chdir(S)

chdir, fchdir -- change working directory

Syntax

cc . . . -lc

#include <unistd.h>

int chdir(const char *path);

int fchdir(int fildes);

Description

chdir and fchdir cause a directory pointed to by path or fildes to become the current working directory. The starting point for path searches for pathnames not beginning with /. path points to the pathname of a directory. The fildes argument to fchdir is an open file descriptor of a directory.

In order for a directory to become the current directory, a process must have execute (search) access to the directory.

Return values

On success, chdir returns 0. On failure, chdir returns -1, sets errno to identify the error, and the current directory remains unchanged.

Diagnostics

In the following conditions, chdir fails and sets errno to:

[EACCES]: Search permission is denied for any component of the pathname.
[EFAULT]: path points outside the allocated address space of the process.
[EINTR]: A signal was caught during the execution of the chdir system call.
[ELOOP]: Too many symbolic links were encountered in translating path.
[ENAMETOOLONG]: The length of the path argument exceeds {PATH_MAX}, or the length of a path component exceeds {NAME_MAX} while {_POSIX_NO_TRUNC} is in effect.
[ENOTDIR]: A component of the pathname is not a directory.
[ENOENT]: Either a component of the path prefix or the directory named by path does not exist or is a null pathname.
[ENOLINK]: path points to a remote machine and the link to that machine is no longer active.
[EMULTIHOP]: Components of path require hopping to multiple remote machines and filesystem type does not allow it.

In the following conditions, fchdir fails and sets errno to:

[EACCES]: Search permission is denied for fildes.
[EBADF]: fildes is not an open file descriptor.
[EINTR]: A signal was caught during the execution of the fchdir system call.
[ENOLINK]: fildes points to a remote machine and the link to that machine is no longer active.
[ENOTDIR]: The open file descriptor fildes does not refer to a directory.
[ENOENT]: The directory pointed to by fildes does not exist.

Files

/lib/libc.a: linking library

Standards conformance

chdir is conformant with:

AT&T SVID Issue 3;
X/Open Portability Guide, Issue 3, 1989 ;
Intel386 Binary Compatibility Specification, Edition 2 (iBCSe2) ;
IEEE POSIX Std 1003.1-1990 System Application Program Interface (API) [C Language] (ISO/IEC 9945-1) ;
and NIST FIPS 151-1 .

fchdir is conformant with:

AT&T SVID Issue 3.