subdirs

SUBDIRS is a term used in computing to denote subdirectories, which are directories contained within another directory. In many filesystems and software projects, subdirectories help organize content into a hierarchical structure and support modular organization.

A subdirectory is referenced by a path. Absolute paths start at the root, such as /home/user/project/src, while relative paths start from the current directory, such as src or ./src. Subdirectories inherit permissions and influence traversal, backups, and access control.

In software projects, subdirectories often map to components or modules, such as src for source code, include for headers, tests for test suites, and docs for documentation. Nested subdirectories enable deeper organization and encapsulation of related files.

In some build systems and Makefile variants, SUBDIRS is a conventional variable name used to list subdirectories that should be built or processed recursively. The variable guides the build process to enter each directory, apply its rules, and often run in parallel, enabling scalable builds for multi-directory projects.

Common operations include creating subdirectories with mkdir -p, listing with ls or dir, and navigating with cd. When working with subdirectories, consider path separators (slash on Unix-like systems, backslash on Windows), case sensitivity, and escaping spaces or special characters. Proper permissions and organization help maintainability and security.