`dirname`

Return the directory portion of a pathname (POSIX)

Syntax:

dirname string

None.

The dirname utility returns a portion of the string operand to standard output. The string operand represents a valid pathname whose format is:

directory_pathname/base_filename

The dirname utility writes the directory_pathname component to standard output.

If string is //, then // is returned. Any other string consisting entirely of slash characters causes a single slash to be returned.

You'll use the dirname utility most often within shell scripts, where it's normally invoked inside back-tick (`...`), or contained in $(...).