Directory exists - UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

tez · #1 08-11-2006

Hi all,

Sorry about this i'm sure this is a very silly question hence an easy answer but:

I'm trying to write a script, part of which I want to check if a directory exists, if it doesn't then create it.

Thanks for your help
Tez

matrixmadhan · #2 08-11-2006

-d option

search the forum.

nathan · #3 08-11-2006

From the manual for 'test':

Code:

[(1)                             User Commands                            [(1)

NAME
       test - check file types and compare values

SYNOPSIS
       test EXPRESSION
       [ EXPRESSION ]
       [ OPTION

       -d FILE
              FILE exists and is a directory

       -e FILE
              FILE exists

So,

Code:

MY_DIR="ZZZ"
if [ ! -d $MY_DIR ] ; then
  mkdir $MY_DIR
fi

Of course this will still fail if MY_DIR exists but is something other than a directory. So to prevent that you would use the -e option instead of -d.

tez · #4 08-11-2006

That works thanks.

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