How can I check if a directory exists in a Bash shell script?

Question

What command can be used to check if a directory exists or not, within a Bash shell script?

Answer 1

To check if a directory exists you can use a simple if structure like this:

if [ -d directory/path to a directory ] ; then
# Things to do

else #if needed #also: elif [new condition]
# Things to do
fi

You can also do it in the negative:

if [ ! -d directory/path to a directory ] ; then
# Things to do when not an existing directory

Note: Be careful. Leave empty spaces on either side of both opening and closing braces.

With the same syntax you can use:

-e: any kind of archive

-f: file

-h: symbolic link

-r: readable file

-w: writable file

-x: executable file

-s: file size greater than zero