Unix: Find Directory Name From Path

I am a new Unix shell programer. How can I extract the directory name from a full path (say /nas01/data/backups/file.tar.gz)? How do I get directory name from its path on a Linux or Unix-like system?

Method #1: Use dirname command to get directory name

The syntax is:

dirname /path/to/file

OR

VAR="$(dirname /path/to/my/myname.txt)"

OR

FOO="/path/to/my/folder/filename.avi"
OUT="$(dirname ${FOO})"

Examples

The following example displays output /nas01/data/backups:

 
dirname /nas01/data/backups/file.tar.gz
 

Sample outputs:

/nas01/data/backups

The following line sets the shell variable SRC to /nas01/data/backups:

 
SRC="$(dirname /nas01/data/backups/file.tar.gz)"
echo "Dirpath - $SRC"
 

Sample outputs:

Dirpath - /nas01/data/backups

Method #2: Extract the directory name from a full path using bash/ksh shell

The $ character is used for parameter expansion, and command substitution. You can use it for manipulating and/or expanding variables on demands without using external commands such as sed or awk. To remove from shortest rear (end) pattern:

 
${VAR%/*}
VAL="${PATHNAME%/*}"
 

In this example, set FILE to /nas01/data/backups/demo.avi:

 
FILE="/nas01/data/backups/demo.avi"
echo "\$FILE = $FILE"
 

To extract the directory name, type:

 
echo "${FILE%/*}"
# OR store to DIR #
DIR="${FILE%/*}"
echo "Dirpath - $DIR"
 

Sample outputs:

Dirpath - /nas01/data/backups

See man pages dirname(1), bash(1), ksh(1) for more info.