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How can I display a message when I cd into a specific directory? This directory is a local one, and I just need a reminder when I go into it from the terminal.

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1 Answer

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If I were you, I would toy around with something like that in my shell configuration file (e.g. ~/.bashrc):

reminder_cd() {
    builtin cd "$@" && { [ ! -f .cd-reminder ] || cat .cd-reminder 1>&2; }
}

alias cd=reminder_cd

This way, you can add a .cd-reminder file in each directory you want to get a reminder for. The content of the file will be displayed after each successful cd to the directory.

gim@tenebreuse ~/tmp % echo 'warning: this directory is pure junk' > .cd-reminder
gim@tenebreuse ~/tmp % cd ..
gim@tenebreuse ~ % cd tmp
warning: this directory is pure junk
gim@tenebreuse ~/tmp %
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Cool idea by the way! I like it, and maybe I'll use it too :-) – Stéphane Gimenez Aug 11 '11 at 0:52
Awesome. Thank you, Stéphane! – Connor Montgomery Aug 11 '11 at 0:59
Not importat in this case, but in general is good abit to always double quote $@. – enzotib Aug 11 '11 at 15:04
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Thanks, I'm now wondering if there is any case where $@ should be preferred over "$@"… – Stéphane Gimenez Aug 11 '11 at 18:49
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You should use $@ or $* (they are the same thing when unquoted) when you want IFS wordsplitting to occur. – Chris Down Sep 16 '11 at 20:09

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