How do I change my current directory from a python script?

Posted by misterloogs on Stack Overflow See other posts from Stack Overflow or by misterloogs
Published on 2010-04-03T14:38:37Z Indexed on 2010/04/03 14:43 UTC
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I'm trying to implement my own version of the 'cd' command that presents the user with a list of hard-coded directories to choose from, and the user has to enter a number corresponding to an entry in the list. The program, named my_cd.py for now, should then effectively 'cd' the user to the chosen directory. Example of how this should work:

/some/directory
$ my_cd.py
1) ~
2) /bin/
3) /usr
Enter menu selection, or q to quit: 2

/bin
$

Currently, I'm trying to 'cd' using os.chdir('dir'). However, this doesn't work, probably because my_cd.py is kicked off in its own child process. I tried wrapping the call to my_cd.py in a sourced bash script named my_cd.sh:

#! /bin/bash
function my_cd() {
    /path/to/my_cd.py
}

/some/directory
$ . my_cd.sh
$ my_cd
... shows list of dirs, but doesn't 'cd' in the interactive shell

Any ideas on how I can get this to work? Is it possible to change my interactive shell's current directory from a python script?

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