NAME¶

basename - strip directory and suffix from filenames

SYNOPSIS¶

basename NAME [SUFFIX]
basename OPTION... NAME...

DESCRIPTION¶

Print NAME with any leading directory components removed. If specified, also remove a trailing SUFFIX.

Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.

-a, --multiple

support multiple arguments and treat each as a NAME

-s, --suffix=SUFFIX

remove a trailing SUFFIX; implies -a

-z, --zero

end each output line with NUL, not newline

--help

display this help and exit

--version

output version information and exit

EXAMPLES¶

basename /usr/bin/sort

-> "sort"

basename include/stdio.h .h

-> "stdio"

basename -s .h include/stdio.h

-> "stdio"

basename -a any/str1 any/str2

-> "str1" followed by "str2"

AUTHOR¶

Written by David MacKenzie.

REPORTING BUGS¶

Report bugs to: bug-coreutils@gnu.org
GNU coreutils home page: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
General help using GNU software: <https://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>
Report any translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/>

COPYRIGHT¶

Copyright © 2025 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

SEE ALSO¶

dirname(1), readlink(1)

Full documentation <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/basename>
or available locally via: info '(coreutils) basename invocation'