How To Use Basename Command in Linux With Example
basename
is a command-line utility that strips directory and trailing suffix from given file names.
Using the basename
Command
The basename
command supports two syntax formats:
basename NAME [SUFFIX]
basename OPTION... NAME...
basename
takes a filename and prints the last component of the filename. Optionally, it can also remove any trailing suffix. It is a simple command that accepts only a few options.
The most basic example is to print the file name with the leading directories removed:
$ basename /etc/passwd
The output will include the file name:
OUTPUT
passwd
The basename
command removes any trailing /
characters:
$ basename /usr/local/basename /usr/local
Both commands will produce the same output:
OUTPUT
local
local
By default, each output line ends in a newline character. To end the lines with NUL
, use the -z
(--zero
) option.
Multiple Inputs
The basename
command can accept multiple names as arguments. To do so, invoke the command with the -a
(--multiple
) option, followed by the list of files separated by space.
For example, to get the file names of /etc/passwd
and /etc/shadow
you would run:
$ basename -a /etc/passwd /etc/shadow
OUTPUT
passwd
shadow
Removing a Trailing Suffix
To remove any trailing suffix from the file name, pass the suffix as a second argument:
$ basename /etc/hostname name
OUTPUT
host
Generally, this feature is used to strip file extensions:
$ basename /etc/sysctl.conf .conf
OUTPUT
sysctl
Another way to remove a trailing suffix is to specify the suffix with the -s
(--suffix=SUFFIX
) option:
$ basename -s .conf /etc/sysctl.conf
OUTPUT
sysctl
This syntax form allows you to strip any trailing suffix from multiple names:
$ basename -a -s .conf /etc/sysctl.conf /etc/sudo.conf
OUTPUT
sysctl
sudo
Example
The following example shows how to use the basename
command inside a bash for
loop to rename all files ending with “.jpeg” in the current directory by replacing the file extension from “.jpeg” to “.jpg”:
for file in *.jpeg; do
mv -- "$file" "$(basename $file .jpeg).jpg"
done
If you are using bash as your shell, instead of invoking basename
, you can use strip the trailing extension using Shell Parameter Expansion .
Conclusion
The basename
command strips any leading directory and trailing suffix from the name.If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to leave a comment.
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