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CHDIR

Section: Linux Programmer's Manual (2)
Updated: 2010-11-25
Index Return to Main Contents

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NAME

chdir, fchdir - change working directory  

SYNOPSIS

#include <unistd.h>

int chdir(const char *path);
int fchdir(int fd);

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 file system, 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 3.35 of the Linux man-pages project. A description of the project, and information about reporting bugs, can be found at http://man7.org/linux/man-pages/.

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Index

NAME

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

RETURN VALUE

ERRORS

CONFORMING TO

NOTES

SEE ALSO

COLOPHON

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