How do I show the real current directory in my bash prompt, not the symlink

Question

I use the default value of PS1 shipped with Ubuntu:

\[\033[01;32m\]\u@\h\[\033[00m\]:\[\033[01;34m\]\w\[\033[00m\]$

which is ok 90% of the time. However, when I cd to a symlink "directory" the name of the symlink, not the value of pwd -P is used.

How can I change the \w to get the real current directory? And still display with the format presented by \w or \W?

hek2mgl · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-22 14:27:21Z

9

Use $(pwd -P) instead of \w . Like this:

PS1='\[\033[01;32m\]\u@\h\[\033[00m\]:\[\033[01;34m\]$(pwd -P)\[\033[00m\]$ '

answered May 22, 2013 at 14:27

hek2mgl

7736 silver badges17 bronze badges

1

Note that you'll have to do tilde substitution (a la \W) and trimming (a la PROMPT_DIRTRIM) yourself.
– chepner
May 22, 2013 at 14:32
@chepner Thanks for this note! I didn't had this in mind
– hek2mgl
May 22, 2013 at 14:33
I tried your idea. It didn't work for me. The prompt stays as it was in the directory where I set PS1. In other words, if I export PS1="\[\033[01;32m\]\u@\h\[\033[00m\]:\[\033[01;34m\]$(pwd -P)\[\033[00m\]$" in /home/wmiller/a/b/c then cd ~, I still see user@host:/home/wmiller/a/b/c$. Leaving out the double-quotes really does strange things, so that's not it.
– Wes Miller
May 22, 2013 at 15:17
use source ~/.bashrc to update the prompt.. (have tested it, with ubuntu, but note the comment of @chepner)
– hek2mgl
May 22, 2013 at 15:21
2

@WesMiller Use single quotes, so that the command substitution isn't evaluated until PS1 is actually expanded in your prompt. Otherwise, you hard-code your prompt to contain the directly where the command is first run, as you have observed.
– chepner
May 22, 2013 at 15:25

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glenn jackman · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-23 14:54:06Z

2

To expand on hek2mgl's answer, to make your prompt "automatic", use the PROMPT_COMMAND variable:

PROMPT_COMMAND='PS1="\[\033[01;32m\]\u@\h\[\033[00m\]:\[\033[01;34m\]$(pwd -P)\[\033[00m\]\$ "'

From the manual:

PROMPT_COMMAND

If set, the value is interpreted as a command to execute before the printing of each primary prompt ($PS1).

answered May 22, 2013 at 15:38

glenn jackman

26.4k7 gold badges47 silver badges71 bronze badges

What does this accomplish? Single-quoting the prompt to prevent premature evaluation of any $( ) should suffice.
– Daniel Beck ♦
May 22, 2013 at 17:59
The PROMPT_COMMAND is evaluated every time the prompt is about to be displayed, so the execution of pwd is delayed until then, and so it will always accurately reflect the current directory
– glenn jackman
May 22, 2013 at 18:54
... something that can be accomplished by single-quoting PS1 (see chepner's comment to the other answer). While this approach works, it seems unnecessarily intricate.
– Daniel Beck ♦
May 22, 2013 at 18:57
@glennjackman I found a typo in your command string. You need a \ in front of the $ at the end. Thus: PROMPT_COMMAND='PS1="\[\033[01;32m\]\u@\h\[\033[00m\]:\[\033[01;34m\]$(pwd -P)\[\033[00m\]\$ "'. Without it, text entered on the command line wraps back to the beginning of the line at around position 80 with no linefeed, then clobbers everything in the prompt and the beginning of the command text, then continues past col 80 and wraps as usual to the next line. Weird. What is $ with no following text?
– Wes Miller
May 23, 2013 at 14:14
@WesMiller, "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar..." -- a $ with no variable name following is a literal $ -- test: echo "$ "
– glenn jackman
May 23, 2013 at 14:45

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2 Answers 2