Updated: 2025/Nov/16

Please read Privacy Policy. It's for your privacy.

BASENAME(3)                Library Functions Manual                BASENAME(3)

NAME
     basename - return the last component of a pathname

LIBRARY
     Standard C Library (libc, -lc)

SYNOPSIS
     #include <libgen.h>

     char *
     basename(char *path);

DESCRIPTION
     The basename() function takes the pathname pointed to by path and returns
     a pointer to the final component of the pathname, deleting any trailing
     `/' characters.

     If path consists entirely of `/' characters, basename() returns a pointer
     to the string "/".

     If path is a null pointer or points to an empty string, basename()
     returns a pointer to the string ".".

RETURN VALUES
     The basename() function returns a pointer to the final component of path.

SEE ALSO
     basename(1), dirname(3)

STANDARDS
     ⊕   X/Open Portability Guide Issue 4, Version 2 ("XPG4.2")
     ⊕   IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 ("POSIX.1")

BUGS
     If the length of the result is longer than PATH_MAX bytes (including the
     terminating nul), the result will be truncated.

     The basename() function returns a pointer to static storage that may be
     overwritten by subsequent calls to basename().  This is not strictly a
     bug; it is explicitly allowed by IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 ("POSIX.1").

NetBSD 11.99                     May 10, 2008                     NetBSD 11.99