cd option to change to previous directory

Question

I'm a complete newbie to bash scripting. I remember there was a way to execute the cd command, automatically returning to the previous directory (without an explicit cd ...). Any idea?

Answer 1

If you just want to go back to the last directory, you can use cd -.

If you need more places to go back to, try pushd <dir> (instead of cd <dir>) and then you can go back with popd.

Answer 2

Found! I can execute it as a sub-shell.

A command list embedded between parentheses runs as a subshell.

SOURCE: http://tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/subshells.html

Answer 3

Also, pushd and popd can come in very handy - they represent operations on a stack of directory locations - allowing you to "travel back in time".

Answer 4

You can also try the cdargs package. You can find a tutorial here: http://www.csrdu.org/nauman/2011/01/16/helpful-tips-for-newbie-system-admins/

Summary:

yum -y install compat-libstdc++-296
wget http://www.skamphausen.de/downloads/cdargs/cdargs-1.31-1.i386.rpm
rpm -ivh cdargs-1.31-1.i386.rpm
updatedb
source `locate cdargs-bash.sh`
# you can use any method you like for locating this file and running it
# also, you need to put it in the ~/.bash_profile to run it every time you login
echo source `locate cdargs-bash.sh` >> ~/.bash_profile 
cdb

Mark a directory and move around:

cd /etc/conf/httpd/ext/
mark apaconf
cd /usr/local/src/
cdb apaconf

See the link for other commands or search the net.