TAB does't work properly with `cp` command when using environment variables

Asked Aug 22 '20 at 19:54

Active Aug 22 '20 at 19:54

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Question

When using cp command with environment variables, why pressing TAB for auto-complete doesn't work properly?

I have a directory $HOME/Music; I want to copy a file from within this directory to the current directory. Therefore:

I Type cp $HOM and press TAB, so it reads cp $HOME ;
There is an additional space after cp $HOME , therefore I delete it by Backspace and then type a slash:cp $HOME/;
Now Press TAB creates cp \$HOME/ which has a spurious backslash at the beginning of $HOME. When writing further letters i.e. cp \$HOME/Mu for Music, TAB doesn't work for autocompletion.

OS: Ubuntu 20.04

asked Aug 22 '20 at 19:54

Naghi

Think this may be relevant How to get bash to stop escaping $ during tab completion? – Aug 22 '20 at 20:35
Answer: Based on the comment above, the solution is as following: 1- open ~/.bashrc in an editor 2- add this line at the end of the file shopt -s direxpand. 3- save the file, close and open your terminal again; the problem is solved! – Naghi Aug 23 '20 at 14:19