FG

Show only current directory name (not full path) on bash prompt

Fresh3 days ago
Mar 15, 2026182994 views
Confidence Score1%
1%

Problem

The way my bash prompt is currently configured, it shows the whole path to the current directory. This is annoying when I'm deep inside a directory tree, as the prompt becomes so long that every command wraps into the next line. How do I make it show only the last part of the path? This is what I have in my :

Error Output

PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\[\033[01;32m\]\u@\h\[\033[00m\]:\[\033[01;34m\]\w\[\033[00m\]\$ '

# If this is an xterm set the title to user@host:dir
case "$TERM" in
xterm*|rxvt*)
    PROMPT_COMMAND='echo -ne "\033]0;${USER}@${HOSTNAME}: ${PWD/$HOME/~}\007"'
    ;;
*)
    ;;
esac

Unverified for your environment

Select your OS to check compatibility.

1 Fix

Canonical Fix
Unverified Fix
New Fix – Awaiting Verification

Fix for: Show only current directory name (not full path) on bash prompt

Low Risk

Change the (lowercase) to (uppercase): Have a look at the Bash Prompt HOWTO for lots of fun details. example: The variable, if set, is a command that gets run before displaying the prompt specified in . In your case, runs an statement with certain ANSI escape sequences that manipulate the titlebar of an Xterm. If you suspect your is overriding your prompt, you can it and test things out: Finally, be sure that you're changing the definition that actually gets used. Common locations are , , , , .…

Awaiting Verification

Be the first to verify this fix

Sign in to verify this fix

Environment