How can I change the directory a command thinks it is running in?

Question

How can I run a command that is in a different directory so that the command thinks I've ran it in the current directory?

If a command is using basename() or argv[0] (or whatever it's called) to get where it was called from, and it requires files in its directory, it may look in the directory that you called the application from; i.e. the wrong one.

Of course, you can cd to the directory first and invoke it there, but is there a way to invoke the application so that it thinks you've ran it from its directory (without cding first)?

If it is possible, I will use this in crontab, as the thought of using cd in there scares me.

Answer 1

Why does using cd in crontab scare you?

Note that if you want to just temporarily change directory and then come back, you can use pushd and popd

Answer 2

You can make a script like this:

#!/bin/sh
cd /dir/
yourcommand

Then save it somewhere and add that script to crontab