Question

0

rated 0 times [ 0] [ 0] / answers: 1 / hits: 1265 / 3 Years ago, sat, october 30, 2021, 2:14:02

I encounter an issue running a basic script listing directories.

for item in *

do

   if [ -d $item ]

   then

      echo $item

   fi

done

The outcome:

My guess is -d finds some issue with an initial lowercase character?
Can somebody please explain why it happens? Thanks a lot in advance.

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Location: Vanuatu

Member since Mon, Oct 3, 2022

2 Years ago

answered 3 Years ago errettas · Accepted Answer

Some directories/files may contain spaces in their names, this would cause the error you are getting. So use quotes:

for item in *

do

   if [ -d "$item" ]

   then

      echo "$item"

   fi

done

if you want them sorted alphabetically use

for item in *

do

   if [ -d "$item" ]

   then

      echo "$item"

   fi

done | sort

As an example of the issue, suppose a file is called My File. If you don't use quotes you would get (after bash expansion)

if [ -d My File ]

so it is like "Test: Is My a directory? Do File", but File is not a valid test operator, thus the error.