Check if passed argument is file or directory in Bash
BashShellBash Problem Overview
I'm trying to write an extremely simple script in Ubuntu which would allow me to pass it either a filename or a directory, and be able to do something specific when it's a file, and something else when it's a directory. The problem I'm having is when the directory name, or probably files too, has spaces or other escapable characters are in the name.
Here's my basic code down below, and a couple tests.
#!/bin/bash
PASSED=$1
if [ -d "${PASSED}" ] ; then
echo "$PASSED is a directory";
else
if [ -f "${PASSED}" ]; then
echo "${PASSED} is a file";
else
echo "${PASSED} is not valid";
exit 1
fi
fi
And here's the output:
andy@server~ $ ./scripts/testmove.sh /home/andy/
/home/andy/ is a directory
andy@server~ $ ./scripts/testmove.sh /home/andy/blah.txt
/home/andy/blah.txt is a file
andy@server~ $ ./scripts/testmove.sh /home/andy/blah\ with\ a\ space.txt
/home/andy/blah with a space.txt is not valid
andy@server~ $ ./scripts/testmove.sh /home/andy\ with\ a\ space/
/home/andy with a space/ is not valid
All of those paths are valid, and exist.
Bash Solutions
Solution 1 - Bash
That should work. I am not sure why it's failing. You're quoting your variables properly. What happens if you use this script with double [[ ]]?
if [[ -d $PASSED ]]; then
echo "$PASSED is a directory"
elif [[ -f $PASSED ]]; then
echo "$PASSED is a file"
else
echo "$PASSED is not valid"
exit 1
fi
Double square brackets is a bash extension to [ ]. It doesn't require variables to be quoted, not even if they contain spaces.
Also worth trying: -e to test if a path exists without testing what type of file it is.
Solution 2 - Bash
At least write the code without the bushy tree:
#!/bin/bash
PASSED=$1
if [ -d "${PASSED}" ]
then echo "${PASSED} is a directory";
elif [ -f "${PASSED}" ]
then echo "${PASSED} is a file";
else echo "${PASSED} is not valid";
exit 1
fi
When I put that into a file "xx.sh" and create a file "xx sh", and run it, I get:
$ cp /dev/null "xx sh"
$ for file in . xx*; do sh "$file"; done
. is a directory
xx sh is a file
xx.sh is a file
$
Given that you are having problems, you should debug the script by adding:
ls -ld "${PASSED}"
This will show you what ls thinks about the names you pass the script.
Solution 3 - Bash
Using the "file" command may be useful for this:
#!/bin/bash
check_file(){
if [ -z "${1}" ] ;then
echo "Please input something"
return;
fi
f="${1}"
result="$(file $f)"
if [[ $result == *"cannot open"* ]] ;then
echo "NO FILE FOUND ($result) ";
elif [[ $result == *"directory"* ]] ;then
echo "DIRECTORY FOUND ($result) ";
else
echo "FILE FOUND ($result) ";
fi
}
check_file "${1}"
Output examples :
$ ./f.bash login
DIRECTORY FOUND (login: directory)
$ ./f.bash ldasdas
NO FILE FOUND (ldasdas: cannot open `ldasdas' (No such file or directory))
$ ./f.bash evil.php
FILE FOUND (evil.php: PHP script, ASCII text)
FYI: the answers above work but you can use -s to help in weird situations by checking for a valid file first:
#!/bin/bash
check_file(){
local file="${1}"
[[ -s "${file}" ]] || { echo "is not valid"; return; }
[[ -d "${file}" ]] && { echo "is a directory"; return; }
[[ -f "${file}" ]] && { echo "is a file"; return; }
}
check_file ${1}
Solution 4 - Bash
Using -f and -d switches on /bin/test:
F_NAME="${1}"
if test -f "${F_NAME}"
then
echo "${F_NAME} is a file"
elif test -d "${F_NAME}"
then
echo "${F_NAME} is a directory"
else
echo "${F_NAME} is not valid"
fi
Solution 5 - Bash
Using stat
function delete_dir () {
type="$(stat --printf=%F "$1")"
if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
echo "$1 directory does not exist. Nothing to delete."
elif [ "$type" == "regular file" ]; then
echo "$1 is a file, not a directory."
exit 1
elif [ "$type" == "directory" ]; then
echo "Deleting $1 directory."
rm -r "$1"
fi
}
function delete_file () {
type="$(stat --printf=%F "$1")"
if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
echo "$1 file does not exist. Nothing to delete."
elif [ "$type" == "directory" ]; then
echo "$1 is a regular file, not a directory."
exit 1
elif [ "$type" == "regular file" ]; then
echo "Deleting $1 regular file."
rm "$1"
fi
}
Solution 6 - Bash
A more elegant solution
echo "Enter the file name"
read x
if [ -f $x ]
then
echo "This is a regular file"
else
echo "This is a directory"
fi
Solution 7 - Bash
Answer based on the title:
> Check if passed argument is file or directory in Bash
This works also if the provided argument has a trailing slash .e.g. dirname/
die() { echo $* 1>&2; exit 1; }
# This is to remove the the slash at the end: dirName/ -> dirName
fileOrDir=$(basename "$1")
( [ -d "$fileOrDir" ] || [ -f "$fileOrDir" ] ) && die "file or directory $fileOrDir already exists"
Testing:
mkdir mydir
touch myfile
command dirName
# file or directory mydir already exists
command dirName/
# file or directory mydir already exists
command filename
# file or directory myfile already exists
Solution 8 - Bash
#!/bin/bash
echo "Please Enter a file name :"
read filename
if test -f $filename
then
echo "this is a file"
else
echo "this is not a file"
fi
Solution 9 - Bash
One liner
touch bob; test -d bob && echo 'dir' || (test -f bob && echo 'file')
result is true (0)(dir) or true (0)(file) or false (1)(neither)
Solution 10 - Bash
This should work:
#!/bin/bash
echo "Enter your Path:"
read a
if [[ -d $a ]]; then
echo "$a is a Dir"
elif [[ -f $a ]]; then
echo "$a is the File"
else
echo "Invalid path"
fi