mkcd

Make a folder with its parents, and move into it.

Synopsis

mkcd [--] folder

Description

mkcd does in one step what you would otherwise type as mkdir -p folder && cd folder. It makes the folder, together with every missing folder above it, and moves your shell into it.

$ mkcd ~/lab/kind/manifests
$ pwd
/home/me/lab/kind/manifests

When the folder already exists, mkcd just moves into it. It never empties, replaces or changes a folder that is already there.

Why it is a shell function

Every program runs in its own process, and a process can only change its own current folder. A script called mkcd could make the folder and move into it, but your shell would stay where it was the moment the script ended. So mkcd is a shell function. It runs inside your shell and moves the shell itself.

That is also why mkcd has no file in bin/. It lives in shell/functions.sh, with up, and your shell loads that file when it starts.

Turning it on

Run this once:

$ toolbelt shell enable functions

That adds the functions setting to ~/.config/toolbelt/shell and makes sure ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc loads toolbelt's shell/init.sh. Open a new terminal, or run exec $SHELL, and mkcd is there:

$ type mkcd
mkcd is a function

toolbelt shell disable functions turns it off again.

How it treats the name

• A name with no / at the start is inside the current folder. mkcd puts ./ in front of it before it runs cd, so a CDPATH you have set never sends you to a folder of the same name somewhere else.
• ~, $HOME and globs are expanded by your shell before mkcd sees them, as with any command.
• A name that starts with a dash goes after --: mkcd -- -drafts.
• When a file, not a folder, has the name already, mkcd stops with an error and changes nothing.
• When mkdir fails, such as for a folder you have no rights to write in, mkcd stops and you stay where you were.

cd keeps the folder you left in OLDPWD, so cd - takes you back.

Options

Pass-through

None. mkcd runs mkdir -p and cd.

Needs

bash or zsh, and mkdir from coreutils. shell/functions.sh uses only syntax both shells share, so the same file works in either.

Examples

A new project folder

$ mkcd ~/lab/kind/manifests
$ pwd
/home/me/lab/kind/manifests

A folder that exists already

$ mkcd /tmp
$ pwd
/tmp

A name that starts with a dash

$ mkcd -- -drafts
$ pwd
/home/me/-drafts

A file is in the way

$ touch notes
$ mkcd notes
mkcd: notes exists and is not a folder

No rights to write

$ mkcd /opt/tools
mkdir: cannot create directory '/opt/tools': Permission denied
mkcd: cannot make /opt/tools

Check that it is loaded

$ type mkcd
mkcd is a function

Troubleshooting

mkcd: command not found

The functions are off, or this shell started before you turned them on. Run toolbelt shell enable functions, then open a new terminal.

mkcd: give one folder name

mkcd takes exactly one folder. Quote a name with spaces: mkcd "my project".

sudo mkcd does not work

sudo runs programs, and mkcd is a function in your shell. Make the folder with sudo mkdir -p, then cd.

Exit status

See also

up, toolbelt, mkdir(1)