class Dir

An object of class Dir represents a directory in the underlying file system.

It consists mainly of:

About the Examples

Some examples on this page use this simple file tree:

example/
├── config.h
├── lib/
│   ├── song/
│   │   └── karaoke.rb
│   └── song.rb
└── main.rb

Others use the file tree for the Ruby project itself.

Dir As Array-Like

A Dir object is in some ways array-like:

Dir As Stream-Like

A Dir object is in some ways stream-like.

The stream is initially open for reading, but may be closed manually (using method close), and will be closed on block exit if created by Dir.open called with a block. The closed stream may not be further manipulated, and may not be reopened.

The stream has a position, which is the index of an entry in the directory:

Examples (using the simple file tree):

dir = Dir.new('example') # => #<Dir:example>
dir.pos                  # => 0

dir.read # => "."
dir.read # => ".."
dir.read # => "config.h"
dir.read # => "lib"
dir.read # => "main.rb"
dir.pos  # => 5
dir.read # => nil
dir.pos  # => 5

dir.rewind # => #<Dir:example>
dir.pos    # => 0

dir.pos = 3 # => 3
dir.pos     # => 3

dir.seek(4) # => #<Dir:example>
dir.pos     # => 4

dir.close # => nil
dir.read  # Raises IOError.

What’s Here

First, what’s elsewhere. Class Dir:

Here, class Dir provides methods that are useful for:

Reading

Setting

Querying

Iterating

Other

Public Class Methods

Dir[*patterns, base: nil, sort: true] → array

Calls Dir.glob with argument patterns and the values of keyword arguments base and sort; returns the array of selected entry names.

# File dir.rb, line 222
def self.[](*args, base: nil, sort: true)
  Primitive.dir_s_aref(args, base, sort)
end
chdir(new_dirpath) → 0
chdir → 0
chdir(new_dirpath) {|new_dirpath| ... } → object
chdir {|cur_dirpath| ... } → object

Changes the current working directory.

With argument new_dirpath and no block, changes to the given dirpath:

Dir.pwd         # => "/example"
Dir.chdir('..') # => 0
Dir.pwd         # => "/"

With no argument and no block:

  • Changes to the value of environment variable HOME if defined.

  • Otherwise changes to the value of environment variable LOGDIR if defined.

  • Otherwise makes no change.

With argument new_dirpath and a block, temporarily changes the working directory:

  • Calls the block with the argument.

  • Changes to the given directory.

  • Executes the block (yielding the new path).

  • Restores the previous working directory.

  • Returns the block’s return value.

Example:

Dir.chdir('/var/spool/mail')
Dir.pwd   # => "/var/spool/mail"
Dir.chdir('/tmp') do
  Dir.pwd # => "/tmp"
end
Dir.pwd   # => "/var/spool/mail"

With no argument and a block, calls the block with the current working directory (string) and returns the block’s return value.

Calls to Dir.chdir with blocks may be nested:

Dir.chdir('/var/spool/mail')
Dir.pwd     # => "/var/spool/mail"
Dir.chdir('/tmp') do
  Dir.pwd   # => "/tmp"
  Dir.chdir('/usr') do
    Dir.pwd # => "/usr"
  end
  Dir.pwd   # => "/tmp"
end
Dir.pwd     # => "/var/spool/mail"

In a multi-threaded program an error is raised if a thread attempts to open a chdir block while another thread has one open, or a call to chdir without a block occurs inside a block passed to chdir (even in the same thread).

Raises an exception if the target directory does not exist.

static VALUE
dir_s_chdir(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE obj)
{
    VALUE path = Qnil;

    if (rb_check_arity(argc, 0, 1) == 1) {
        path = rb_str_encode_ospath(rb_get_path(argv[0]));
    }
    else {
        const char *dist = getenv("HOME");
        if (!dist) {
            dist = getenv("LOGDIR");
            if (!dist) rb_raise(rb_eArgError, "HOME/LOGDIR not set");
        }
        path = rb_str_new2(dist);
    }

    return chdir_path(path, true);
}
children(dirpath) → array
children(dirpath, encoding: 'UTF-8') → array

Returns an array of the entry names in the directory at dirpath except for '.' and '..'; sets the given encoding onto each returned entry name:

Dir.children('/example') # => ["config.h", "lib", "main.rb"]
Dir.children('/example').first.encoding
# => #<Encoding:UTF-8>
Dir.children('/example', encoding: 'US-ASCII').first.encoding
# => #<Encoding:US-ASCII>

See String Encoding.

Raises an exception if the directory does not exist.

static VALUE
dir_s_children(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE io)
{
    VALUE dir;

    dir = dir_open_dir(argc, argv);
    return rb_ensure(dir_collect_children, dir, dir_close, dir);
}
chroot(dirpath) → 0

Changes the root directory of the calling process to that specified in dirpath. The new root directory is used for pathnames beginning with '/'. The root directory is inherited by all children of the calling process.

Only a privileged process may call chroot.

See Linux chroot.

static VALUE
dir_s_chroot(VALUE dir, VALUE path)
{
    path = check_dirname(path);
    if (IO_WITHOUT_GVL_INT(nogvl_chroot, (void *)RSTRING_PTR(path)) == -1)
        rb_sys_fail_path(path);

    return INT2FIX(0);
}
rmdir(dirpath) → 0

Removes the directory at dirpath from the underlying file system:

Dir.rmdir('foo') # => 0

Raises an exception if the directory is not empty.

static VALUE
dir_s_rmdir(VALUE obj, VALUE dir)
{
    const char *p;
    int r;

    dir = check_dirname(dir);
    p = RSTRING_PTR(dir);
    r = IO_WITHOUT_GVL_INT(nogvl_rmdir, (void *)p);
    if (r < 0)
        rb_sys_fail_path(dir);

    return INT2FIX(0);
}
each_child(dirpath) {|entry_name| ... } → nil
each_child(dirpath, encoding: 'UTF-8') {|entry_name| ... } → nil

Like Dir.foreach, except that entries '.' and '..' are not included.

static VALUE
dir_s_each_child(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE io)
{
    VALUE dir;

    RETURN_ENUMERATOR(io, argc, argv);
    dir = dir_open_dir(argc, argv);
    rb_ensure(dir_each_child, dir, dir_close, dir);
    return Qnil;
}
empty?(dirpath) → true or false

Returns whether dirpath specifies an empty directory:

dirpath = '/tmp/foo'
Dir.mkdir(dirpath)
Dir.empty?(dirpath)            # => true
Dir.empty?('/example')         # => false
Dir.empty?('/example/main.rb') # => false

Raises an exception if dirpath does not specify a directory or file in the underlying file system.

static VALUE
rb_dir_s_empty_p(VALUE obj, VALUE dirname)
{
    VALUE result, orig;
    const char *path;
    enum {false_on_notdir = 1};

    FilePathValue(dirname);
    orig = rb_str_dup_frozen(dirname);
    dirname = rb_str_encode_ospath(dirname);
    dirname = rb_str_dup_frozen(dirname);
    path = RSTRING_PTR(dirname);

#if defined HAVE_GETATTRLIST && defined ATTR_DIR_ENTRYCOUNT
    {
        u_int32_t attrbuf[SIZEUP32(fsobj_tag_t)];
        struct attrlist al = {ATTR_BIT_MAP_COUNT, 0, ATTR_CMN_OBJTAG,};
        struct getattrlist_args args = GETATTRLIST_ARGS(&al, attrbuf, 0);
        if (gvl_getattrlist(&args, path) != 0)
            rb_sys_fail_path(orig);
        if (*(const fsobj_tag_t *)(attrbuf+1) == VT_HFS) {
            al.commonattr = 0;
            al.dirattr = ATTR_DIR_ENTRYCOUNT;
            if (gvl_getattrlist(&args, path) == 0) {
                if (attrbuf[0] >= 2 * sizeof(u_int32_t))
                    return RBOOL(attrbuf[1] == 0);
                if (false_on_notdir) return Qfalse;
            }
            rb_sys_fail_path(orig);
        }
    }
#endif

    result = (VALUE)IO_WITHOUT_GVL(nogvl_dir_empty_p, (void *)path);
    if (FIXNUM_P(result)) {
        rb_syserr_fail_path((int)FIX2LONG(result), orig);
    }
    return result;
}
entries(dirname, encoding: 'UTF-8') → array

Returns an array of the entry names in the directory at dirpath; sets the given encoding onto each returned entry name:

Dir.entries('/example') # => ["config.h", "lib", "main.rb", "..", "."]
Dir.entries('/example').first.encoding
# => #<Encoding:UTF-8>
Dir.entries('/example', encoding: 'US-ASCII').first.encoding
# => #<Encoding:US-ASCII>

See String Encoding.

Raises an exception if the directory does not exist.

static VALUE
dir_entries(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE io)
{
    VALUE dir;

    dir = dir_open_dir(argc, argv);
    return rb_ensure(dir_collect, dir, dir_close, dir);
}
exist?(dirpath) → true or false

Returns whether dirpath is a directory in the underlying file system:

Dir.exist?('/example')         # => true
Dir.exist?('/nosuch')          # => false
Dir.exist?('/example/main.rb') # => false

Same as File.directory?.

VALUE
rb_file_directory_p(void)
{
}
fchdir(fd) → 0
fchdir(fd) { ... } → object

Changes the current working directory to the directory specified by the integer file descriptor fd.

When passing a file descriptor over a UNIX socket or to a child process, using fchdir instead of chdir avoids the time-of-check to time-of-use vulnerability

With no block, changes to the directory given by fd:

Dir.chdir('/var/spool/mail')
Dir.pwd # => "/var/spool/mail"
dir  = Dir.new('/usr')
fd = dir.fileno
Dir.fchdir(fd)
Dir.pwd # => "/usr"

With a block, temporarily changes the working directory:

  • Calls the block with the argument.

  • Changes to the given directory.

  • Executes the block (yields no args).

  • Restores the previous working directory.

  • Returns the block’s return value.

Example:

Dir.chdir('/var/spool/mail')
Dir.pwd # => "/var/spool/mail"
dir  = Dir.new('/tmp')
fd = dir.fileno
Dir.fchdir(fd) do
  Dir.pwd # => "/tmp"
end
Dir.pwd # => "/var/spool/mail"

This method uses the fchdir() function defined by POSIX 2008; the method is not implemented on non-POSIX platforms (raises NotImplementedError).

Raises an exception if the file descriptor is not valid.

In a multi-threaded program an error is raised if a thread attempts to open a chdir block while another thread has one open, or a call to chdir without a block occurs inside a block passed to chdir (even in the same thread).

static VALUE
dir_s_fchdir(VALUE klass, VALUE fd_value)
{
    int fd = RB_NUM2INT(fd_value);

    if (chdir_alone_block_p()) {
        struct fchdir_data args;
        args.old_dir = dir_s_alloc(klass);
        dir_initialize(NULL, args.old_dir, rb_fstring_cstr("."), Qnil);
        args.fd = fd;
        args.done = FALSE;
        return rb_ensure(fchdir_yield, (VALUE)&args, fchdir_restore, (VALUE)&args);
    }
    else {
        int r = IO_WITHOUT_GVL_INT(nogvl_fchdir, &fd);
        if (r < 0)
            rb_sys_fail("fchdir");
    }

    return INT2FIX(0);
}
for_fd(fd) → dir

Returns a new Dir object representing the directory specified by the given integer directory file descriptor fd:

d0 = Dir.new('..')
d1 = Dir.for_fd(d0.fileno)

Note that the returned d1 does not have an associated path:

d0.path # => '..'
d1.path # => nil

This method uses the fdopendir() function defined by POSIX 2008; the method is not implemented on non-POSIX platforms (raises NotImplementedError).

static VALUE
dir_s_for_fd(VALUE klass, VALUE fd)
{
    struct dir_data *dp;
    VALUE dir = TypedData_Make_Struct(klass, struct dir_data, &dir_data_type, dp);

    if (!(dp->dir = IO_WITHOUT_GVL(nogvl_fdopendir, (void *)(VALUE)NUM2INT(fd)))) {
        rb_sys_fail("fdopendir");
        UNREACHABLE_RETURN(Qnil);
    }

    RB_OBJ_WRITE(dir, &dp->path, Qnil);
    return dir;
}
foreach(dirpath, encoding: 'UTF-8') {|entry_name| ... } → nil

Calls the block with each entry name in the directory at dirpath; sets the given encoding onto each passed entry_name:

Dir.foreach('/example') {|entry_name| p entry_name }

Output:

"config.h"
"lib"
"main.rb"
".."
"."

Encoding:

Dir.foreach('/example') {|entry_name| p entry_name.encoding; break }
Dir.foreach('/example', encoding: 'US-ASCII') {|entry_name| p entry_name.encoding; break }

Output:

#<Encoding:UTF-8>
#<Encoding:US-ASCII>

See String Encoding.

Returns an enumerator if no block is given.

static VALUE
dir_foreach(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE io)
{
    VALUE dir;

    RETURN_ENUMERATOR(io, argc, argv);
    dir = dir_open_dir(argc, argv);
    rb_ensure(dir_each, dir, dir_close, dir);
    return Qnil;
}
pwd → string

Returns the path to the current working directory:

Dir.chdir("/tmp") # => 0
Dir.pwd           # => "/tmp"
static VALUE
dir_s_getwd(VALUE dir)
{
    return rb_dir_getwd();
}
glob(*patterns, flags: 0, base: nil, sort: true) → array
glob(*patterns, flags: 0, base: nil, sort: true) {|entry_name| ... } → nil

Forms an array entry_names of the entry names selected by the arguments.

Argument patterns is a string pattern or an array of string patterns; note that these are not regexps; see below.

Notes for the following examples:

  • '*' is the pattern that matches any entry name except those that begin with '.'.

  • We use method Array#take to shorten returned arrays that otherwise would be very large.

With no block, returns array entry_names; example (using the simple file tree):

Dir.glob('*') # => ["config.h", "lib", "main.rb"]

With a block, calls the block with each of the entry_names and returns nil:

Dir.glob('*') {|entry_name| puts entry_name } # => nil

Output:

config.h
lib
main.rb

If optional keyword argument flags is given, the value modifies the matching; see below.

If optional keyword argument base is given, its value specifies the base directory. Each pattern string specifies entries relative to the base directory; the default is '.'. The base directory is not prepended to the entry names in the result:

Dir.glob(pattern, base: 'lib').take(5)
# => ["abbrev.gemspec", "abbrev.rb", "base64.gemspec", "base64.rb", "benchmark.gemspec"]
Dir.glob(pattern, base: 'lib/irb').take(5)
# => ["cmd", "color.rb", "color_printer.rb", "completion.rb", "context.rb"]

If optional keyword sort is given, its value specifies whether the array is to be sorted; the default is true. Passing value false with that keyword disables sorting (though the underlying file system may already have sorted the array).

Patterns

Each pattern string is expanded according to certain metacharacters; examples below use the Ruby file tree:

  • '*': Matches any substring in an entry name, similar in meaning to regexp /.*/mx; may be restricted by other values in the pattern strings:

    • '*' matches all entry names:

      Dir.glob('*').take(3)  # => ["BSDL", "CONTRIBUTING.md", "COPYING"]
      
    • 'c*' matches entry names beginning with 'c':

      Dir.glob('c*').take(3) # => ["CONTRIBUTING.md", "COPYING", "COPYING.ja"]
      
    • '*c' matches entry names ending with 'c':

      Dir.glob('*c').take(3) # => ["addr2line.c", "array.c", "ast.c"]
      
    • '*c*' matches entry names that contain 'c', even at the beginning or end:

      Dir.glob('*c*').take(3) # => ["CONTRIBUTING.md", "COPYING", "COPYING.ja"]
      

    Does not match Unix-like hidden entry names (“dot files”). To include those in the matched entry names, use flag IO::FNM_DOTMATCH or something like '{*,.*}'.

  • '**': Matches entry names recursively if followed by the slash character '/':

    Dir.glob('**/').take(3) # => ["basictest/", "benchmark/", "benchmark/gc/"]
    

    If the string pattern contains other characters or is not followed by a slash character, it is equivalent to '*'.

  • '?' Matches any single character; similar in meaning to regexp /./:

    Dir.glob('io.?') # => ["io.c"]
    
  • '[set]': Matches any one character in the string set; behaves like a Regexp character class, including set negation ('[^a-z]'):

    Dir.glob('*.[a-z][a-z]').take(3)
    # => ["CONTRIBUTING.md", "COPYING.ja", "KNOWNBUGS.rb"]
    
  • '{abc,xyz}': Matches either string abc or string xyz; behaves like Regexp alternation:

    Dir.glob('{LEGAL,BSDL}') # => ["LEGAL", "BSDL"]
    

    More than two alternatives may be given.

  • \: Escapes the following metacharacter.

    Note that on Windows, the backslash character may not be used in a string pattern: Dir['c:\foo*'] will not work, use Dir['c:/foo*'] instead.

More examples (using the simple file tree):

# We're in the example directory.
File.basename(Dir.pwd) # => "example"
Dir.glob('config.?')              # => ["config.h"]
Dir.glob('*.[a-z][a-z]')          # => ["main.rb"]
Dir.glob('*.[^r]*')               # => ["config.h"]
Dir.glob('*.{rb,h}')              # => ["main.rb", "config.h"]
Dir.glob('*')                     # => ["config.h", "lib", "main.rb"]
Dir.glob('*', File::FNM_DOTMATCH) # => [".", "config.h", "lib", "main.rb"]
Dir.glob(["*.rb", "*.h"])         # => ["main.rb", "config.h"]

Dir.glob('**/*.rb')
=> ["lib/song/karaoke.rb", "lib/song.rb", "main.rb"]

Dir.glob('**/*.rb', base: 'lib')  #   => ["song/karaoke.rb", "song.rb"]

Dir.glob('**/lib')                # => ["lib"]

Dir.glob('**/lib/**/*.rb')        # => ["lib/song/karaoke.rb", "lib/song.rb"]

Dir.glob('**/lib/*.rb')           # => ["lib/song.rb"]

Flags

If optional keyword argument flags is given (the default is zero – no flags), its value should be the bitwise OR of one or more of the constants defined in module File::Constants.

Example:

flags = File::FNM_EXTGLOB | File::FNM_DOTMATCH

Specifying flags can extend, restrict, or otherwise modify the matching.

The flags for this method (other constants in File::Constants do not apply):

  • File::FNM_DOTMATCH: specifies that entry names beginning with '.' should be considered for matching:

    Dir.glob('*').take(5)
    # => ["BSDL", "CONTRIBUTING.md", "COPYING", "COPYING.ja", "GPL"]
    Dir.glob('*', flags: File::FNM_DOTMATCH).take(5)
    # => [".", ".appveyor.yml", ".cirrus.yml", ".dir-locals.el", ".document"]
    
  • File::FNM_EXTGLOB: enables the pattern extension '{a,b}', which matches pattern a and pattern b; behaves like a regexp union (e.g., '(?:a|b)'):

    pattern = '{LEGAL,BSDL}'
    Dir.glob(pattern)      # => ["LEGAL", "BSDL"]
    
  • File::FNM_NOESCAPE: specifies that escaping with the backslash character '\' is disabled; the character is not an escape character.

  • File::FNM_PATHNAME: specifies that metacharacters '*' and '?' do not match directory separators.

  • File::FNM_SHORTNAME: specifies that patterns may match short names if they exist; Windows only.

# File dir.rb, line 410
def self.glob(pattern, _flags = 0, flags: _flags, base: nil, sort: true)
  Primitive.attr! :use_block
  Primitive.dir_s_glob(pattern, flags, base, sort)
end
home(user_name = nil) → dirpath

Returns the home directory path of the user specified with user_name if it is not nil, or the current login user:

Dir.home         # => "/home/me"
Dir.home('root') # => "/root"

Raises ArgumentError if user_name is not a user name.

static VALUE
dir_s_home(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE obj)
{
    VALUE user;
    const char *u = 0;

    rb_check_arity(argc, 0, 1);
    user = (argc > 0) ? argv[0] : Qnil;
    if (!NIL_P(user)) {
        StringValue(user);
        rb_must_asciicompat(user);
        u = StringValueCStr(user);
        if (*u) {
            return rb_home_dir_of(user, rb_str_new(0, 0));
        }
    }
    return rb_default_home_dir(rb_str_new(0, 0));

}
mkdir(dirpath, permissions = 0775) → 0

Creates a directory in the underlying file system at dirpath with the given permissions; returns zero:

Dir.mkdir('foo')
File.stat(Dir.new('foo')).mode.to_s(8)[1..4] # => "0755"
Dir.mkdir('bar', 0644)
File.stat(Dir.new('bar')).mode.to_s(8)[1..4] # => "0644"

See File Permissions. Note that argument permissions is ignored on Windows.

static VALUE
dir_s_mkdir(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE obj)
{
    struct mkdir_arg m;
    VALUE path, vmode;
    int r;

    if (rb_scan_args(argc, argv, "11", &path, &vmode) == 2) {
        m.mode = NUM2MODET(vmode);
    }
    else {
        m.mode = 0777;
    }

    path = check_dirname(path);
    m.path = RSTRING_PTR(path);
    r = IO_WITHOUT_GVL_INT(nogvl_mkdir, &m);
    if (r < 0)
        rb_sys_fail_path(path);

    return INT2FIX(0);
}
mktmpdir (prefix_suffix=nil, *rest, **options) { |dup| ... }

Dir.mktmpdir creates a temporary directory.

require 'tmpdir'
Dir.mktmpdir {|dir|
  # use the directory
}

The directory is created with 0700 permission. Application should not change the permission to make the temporary directory accessible from other users.

The prefix and suffix of the name of the directory is specified by the optional first argument, prefix_suffix.

  • If it is not specified or nil, “d” is used as the prefix and no suffix is used.

  • If it is a string, it is used as the prefix and no suffix is used.

  • If it is an array, first element is used as the prefix and second element is used as a suffix.

Dir.mktmpdir {|dir| dir is ".../d..." }
Dir.mktmpdir("foo") {|dir| dir is ".../foo..." }
Dir.mktmpdir(["foo", "bar"]) {|dir| dir is ".../foo...bar" }

The directory is created under Dir.tmpdir or the optional second argument tmpdir if non-nil value is given.

Dir.mktmpdir {|dir| dir is "#{Dir.tmpdir}/d..." }
Dir.mktmpdir(nil, "/var/tmp") {|dir| dir is "/var/tmp/d..." }

If a block is given, it is yielded with the path of the directory. The directory and its contents are removed using FileUtils.remove_entry before Dir.mktmpdir returns. The value of the block is returned.

Dir.mktmpdir {|dir|
  # use the directory...
  open("#{dir}/foo", "w") { something using the file }
}

If a block is not given, The path of the directory is returned. In this case, Dir.mktmpdir doesn’t remove the directory.

dir = Dir.mktmpdir
begin
  # use the directory...
  open("#{dir}/foo", "w") { something using the file }
ensure
  # remove the directory.
  FileUtils.remove_entry dir
end
# File lib/tmpdir.rb, line 99
def self.mktmpdir(prefix_suffix=nil, *rest, **options)
  base = nil
  path = Tmpname.create(prefix_suffix || "d", *rest, **options) {|path, _, _, d|
    base = d
    mkdir(path, 0700)
  }
  if block_given?
    begin
      yield path.dup
    ensure
      unless base
        base = File.dirname(path)
        stat = File.stat(base)
        if stat.world_writable? and !stat.sticky?
          raise ArgumentError, "parent directory is world writable but not sticky: #{base}"
        end
      end
      FileUtils.remove_entry path
    end
  else
    path
  end
end
new(dirpath) → dir
new(dirpath, encoding: nil) → dir

Returns a new Dir object for the directory at dirpath:

Dir.new('.') # => #<Dir:.>

The value given with optional keyword argument encoding specifies the encoding for the directory entry names; if nil (the default), the file system’s encoding is used:

Dir.new('.').read.encoding                       # => #<Encoding:UTF-8>
Dir.new('.', encoding: 'US-ASCII').read.encoding # => #<Encoding:US-ASCII>
# File dir.rb, line 211
def initialize(name, encoding: nil)
  Primitive.dir_initialize(name, encoding)
end
open(dirpath) → dir
open(dirpath, encoding: nil) → dir
open(dirpath) {|dir| ... } → object
open(dirpath, encoding: nil) {|dir| ... } → object

Creates a new Dir object dir for the directory at dirpath.

With no block, the method equivalent to Dir.new(dirpath, encoding):

Dir.open('.') # => #<Dir:.>

With a block given, the block is called with the created dir; on block exit dir is closed and the block’s value is returned:

Dir.open('.') {|dir| dir.inspect } # => "#<Dir:.>"

The value given with optional keyword argument encoding specifies the encoding for the directory entry names; if nil (the default), the file system’s encoding is used:

Dir.open('.').read.encoding                       # => #<Encoding:UTF-8>
Dir.open('.', encoding: 'US-ASCII').read.encoding # => #<Encoding:US-ASCII>
# File dir.rb, line 183
def self.open(name, encoding: nil, &block)
  dir = Primitive.dir_s_open(name, encoding)
  if block
    begin
      yield dir
    ensure
      Primitive.dir_s_close(dir)
    end
  else
    dir
  end
end
pwd → string

Returns the path to the current working directory:

Dir.chdir("/tmp") # => 0
Dir.pwd           # => "/tmp"
static VALUE
dir_s_getwd(VALUE dir)
{
    return rb_dir_getwd();
}
rmdir(dirpath) → 0

Removes the directory at dirpath from the underlying file system:

Dir.rmdir('foo') # => 0

Raises an exception if the directory is not empty.

static VALUE
dir_s_rmdir(VALUE obj, VALUE dir)
{
    const char *p;
    int r;

    dir = check_dirname(dir);
    p = RSTRING_PTR(dir);
    r = IO_WITHOUT_GVL_INT(nogvl_rmdir, (void *)p);
    if (r < 0)
        rb_sys_fail_path(dir);

    return INT2FIX(0);
}
tmpdir ()

Returns the operating system’s temporary file path.

require 'tmpdir'
Dir.tmpdir # => "/tmp"
# File lib/tmpdir.rb, line 29
def self.tmpdir
  ['TMPDIR', 'TMP', 'TEMP', ['system temporary path', SYSTMPDIR], ['/tmp']*2, ['.']*2].find do |name, dir|
    unless dir
      next if !(dir = ENV[name] rescue next) or dir.empty?
    end
    dir = File.expand_path(dir)
    stat = File.stat(dir) rescue next
    case
    when !stat.directory?
      warn "#{name} is not a directory: #{dir}"
    when !stat.writable?
      warn "#{name} is not writable: #{dir}"
    when stat.world_writable? && !stat.sticky?
      warn "#{name} is world-writable: #{dir}"
    else
      break dir
    end
  end or raise ArgumentError, "could not find a temporary directory"
end

Public Instance Methods

chdir → 0
chdir { ... } → object

Changes the current working directory to self:

Dir.pwd # => "/"
dir = Dir.new('example')
dir.chdir
Dir.pwd # => "/example"

With a block, temporarily changes the working directory:

  • Calls the block.

  • Changes to the given directory.

  • Executes the block (yields no args).

  • Restores the previous working directory.

  • Returns the block’s return value.

Uses Dir.fchdir if available, and Dir.chdir if not, see those methods for caveats.

static VALUE
dir_chdir(VALUE dir)
{
#if defined(HAVE_FCHDIR) && defined(HAVE_DIRFD) && HAVE_FCHDIR && HAVE_DIRFD
    return dir_s_fchdir(rb_cDir, dir_fileno(dir));
#else
    return chdir_path(dir_get(dir)->path, false);
#endif
}
children → array

Returns an array of the entry names in self except for '.' and '..':

dir = Dir.new('/example')
dir.children # => ["config.h", "lib", "main.rb"]
static VALUE
dir_collect_children(VALUE dir)
{
    VALUE ary = rb_ary_new();
    dir_each_entry(dir, rb_ary_push, ary, TRUE);
    return ary;
}
close → nil

Closes the stream in self, if it is open, and returns nil; ignored if self is already closed:

dir = Dir.new('example')
dir.read     # => "."
dir.close     # => nil
dir.close     # => nil
dir.read # Raises IOError.
static VALUE
dir_close(VALUE dir)
{
    struct dir_data *dirp;

    dirp = dir_get(dir);
    if (!dirp->dir) return Qnil;
    close_dir_data(dirp);

    return Qnil;
}
each {|entry_name| ... } → self

Calls the block with each entry name in self:

Dir.new('example').each {|entry_name| p entry_name }

Output:

"."
".."
"config.h"
"lib"
"main.rb"

With no block given, returns an Enumerator.

static VALUE
dir_each(VALUE dir)
{
    RETURN_ENUMERATOR(dir, 0, 0);
    return dir_each_entry(dir, dir_yield, Qnil, FALSE);
}
each_child {|entry_name| ... } → self

Calls the block with each entry name in self except '.' and '..':

dir = Dir.new('/example')
dir.each_child {|entry_name| p entry_name }

Output:

"config.h"
"lib"
"main.rb"

If no block is given, returns an enumerator.

static VALUE
dir_each_child_m(VALUE dir)
{
    RETURN_ENUMERATOR(dir, 0, 0);
    return dir_each_entry(dir, dir_yield, Qnil, TRUE);
}
fileno → integer

Returns the file descriptor used in dir.

d = Dir.new('..')
d.fileno # => 8

This method uses the dirfd() function defined by POSIX 2008; the method is not implemented on non-POSIX platforms (raises NotImplementedError).

static VALUE
dir_fileno(VALUE dir)
{
    struct dir_data *dirp;
    int fd;

    GetDIR(dir, dirp);
    fd = dirfd(dirp->dir);
    if (fd == -1)
        rb_sys_fail("dirfd");
    return INT2NUM(fd);
}
inspect → string

Returns a string description of self:

Dir.new('example').inspect # => "#<Dir:example>"
static VALUE
dir_inspect(VALUE dir)
{
    struct dir_data *dirp;

    TypedData_Get_Struct(dir, struct dir_data, &dir_data_type, dirp);
    if (!NIL_P(dirp->path)) {
        VALUE str = rb_str_new_cstr("#<");
        rb_str_append(str, rb_class_name(CLASS_OF(dir)));
        rb_str_cat2(str, ":");
        rb_str_append(str, dirp->path);
        rb_str_cat2(str, ">");
        return str;
    }
    return rb_funcallv(dir, idTo_s, 0, 0);
}
path → string or nil

Returns the dirpath string that was used to create self (or nil if created by method Dir.for_fd):

Dir.new('example').path # => "example"
static VALUE
dir_path(VALUE dir)
{
    struct dir_data *dirp;

    TypedData_Get_Struct(dir, struct dir_data, &dir_data_type, dirp);
    if (NIL_P(dirp->path)) return Qnil;
    return rb_str_dup(dirp->path);
}
Also aliased as: to_path
pos
Alias for: tell
pos = position → integer

Sets the position in self and returns position. The value of position should have been returned from an earlier call to tell; if not, the return values from subsequent calls to read are unspecified.

See Dir As Stream-Like.

Examples:

dir = Dir.new('example')
dir.pos      # => 0
dir.pos = 3  # => 3
dir.pos      # => 3
dir.pos = 30 # => 30
dir.pos      # => 5
static VALUE
dir_set_pos(VALUE dir, VALUE pos)
{
    dir_seek(dir, pos);
    return pos;
}
read → string or nil

Reads and returns the next entry name from self; returns nil if at end-of-stream; see Dir As Stream-Like:

dir = Dir.new('example')
dir.read # => "."
dir.read # => ".."
dir.read # => "config.h"
static VALUE
dir_read(VALUE dir)
{
    struct dir_data *dirp;
    struct dirent *dp;

    GetDIR(dir, dirp);
    rb_errno_set(0);
    if ((dp = READDIR(dirp->dir, dirp->enc)) != NULL) {
        return rb_external_str_new_with_enc(dp->d_name, NAMLEN(dp), dirp->enc);
    }
    else {
        int e = errno;
        if (e != 0) rb_syserr_fail(e, 0);
        return Qnil;            /* end of stream */
    }
}
rewind → self

Sets the position in self to zero; see Dir As Stream-Like:

dir = Dir.new('example')
dir.read    # => "."
dir.read    # => ".."
dir.pos     # => 2
dir.rewind  # => #<Dir:example>
dir.pos     # => 0
static VALUE
dir_rewind(VALUE dir)
{
    struct dir_data *dirp;

    GetDIR(dir, dirp);
    rewinddir(dirp->dir);
    return dir;
}
seek(position) → self

Sets the position in self and returns self. The value of position should have been returned from an earlier call to tell; if not, the return values from subsequent calls to read are unspecified.

See Dir As Stream-Like.

Examples:

dir = Dir.new('example')
dir.pos      # => 0
dir.seek(3)  # => #<Dir:example>
dir.pos      # => 3
dir.seek(30) # => #<Dir:example>
dir.pos      # => 5
static VALUE
dir_seek(VALUE dir, VALUE pos)
{
    struct dir_data *dirp;
    long p = NUM2LONG(pos);

    GetDIR(dir, dirp);
    seekdir(dirp->dir, p);
    return dir;
}
tell → integer

Returns the current position of self; see Dir As Stream-Like:

dir = Dir.new('example')
dir.tell  # => 0
dir.read  # => "."
dir.tell  # => 1
static VALUE
dir_tell(VALUE dir)
{
    struct dir_data *dirp;
    long pos;

    GetDIR(dir, dirp);
    if((pos = telldir(dirp->dir)) < 0)
        rb_sys_fail("telldir");
    return rb_int2inum(pos);
}
Also aliased as: pos
to_path
Alias for: path