE >= 500 || _XOPEN_SOURCE && _XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED
|| /* Since glibc 2.12: */
_POSIX_C_SOURCE >= 200809L

DESCRIPTION

chdir() changes the current working directory of the calling process to the directory specified in path.

fchdir() is identical to chdir(); the only difference is that the directory is given as an open file descriptor.

RETURN VALUE

On success, zero is returned. On error, −1 is returned, and errno is set appropriately.

ERRORS

Depending on the filesystem, other errors can be returned. The more general errors for chdir() are listed below:

EACCES

Search permission is denied for one of the components of path. (See also path_resolution(7).)

EFAULT

path points outside your accessible address space.

EIO

An I/O error occurred.

ELOOP

Too many symbolic links were encountered in resolving path.

ENAMETOOLONG

path is too long.

ENOENT

The file does not exist.

ENOMEM

Insufficient kernel memory was available.

ENOTDIR

A component of path is not a directory.

The general errors for fchdir() are listed below:

EACCES

Search permission was denied on the directory open on fd.

EBADF

fd is not a valid file descriptor.

CONFORMING TO

SVr4, 4.4BSD, POSIX.1-2001.

NOTES

The current working directory is the starting point for interpreting relative pathnames (those not starting with '/').

A child process created via fork(2) inherits its parent's current working directory. The current working directory is left unchanged by execve(2).

SEE ALSO

chroot(2), getcwd(3), path_resolution(7)

COLOPHON

This page is part of release 3.54 of the Linux man-pages project. A description of the project, and information about reporting bugs, can be found at http://www.kernel.org/doc/man−pages/.


  Copyright (c) 1992 Drew Eckhardt (drewcs.colorado.edu), March 28, 1992

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Modified by Michael Haardt <michaelmoria.de>
Modified 1993-07-21 by Rik Faith <faithcs.unc.edu>
Modified 1995-04-15 by Michael Chastain <mecshell.portal.com>:
  Added 'fchdir'. Fixed bugs in error section.
Modified 1996-10-21 by Eric S. Raymond <esrthyrsus.com>
Modified 1997-08-21 by Joseph S. Myers <jsm28cam.ac.uk>
Modified 2004-06-23 by Michael Kerrisk <mtk.manpagesgmail.com>