cdpath.sh

A simple CLI for handling the CDPATH environment variable. Tested on Bash and ZSH.

What's CDPATH?

CDPATH is an environment variable present on Unix-based systems that allows you to create shortcuts to any directory on your system, which will be accessible by using the cd command. Consider the directory: $HOME/company/projects/my_project. With CDPATH, you can access it by defining a shortcut (the name, though, must be the last directory name):

$ cd my_project
~/company/projects/my_project

But, for that to happen, you'd have to export CDPATH with the following structure, and keep it saved on your shell's rc file (.bashrc, .zshrc...):

$ export CDPATH=".:my_project:$HOME/company/projects/"

Sumary

• Installation
  • Manual Installation
  • Using install.sh
• Using cdpath.sh
• Uninstalling
• Known Problems

Installation

Manual Installation

Download the file cdpath.sh to any directory you'd like (usually, I'd use /usr/local/bin/):

curl -o /usr/local/bin/cdpath.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/victorfsf/cdpath/master/cdpath.sh

Then, add the following line to your shell's rc file (.bashrc, .zshrc...):

source "/path/to/cdpath.sh"

So, if you chose /usr/local/bin/:

source "/usr/local/bin/cdpath.sh"

Then, restart or source your shell:

$ . ~/.bashrc

Using install.sh

Run the following command:

# shell = "~/.bashrc", "~/.zshrc" or any other shell .rc file
$ bash <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/victorfsf/cdpath/master/install.sh) <shell>
# e.g. "bash <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/victorfsf/cdpath/master/install.sh) ~/.bashrc"

Using cdpath.sh

By using cdpath.sh, you can not only have more control over the paths you choose to give a shortcut, but you can manage them with a simple interface.

Sumary:

• Base Command
• Asking for help
• Adding a path/shortcut
• Removing a path/shortcut
• Listing paths/shortcuts
• Installing the .cdpath file
• Uninstalling the .cdpath file

Base Command

By typing only cdpath, you'll see this:

$ cdpath
usage: cdpath [-h] [-r] [-l] [-i] [-u] <name> <path>
See "cdpath -h" for help.

Asking for help

$ cdpath -h
cdpath basic usage: "cdpath <name> <path>"
    name    The path's shortcut, called with "cd"
    path    The path to link the name with

cdpath options:
    -h    Shows help
    -r    Removes a shortcut from cdpath (e.g. "cdpath -r <name>")
    -l    Lists all shortcuts and their respective paths
    -i    Installs cdpath (e.g. "cdpath -i ~/.bashrc")
    -u    Uninstalls cdpath (e.g. "cdpath -u ~/.bashrc")

Adding a path/shortcut

cdpath.sh accepts any of the following path structures:

$ cdpath my_project $HOME/company/projects/

$ cdpath my_project $HOME/company/projects/my_project

$ cdpath my_project .

$ cdpath my_project company/projects/

$ cdpath my_project company/projects/my_project

Removing a path/shortcut

cdpath.sh will loop through the arguments after the -r option and try to remove all of the given shortcuts:

$ cdpath -r my_project
Successfully removed "my_project"

$ cdpath -r my_project another_folder
Successfully removed "my_project"
There's no shortcut named "another_folder"

Listing paths/shortcuts

$ cdpath -l
Shortcuts:
    my_project -> /home/user/company/projects/my_project

Installing the .cdpath file

This action will be performed when you add a new shortcut, but if you want to create and configure the ~/.cdpath file (in case you changed shells and that shell isn't properly configured, for example), you can just call:

# shell = "~/.bashrc", "~/.zshrc" or any other shell .rc file
cdpath -i <shell>

Uninstalling the .cdpath file

To remove the ~/.cdpath file and its source from the shell's rc file, just type:

# shell = "~/.bashrc", "~/.zshrc" or any other shell .rc file
$ cdpath -u <shell>
Uninstalling cdpath...
Done.

Uninstalling

To uninstall, just remove the cdpath files and its source from your shell's rc file:

source "/usr/local/bin/cdpath.sh"

Files to remove:

$HOME/.cdpath
/usr/local/bin/cdpath.sh

Known Problems

Feel free to report any issues here.

• cdpath won't properly work with directories containing spaces in their names.
• Not exactly sure if it works fine on OSX.