2

I have a script which I source while in bash. It does various things and retains the $PWD I was in before sourcing it.

pushd ~/.dotfiles >/dev/null || exit 1

# Do various things

popd >/dev/null || exit 1

The script runs (mostly) fine in zsh too, but when I source it from the ~/.dotfiles location, I end up in the previous $OLDPWD after sourcing it.

It seems that zsh disregards the pushd line if the current location is already the same, so the popd command goes to the $OLDPWD from before when the script was sourced.

Is there a way of stopping zsh from ignoring the "redundant" pushd command, while also keeping the script compatible with bash?

I do have the following in my .zshrc, but it also happens when I unset them:

setopt AUTO_PUSHD PUSHD_SILENT PUSHD_IGNORE_DUPS
Improve this question

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
2

pushd and popd are intended for interactive convenience. They are neither reliable nor useful in scripts.

You're seeing the effect of the pushd_ignore_dups, which is off by default but you've apparently enabled in your configuration.

Another potential problem with pushd and popd is that you need to make sure that you're really calling them in pairs. There's a high risk of accidentally omitting a popd on an error path, and that throws confusion everywhere.

In an auxiliary script meant to be sourced, you should generally not change the current directory at all. Just use absolute paths everywhere.

If you really want to change the current directory, use the cd command. Save the old current directory in a variable.

# instead of pushd...
foo_old_pwd=$PWD
cd /foo/directory

# instead of popd...
cd "$foo_old"

This works in all Bourne-style shells (even the ones that don't implement pushd and popd), and will never restore the wrong directory.

However, any code based on changing out of a directory and back in will break in one unusual case: if you don't have permission to change back into the original directory. This can happen after a process loses privileges.

Improve this answer
1
  • I'm adding [[ $ZSH_VERSION ]] && emulate -L zsh at the top for now and will gradually move to your recommendations in my scripts. Cheers. Commented May 16, 2023 at 18:50
1

you need an if-then-else from your actual answer.

if [ $PWD == ~/.dotfiles ] 
then nopopd=true
else pushd ~/.dotfiles >/dev/null || exit 1
fi

# Do various things

[[ ! $nopopd == true ]] && popd >/dev/null || exit 1

please note

  • this is untested
  • not sure you still need or condition ( || ) in pushd line
  • read Gilles's answer
Improve this answer
1
  • Thanks, but a found a simpler solution which resets the shell options - [[ $ZSH_VERSION ]] && emulate -L zsh Commented May 16, 2023 at 18:49
0

I've tried this, which seems to work, but I would like to know of any other better ways as it looks pretty horrible:

[[ $PWD == ~/.dotfiles ]] && nopopd=true
pushd ~/.dotfiles >/dev/null || exit 1

# Do various things

[[ ! $nopopd == true ]] && popd >/dev/null || exit 1

Update No, this doesn't actually work as the terminal closes when in the ~/.dotfiles directory.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Start asking to get answers

Find the answer to your question by asking.

Ask question

Explore related questions

See similar questions with these tags.