Change directory with space followed by '('

Question

There are two directories I can change to:

Program Files/       Program Files (x86)/

I can change to first one by writing:

cd Program\ Files

But the second for second one:

cd Program\ Files\ (x86)

I get:

bash: syntax error near unexpected token `('

What is the right way to change to second directory?

Solution 1

You have to escape the parentheses:

cd Program\ Files\ \(x86\)

Pressing TAB will usually complete the command line for you, and will give hints how to quote the file/directory names.

Solution 2

Another way to accomplish the same is to quote the path containing whitespace:

cd "Program Files (x86)"

This also works with tab-completion so you can type:

cd "Program<Space><Tab><Space><Tab>

Notice the opening double-quote. Then you will get:

cd "Program Files (x86)"/

Comments

[enedene]

Yes, Tab completes, but I have two directories with the same name till (x86) so it only completes to "Program Files".

[lgarzo]

@enedene That's right, although afterwards you can type \ and take advantage of completion.

[user]

An alternative that may be useful in this case is to use shell globbing. For example, cd P TAB ??x86? TAB will likely (depending on what else you have in the relevant directory) complete out to Program Files (x86).

[MadScientist]

At some point backslashes become more of a problem than they're worth. If you have more than one or two special characters it's simpler to quote the entire file name; either "Program Files (x86)" or 'Program Files (x86)' will work.

[Lars Rohrbach]

Hitting TAB multiple times should cycle through the available matches. cd Prog TAB TAB.