dirname

return the directory portion of a pathname

TLDR

Calculate the parent directory of a given path

$ dirname [path/to/file_or_directory]

Calculate the parent directory of multiple paths

$ dirname [path/to/file_a] [path/to/directory_b]

Delimit output with a NUL character instead of a newline (useful when combining with xargs)

$ dirname --zero [path/to/directory_a] [path/to/file_b]

DESCRIPTION

Output each NAME with its last non-slash component and trailing slashes removed; if NAME contains no /'s, output '.' (meaning the current directory).

-z, --zero: end each output line with NUL, not newline
--help: display this help and exit
--version: output version information and exit

EXAMPLES

dirname /usr/bin/: -> "/usr"
dirname dir1/str dir2/str: -> "dir1" followed by "dir2"
dirname stdio.h: -> "."

REPORTING BUGS

GNU coreutils online help: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
Report any translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/>

Copyright © 2022 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

AUTHOR

Written by David MacKenzie and Jim Meyering.