Extract directory from path [duplicate]

In my script I need the directory of the file I am working with. For example, the file="stuff/backup/file.zip". I need a way to get the string "stuff/backup/" from the variable $file.

Solution 1:

dirname $file

is what you are looking for

Solution 2:

dirname $file

will output

stuff/backup

which is the opposite of basename:

basename $file

would output

file.zip

Solution 3:

Using ${file%/*} like suggested by Urvin/LuFFy is technically better since you won't rely on an external command. To get the basename in the same way you could do ${file##*/}. It's unnecessary to use an external command unless you need to.

file="/stuff/backup/file.zip"
filename=${1##*/}     # file.zip
directory=${1%/*}     # /stuff/backup

It would also be fully POSIX compliant this way. Hope it helps! :-)