$ ls -la drwxr-xr-x docs/ $ run script
◆ Bash

Get script's directory path

This is real work, not a feature someone invented — it comes from real job ads and real questions people asked. Below are four ready AI prompts: get it done, make it easy for the next person to say yes to, work out the right move when you are stuck, and stop it coming back.

4prompts
See the prompt↓All Bash tasks

The same task, four prompts

today's deadline · the next reviewer · the stuck moment · the pattern
AExecute — do the immediate taskI need to find the absolute path to the directory where my current script, 'deploy-app.sh', is…+
I need to find the absolute path to the directory where my current script, 'deploy-app.sh', is located. I'll use this path to correctly reference other configuration files that are in the same directory.
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
BImprove — make it easier to acceptBefore I hand off this 'deploy-app.sh' script, I want to ensure it always finds its own…+
Before I hand off this 'deploy-app.sh' script, I want to ensure it always finds its own directory, regardless of how it's called or from where. Right now, I'm using a simple 'dirname $0', but I've seen that break if the script is symlinked or executed from a different directory. How can I make this bulletproof?
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
CDecide — diagnose the stuck momentMy deployment script just failed because it couldn't find 'app.config', even though it's right…+
My deployment script just failed because it couldn't find a config file, even though it's right next to the script.
My deployment script just failed because it couldn't find 'app.config', even though it's right next to the script. I'm using relative paths, but it seems to be breaking when the script is called from a cron job or a different directory. I'm afraid of inconsistent deployments. What's the most reliable way to get the absolute path of the script's own directory, so all my relative paths work consistently?
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
DBecome — change the patternI constantly struggle with scripts that fail to find their companion files because of…+
I constantly struggle with scripts that fail to find their companion files because of inconsistent working directories.
I constantly struggle with scripts that fail to find their companion files because of inconsistent working directories or how they're invoked. This leads to brittle scripts and wasted debugging time. What habit should I change to ensure my scripts always correctly locate their own directory and associated files, regardless of how or from where they are executed?
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?

Questions people actually ask

honest answers, no sign-up

Every task here was seen in the real world. Someone doing the job named it, a real job ad asked for it, or a lot of people asked about it online.

If nothing real showed a task, it is not on the page. That is the whole rule.

They are the same job approached four ways, because what you need depends on where you are.

Get it done today. Make it easy for the next person to say yes to. Work out the right move when you are stuck. Learn the pattern so the job stops coming back.

For most of these jobs it can carry the heavy thinking - draft it, sort it, check it, rehearse it with you.

It cannot sit in your chair, take the blame when a number is wrong, or notice what nobody wrote down. Let it do the first 80%. Keep the last 20% that is truly yours.

No. Copy any prompt and paste it into the AI you already use. No account, no score, no wall in the way.

Any of them. The prompts describe the work rather than naming a product, so they are not tied to one assistant.

That is also why they keep working when you switch.

Change it freely. Every prompt is a starting line, not a rule.

Put in your real numbers, your real names and your real deadline. The more you make it yours, the better the answer comes back.

The tasks come from real job ads, published job data and the questions people ask in public forums.

The steps come from Bash's own documentation, with practitioner sources for the traps the manual does not mention.

Push once. Ask it to sharpen the weakest part and to say what it assumed.

Most wrong answers come from a missing detail rather than a bad prompt - tell it the thing it could not know.