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I'm looking for something similar to (find-buffer-visiting FILENAME &optional PREDICATE) that would find a dired-mode buffer visiting a specified directory. Something like:

(find-buffer-visiting-dir DIRNAME)

The built-in find-buffer-visiting only searches buffer visiting files quite unfortunately. It checks if the buffer has a local buffer-file-name variable bound. The optional PREDICATE is therefore used only on files.

A potential improvement for that function would be to write (find-buffer-visiting FILENAME &optional PREDICATE FILTER) where FILTER would be a filter function used on all buffers to determine if the buffer should be included in the search.

Is there something like this already available?

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    If you are using dired+ you can check diredp--reuse-dir-buffer-helper. Several interactive commands in dired+ use this helper. But, I am not sure whether it really does what you want. (Your question smells a bit like an XY-problem.)
    – Tobias
    Commented Jan 7, 2023 at 19:42
  • I wrote a command that opens a file at point and which simply moves point to a window already opening that file. I wanted it to work for directories as well and in my code I'm using find-buffer-visiting on the filename to get the buffer. So I was looking to expand on that call either by replacing it with a function being able to detect the buffer of a directory or adding a or form which would then call the second function identifying the buffer of a directory. I don't think it was an XY-problem. The solution is to use the dired-buffers-for-dir as Drew pointed out.
    – PRouleau
    Commented Jan 7, 2023 at 21:47

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Sounds like you're looking for function dired-buffers-for-dir.

Dired+ enhances this function, but even the vanilla Emacs version is OK. C-h f dired-buffers-for-dir tells you (this is the Dired+ doc string):

dired-buffers-for-dir is a compiled Lisp function in dired+.el.

(dired-buffers-for-dir DIR &optional FILE SUBDIRS-P)

Return a list of buffers that Dired DIR (top level or in-situ subdir).

DIR is automatically expanded with expand-file-name using the default-directory. If you need expansion relative to some other directory then do that before calling dired-buffers-for-dir.

If FILE is non-nil, include only those whose wildcard pattern (if any) matches FILE.

If SUBDIRS-P is non-nil, also include the Dired buffers of directories below DIR.

The list is in reverse order of buffer creation, most recent last. As a side effect, killed Dired buffers for DIR are removed from dired-buffers.

In general, if it seems like there should be a utility function for dealing with files or directories, or their names etc., then it's likely that there is in fact such a function. Remember that the apropos commands are your friends. In this case, just M-x apropos dired buffer shows you this function (and others).

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  • I'll definitively have to use apropos more often.
    – PRouleau
    Commented Jan 7, 2023 at 21:48
  • There are additional apropos commands and non-interactive functions, in particular apropos-documentation.
    – Drew
    Commented Jan 7, 2023 at 22:57
  • I know, they're all very useful. apropos-value is quite useful too. I have just not developed the habit to use them enough.
    – PRouleau
    Commented Jan 7, 2023 at 23:11

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