In Unix, how do I use filename completion?

Filename completion is a feature built into some Unix shells that allows you to type part of a filename or directory name and press a key to fill out the rest. In most shells, you can type only enough of the file's name to make it unique, and then press the Esc key to fill in the rest. Note the following:

• This doesn't work in the sh shell.
  
  
• In csh, to turn on filename completion, enter set filec .
  
  
• In the tcsh or bash shell, press the Tab key instead of Esc to complete a filename.

For example, let's say you have the following files and subdirectories in your current directory:

To enter your bin subdirectory, you could type cd b , and then press the Esc key. The shell would complete the name, and you would see cd bin/.

Sometimes the shell will do a partial completion. The shell will fill in characters until it has to choose between two or more files. Continuing the example above, if you type more d and then press Esc, the shell will fill in only to more dead. , at which point you'll have to enter the next character of the file you want. This is because both dead.article and dead.letter start with a "d"; beyond dead. , the shell can't tell which file you want. Likewise, if you type emacs .p and then press Esc, the shell will not be able to fill in any more characters because the files .plan and .pinerc both begin with "p".

At Indiana University, to get support for personal or departmental Linux or Unix systems, see At IU, how do I get support for Linux or Unix?

Also see:

• In Unix, where can I get information on differences between the various shells?
• What is a wildcard, and how can I use it?
• In Unix, what is chsh, and how do I use it to change my shell?