Check if a directory exists in a shell script

Question

What command can be used to check if a directory exists or not, within a shell script?

Answer 1

To check if a directory exists in a shell script you can use the following:

if [ -d "$DIRECTORY" ]; then
  # Control will enter here if $DIRECTORY exists.
fi

Or to check if a directory doesn't exist:

if [ ! -d "$DIRECTORY" ]; then
  # Control will enter here if $DIRECTORY doesn't exist.
fi

---

However, as Jon Ericson points out, subsequent commands may not work as intended if you do not take into account that a symbolic link to a directory will also pass this check. E.g. running this:

ln -s "$ACTUAL_DIR" "$SYMLINK"
if [ -d "$SYMLINK" ]; then 
  rmdir "$SYMLINK" 
fi

Will produce the error message:

rmdir: failed to remove `symlink': Not a directory

So symbolic links may have to be treated differently, if subsequent commands expect directories:

if [ -d "$LINK_OR_DIR" ]; then 
  if [ -L "$LINK_OR_DIR" ]; then
    # It is a symlink!
    # Symbolic link specific commands go here.
    rm "$LINK_OR_DIR"
  else
    # It's a directory!
    # Directory command goes here.
    rmdir "$LINK_OR_DIR"
  fi
fi

---

Take particular note of the double-quotes used to wrap the variables, the reason for this is explained by 8jean in another answer.

If the variables contain spaces or other unusual characters it will probably cause the script to fail.

Answer 2

I find the double-bracket version of test makes writing logic tests more natural:

if [[ -d "${DIRECTORY}" && ! -L "${DIRECTORY}" ]] ; then
    echo "It's a bona-fide directory"
fi

Answer 3

if [ -d "$DIRECTORY" ]; then
    # Will enter here if $DIRECTORY exists
fi

This is not completely true... If you want to go to that directory, you also needs to have the execute rights on the directory. Maybe you need to have write rights as well.

Therfore:

if [ -d "$DIRECTORY" ] && [ -x "$DIRECTORY" ] ; then
    # ... to go to that directory (even if DIRECTORY is a link)
    cd $DIRECTORY
    pwd
fi

---

if [ -d "$DIRECTORY" ] && [ -w "$DIRECTORY" ] ; then
    # ... to go to that directory and write something there (even if DIRECTORY is a link)
    cd $DIRECTORY
    touch foobar
fi

Answer 4

if [ -d "$DIRECTORY" ]; then  
    # Here if $DIRECTORY exists  
fi

Answer 5

Or for something completely useless:

[ -d . ] || echo "No"

Answer 6

More features using find

• Check existence of the folder within sub-directories:

  found=`find -type d -name "myDirectory"`
  if [ -n "$found"]
  then
      # The variable 'found' contains the full path where "myDirectory" is.
      # It may contain several lines if there are several folders named "myDirectory".
  fi
  

• Check existence of one or several folders based on a pattern within the current directory:

  found=`find -maxdepth 1 -type d -name "my*"`
  if [ -n "$found"]
  then
      # The variable 'found' contains the full path where folders "my*" have been found.
  fi
  

• Both combinations. In the following example, it checks the existence of the folder in the current directory:

  found=`find -maxdepth 1 -type d -name "myDirectory"`
  if [ -n "$found"]
  then
      # The variable 'found' is not empty => "myDirectory"` exists.
  fi