BASENAME(1) | General Commands Manual | BASENAME(1)

# NAME

`basename`, `dirname` — return filename or directory portion of pathname

# SYNOPSIS

`basename` | string [suffix]

`dirname` | string

# DESCRIPTION

`basename` deletes any prefix ending with the last slash ‘`/`’ character present in string, and a suffix, if given. The resulting filename is written to the standard output. A non-existent suffix is ignored.

`dirname` deletes the filename portion, beginning with the last slash ‘`/`’ character to the end of string, and writes the result to the standard output.

# EXIT STATUS

Both the `basename` and `dirname` utilities exit 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs.

# EXAMPLES

The following line sets the shell variable `FOO` to /usr/bin.

`FOO=`dirname /usr/bin/trail``

# SEE ALSO

csh(1), sh(1), basename(3), dirname(3)

# STANDARDS

The `basename` and `dirname` utilities conform to IEEE Std 1003.2-1992 (“POSIX.2”).

April 18, 1994 | NetBSD 11.99