Directory bookmarking for bash [closed] - linux

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Is there any directory bookmarking utility for bash to allow move around faster on the command line?

Answer 1

Also, have a look at CDPATH
A colon-separated list of search paths available to the cd command, similar in function to the $PATH variable for binaries. The $CDPATH variable may be set in the local ~/.bashrc file.
ash$ cd bash-doc
bash: cd: bash-doc: No such file or directory
bash$ CDPATH=/usr/share/doc
bash$ cd bash-doc
/usr/share/doc/bash-doc
bash$ echo $PWD
/usr/share/doc/bash-doc
and
cd -
It's the command-line equivalent of the back button (takes you to the previous directory you were in).

Answer 2

Thanks for sharing your solution, and I'd like to share mine as well, which I find more useful than anything else I've came across before.
The engine is a great, universal tool: command-line fuzzy finder by Junegunn.
It primarily allows you to “fuzzy-find” files in a number of ways, but it also allows to feed arbitrary text data to it and filter this data. So, the shortcuts idea is simple: all we need is to maintain a file with paths (which are shortcuts), and fuzzy-filter this file. Here's how it looks: we type cdg command (from "cd global", if you like), get a list of our bookmarks, pick the needed one in just a few keystrokes, and press Enter. Working directory is changed to the picked item:
It is extremely fast and convenient: usually I just type 3-4 letters of the needed item, and all others are already filtered out. Additionally, of course we can move through list with arrow keys or with vim-like keybindings Ctrl+j/Ctrl+k.
Article with details: Fuzzy shortcuts for your shell.
It is possible to use it for GUI applications as well (via xterm): I use that for my GUI file manager Double Commander. I have plans to write an article about this use case, too.

Answer 3

Bashmarks is an amazingly simple and intuitive utility.
In short, after installation, the usage is:
s <bookmark_name> - Saves the current directory as "bookmark_name"
g <bookmark_name> - Goes (cd) to the directory associated with "bookmark_name"
p <bookmark_name> - Prints the directory associated with "bookmark_name"
d <bookmark_name> - Deletes the bookmark
l - Lists all available bookmarks

Answer 4

In bash script/command,
you can use pushd and popd
pushd
Save and then change the current directory. With no arguments, pushd exchanges the top two directories.
Usage
cd /abc
pushd /xxx <-- save /abc to environment variables and cd to /xxx
pushd /zzz
pushd +1 <-- cd /xxx
popd is to remove the variable (reverse manner)

Answer 5

bookmarks.sh provides a bookmark management system for the Bash version 4.0+. It can also use a Midnight Commander hotlist.

Answer 6

Yes there is DirB: Directory Bookmarks for Bash well explained in this Linux Journal article
An example from the article:
% cd ~/Desktop
% s d # save(bookmark) ~/Desktop as d
% cd /tmp # go somewhere
% pwd
/tmp
% g d # go to the desktop
% pwd
/home/Desktop

Answer 7

Inspired by the question and answers here, I added the lines below to my ~/.bashrc file.
With this you have a favdir command (function) to manage your favorites and a autocompletion function to select an item from these favorites.
# ---------
# Favorites
# ---------
__favdirs_storage=~/.favdirs
__favdirs=( "$HOME" )
containsElement () {
local e
for e in "${#:2}"; do [[ "$e" == "$1" ]] && return 0; done
return 1
}
function favdirs() {
local cur
local IFS
local GLOBIGNORE
case $1 in
list)
echo "favorite folders ..."
printf -- ' - %s\n' "${__favdirs[#]}"
;;
load)
if [[ ! -e $__favdirs_storage ]] ; then
favdirs save
fi
# mapfile requires bash 4 / my OS-X bash vers. is 3.2.53 (from 2007 !!?!).
# mapfile -t __favdirs < $__favdirs_storage
IFS=$'\r\n' GLOBIGNORE='*' __favdirs=($(< $__favdirs_storage))
;;
save)
printf -- '%s\n' "${__favdirs[#]}" > $__favdirs_storage
;;
add)
cur=${2-$(pwd)}
favdirs load
if containsElement "$cur" "${__favdirs[#]}" ; then
echo "'$cur' allready exists in favorites"
else
__favdirs+=( "$cur" )
favdirs save
echo "'$cur' added to favorites"
fi
;;
del)
cur=${2-$(pwd)}
favdirs load
local i=0
for fav in ${__favdirs[#]}; do
if [ "$fav" = "$cur" ]; then
echo "delete '$cur' from favorites"
unset __favdirs[$i]
favdirs save
break
fi
let i++
done
;;
*)
echo "Manage favorite folders."
echo ""
echo "usage: favdirs [ list | load | save | add | del ]"
echo ""
echo " list : list favorite folders"
echo " load : load favorite folders from $__favdirs_storage"
echo " save : save favorite directories to $__favdirs_storage"
echo " add : add directory to favorites [default pwd $(pwd)]."
echo " del : delete directory from favorites [default pwd $(pwd)]."
esac
} && favdirs load
function __favdirs_compl_command() {
COMPREPLY=( $( compgen -W "list load save add del" -- ${COMP_WORDS[COMP_CWORD]}))
} && complete -o default -F __favdirs_compl_command favdirs
function __favdirs_compl() {
local IFS=$'\n'
COMPREPLY=( $( compgen -W "${__favdirs[*]}" -- ${COMP_WORDS[COMP_CWORD]}))
}
alias _cd='cd'
complete -F __favdirs_compl _cd
Within the last two lines, an alias to change the current directory (with autocompletion) is created. With this alias (_cd) you are able to change to one of your favorite directories. May you wan't to change this alias to something which fits your needs.
With the function favdirs you can manage your favorites (see usage).
$ favdirs
Manage favorite folders.
usage: favdirs [ list | load | save | add | del ]
list : list favorite folders
load : load favorite folders from ~/.favdirs
save : save favorite directories to ~/.favdirs
add : add directory to favorites [default pwd /tmp ].
del : delete directory from favorites [default pwd /tmp ].

Answer 8

#getmizanur
I used your cdb script. I enhanced it slightly by adding bookmarks tab completion. Here's my version of your cdb script.
_cdb()
{
local _script_commands=$(ls -1 ~/.cd_bookmarks/)
local cur=${COMP_WORDS[COMP_CWORD]}
COMPREPLY=( $(compgen -W "${_script_commands}" -- $cur) )
}
complete -F _cdb cdb
function cdb() {
local USAGE="Usage: cdb [-h|-c|-d|-g|-l|-s] [bookmark]\n
\t[-h or no args] - prints usage help\n
\t[-c bookmark] - create bookmark\n
\t[-d bookmark] - delete bookmark\n
\t[-g bookmark] - goto bookmark\n
\t[-l] - list bookmarks\n
\t[-s bookmark] - show bookmark location\n
\t[bookmark] - same as [-g bookmark]\n
Press tab for bookmark completion.\n"
if [ ! -e ~/.cd_bookmarks ] ; then
mkdir ~/.cd_bookmarks
fi
case $1 in
# create bookmark
-c) shift
if [ ! -f ~/.cd_bookmarks/$1 ] ; then
echo "cd `pwd`" > ~/.cd_bookmarks/"$1"
complete -F _cdb cdb
else
echo "Try again! Looks like there is already a bookmark '$1'"
fi
;;
# goto bookmark
-g) shift
if [ -f ~/.cd_bookmarks/$1 ] ; then
source ~/.cd_bookmarks/"$1"
else
echo "Mmm...looks like your bookmark has spontaneously combusted. What I mean to say is that your bookmark does not exist." ;
fi
;;
# show bookmark
-s) shift
if [ -f ~/.cd_bookmarks/$1 ] ; then
cat ~/.cd_bookmarks/"$1"
else
echo "Mmm...looks like your bookmark has spontaneously combusted. What I mean to say is that your bookmark does not exist." ;
fi
;;
# delete bookmark
-d) shift
if [ -f ~/.cd_bookmarks/$1 ] ; then
rm ~/.cd_bookmarks/"$1" ;
else
echo "Oops, forgot to specify the bookmark" ;
fi
;;
# list bookmarks
-l) shift
ls -1 ~/.cd_bookmarks/ ;
;;
-h) echo -e $USAGE ;
;;
# goto bookmark by default
*)
if [ -z "$1" ] ; then
echo -e $USAGE
elif [ -f ~/.cd_bookmarks/$1 ] ; then
source ~/.cd_bookmarks/"$1"
else
echo "Mmm...looks like your bookmark has spontaneously combusted. What I mean to say is that your bookmark does not exist." ;
fi
;;
esac
}

Answer 9

Yes, one that I have written, that is called anc.
https://github.com/tobimensch/anc
Anc stands for anchor, but anc's anchors are really just bookmarks.
It's designed for ease of use and there're multiple ways of navigating, either by giving a text pattern, using numbers, interactively, by going back, or using [TAB] completion.
I'm actively working on it and open to input on how to make it better.
Allow me to paste the examples from anc's github page here:
# make the current directory the default anchor:
$ anc s
# go to /etc, then /, then /usr/local and then back to the default anchor:
$ cd /etc; cd ..; cd usr/local; anc
# go back to /usr/local :
$ anc b
# add another anchor:
$ anc a $HOME/test
# view the list of anchors (the default one has the asterisk):
$ anc l
(0) /path/to/first/anchor *
(1) /home/usr/test
# jump to the anchor we just added:
# by using its anchor number
$ anc 1
# or by jumping to the last anchor in the list
$ anc -1
# add multiple anchors:
$ anc a $HOME/projects/first $HOME/projects/second $HOME/documents/first
# use text matching to jump to $HOME/projects/first
$ anc pro fir
# use text matching to jump to $HOME/documents/first
$ anc doc fir
# add anchor and jump to it using an absolute path
$ anc /etc
# is the same as
$ anc a /etc; anc -1
# add anchor and jump to it using a relative path
$ anc ./X11 #note that "./" is required for relative paths
# is the same as
$ anc a X11; anc -1
# using wildcards you can add many anchors at once
$ anc a $HOME/projects/*
# use shell completion to see a list of matching anchors
# and select the one you want to jump to directly
$ anc pro[TAB]

Answer 10

In addition to #Dmitri Frank's answer - I have implemented the cdb command (aka cd bookmark) via simple alias (add this line to your ~/.bash_profile):
alias b='cat ~/.cd-bookmarks | grep -v "^\s*#" | grep -v "^\s*$" | fzf'
alias cdb='cd "$(b)"'
Create file ~/.cd-bookmarks and enter your paths, one per line. It supports empty lines and comments via #:
$ cat ~/.cd-bookmarks
### Devel stuff ###
/Users/pujezdsky/devel/projects/stackoverflow/
### Photo stuff ###
/Users/pujezdsky/Photos/
/Users/pujezdsky/Photos/last-import/
/Users/pujezdsky/Photos/dir with spaces/
Unfortunatelly it does not support ~ expansion so enter full paths.
Then you are able to do
$ cdb
And because of b alias even some more advanced stuff
$ mc `b`
$ cp my-file.txt `b`
$ touch `b`/test.sh
Unfortunately though, if you have spaces in your bookmark paths, you have to quote the `b` call. That makes it less handsome:
$mc "`b`"
Note 1:
Before you do this, check if you already have cdb, b commands / aliases to avoid their overwrite and malfunction. The easiest way is to use these commands that should return something like -bash: type: cdb: not found
$ type cdb
$ type b
Note 2:
The b alias can be simplified to
alias b='egrep -v "(^\s*#|^\s*$)" ~/.cd-bookmarks | fzf'
Note 3:
You can also make alias for adding current folder into your bookmarks. It is as simple as
alias ba='pwd >> ~/.cd-bookmarks'

Answer 11

For short term shortcuts, I have a the following in my respective init script (Sorry. I can't find the source right now and didn't bother then):
function b() {
alias $1="cd `pwd -P`"
}
Usage:
In any directory that you want to bookmark type
b THEDIR # <THEDIR> being the name of your 'bookmark'
It will create an alias to cd (back) to here.
To return to a 'bookmarked' dir type
THEDIR
It will run the stored alias and cd back there.
Caution: Use only if you understand that this might override existing shell aliases and what that means.

Answer 12

As practice shows, not so many bookmarks are needed every day.
So we can store them inside the script:
function go {
# go home dir if no params
if [ $# -eq 0 ]; then cd ~; return; fi;
# declare an assoc array with CAPITAL -A switch
declare -A o
# declare aliases and targets
o[apd]=$APPDATA
o[cli]='/mnt/c/CLI/'
o[closk]='/mnt/d/JOB/CLosk.Work/Dev._default/'
o[ds]='/mnt/d/JOB/DS/'
o[gh]='/mnt/d/Alpha/GitHub/'
o[pf]='/mnt/c/Program Files/'
o[wsa]='/mnt/d/JOB/WSA/Dev/'
# here we go
if [ ${o[$1]+_} ]; then cd "${o[$1]}"; fi
}
Using associative array let the list of links to be corrected with ease.
As you can see this script successfully used under Windows also.
I'm using this script under CentOS and Ubuntu too. With other links of course.
Also, I'm using this:
alias ~='go'
So:
~ # go to home dir
~ apd # go to system Application Data folder
And so on.

Answer 13

I wrote this function some time ago in ~/.bashrc:
cdfav() {
local favfile
local tmpfavfile
local match
favfile=~/.cdfav
if [ "$1" = "" ]; then
awk '{print i++ " " $0}' $favfile
return $?
fi
if [ "$1" = "-a" ]; then
readlink -f $2 >> $favfile
return $?
fi
if [ "$1" = "-d" ]; then
tmpfavfile=/tmp/.cdfav-tmp-${$}
awk '{print i++ " " $0}' $favfile | sed "/$2/d" | cut -f2- -d' ' > $tmpfavfile
mv $tmpfavfile $favfile
return 0
fi
if [ ! -e $favfile ]; then
return 1
fi
match=$(awk '{print i++ " " $0}' $favfile | grep "$1" | head -1 | cut -f2- -d' ')
if [ "$match" = "" ]; then
return 1
fi
cd $match
return $?
}
Usage examples:
~$ cdfav # lists favorite dirs
0 /home/user/dev/linux/
1 /home/user/dev/linux/references/v7unix
~$ cdfav ^1 # match 1 dir
~/dev/linux$ cdfav refe # no need for typing the whole dir name/path. The directory will be the first matched
~/dev/linux/references/v7unix$
I can add a (current) directory to my list with "-a ."
~/dev/linux/references/v7unix$ cd v7/
~/dev/linux/references/v7unix/v7$ cdfav -a .
~/dev/linux/references/v7unix/v7$ cdfav
0 /home/user/dev/linux/
1 /home/user/dev/linux/references/v7unix
2 /home/user/dev/linux/references/v7unix/v7
or remove a directories containing substring/matching regexp (with gnu grep on my machine) like this:
~/dev/linux/references/v7unix/v7$ cdfav -d v7
~/dev/linux/references/v7unix/v7$ cdfav
0 /home/user/dev/linux/
Have not tested with other shells like oksh yet, but I think it will work there also without much tweaking.