Change directory with space followed by '('

Question

There are two directories I can change to:

Program Files/       Program Files (x86)/

I can change to first one by writing:

cd Program\ Files

But the second for second one:

cd Program\ Files\ (x86)

I get:

bash: syntax error near unexpected token `('

What is the right way to change to second directory?

lgarzo · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-11 08:41:59Z

up vote 6 down vote accepted

You have to escape the parentheses:

cd Program\ Files\ \(x86\)

Pressing TAB will usually complete the command line for you, and will give hints how to quote the file/directory names.

answered Jun 11 '12 at 8:41

lgarzo
516158

	Yes, Tab completes, but I have two directories with the same name till (x86) so it only completes to "Program Files". – enedene Jun 11 '12 at 8:46
	@enedene That's right, although afterwards you can type `\` and take advantage of completion. – lgarzo Jun 11 '12 at 8:51
	An alternative that may be useful in this case is to use shell globbing. For example, `cd P` TAB `??x86?` TAB will likely (depending on what else you have in the relevant directory) complete out to `Program Files (x86)`. – Michael Kjörling Jun 11 '12 at 9:08
	At some point backslashes become more of a problem than they're worth. If you have more than one or two special characters it's simpler to quote the entire file name; either `"Program Files (x86)"` or `'Program Files (x86)'` will work. – MadScientist Jun 11 '12 at 12:34
	Hitting TAB multiple times should cycle through the available matches. `cd Prog` TAB TAB. – Lars Rohrbach Jun 11 '12 at 14:53

htor · Answer 2 · 2012-06-11 12:39:04Z

up vote 2 down vote

Another way to accomplish the same is to quote the path containing whitespace:

cd "Program Files (x86)"

This also works with tab-completion so you can type:

cd "Program<Space><Tab><Space><Tab>

Notice the opening double-quote. Then you will get:

cd "Program Files (x86)"/

edited Jun 11 '12 at 12:39

answered Jun 11 '12 at 12:32

htor
3,160622

2 Answers