1CHDIR(3P)                  POSIX Programmer's Manual                 CHDIR(3P)
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PROLOG

6       This  manual  page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The Linux
7       implementation of this interface may differ (consult the  corresponding
8       Linux  manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may
9       not be implemented on Linux.
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NAME

13       chdir — change working directory
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SYNOPSIS

16       #include <unistd.h>
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18       int chdir(const char *path);
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DESCRIPTION

21       The chdir() function shall cause the directory named  by  the  pathname
22       pointed  to  by  the path argument to become the current working direc‐
23       tory; that is, the starting point for path searches for  pathnames  not
24       beginning with '/'.
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RETURN VALUE

27       Upon successful completion, 0 shall be returned. Otherwise, −1 shall be
28       returned, the current working directory  shall  remain  unchanged,  and
29       errno shall be set to indicate the error.
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ERRORS

32       The chdir() function shall fail if:
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34       EACCES Search permission is denied for any component of the pathname.
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36       ELOOP  A loop exists in symbolic links encountered during resolution of
37              the path argument.
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39       ENAMETOOLONG
40              The  length  of  a  component  of  a  pathname  is  longer  than
41              {NAME_MAX}.
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43       ENOENT A  component of path does not name an existing directory or path
44              is an empty string.
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46       ENOTDIR
47              A component of the pathname names an existing file that is  nei‐
48              ther a directory nor a symbolic link to a directory.
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50       The chdir() function may fail if:
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52       ELOOP  More  than  {SYMLOOP_MAX} symbolic links were encountered during
53              resolution of the path argument.
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55       ENAMETOOLONG
56              The length of a pathname exceeds {PATH_MAX}, or pathname resolu‐
57              tion  of  a symbolic link produced an intermediate result with a
58              length that exceeds {PATH_MAX}.
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60       The following sections are informative.
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EXAMPLES

63   Changing the Current Working Directory
64       The following example makes the value pointed to  by  directory,  /tmp,
65       the current working directory.
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67           #include <unistd.h>
68           ...
69           char *directory = "/tmp";
70           int ret;
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72           ret = chdir (directory);
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APPLICATION USAGE

75       None.
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RATIONALE

78       The  chdir() function only affects the working directory of the current
79       process.
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FUTURE DIRECTIONS

82       None.
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SEE ALSO

85       getcwd()
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87       The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2008, <unistd.h>
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90       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in  electronic  form
91       from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2013