Navigating the File System

Files are organized in a tree of directories (folders), starting at the root, /. Your personal files live in your home directory, such as /home/ada on Linux or /Users/ada on macOS.

Where am I, and what's here?

mkdir -p projects/website/css projects/notes
cd projects
ls
ls -a
ls website

notes
website
.
..
notes
website
css

• cd ("change directory") moves you into a folder.
• ls -a also shows hidden entries, whose names start with a dot. . means "this directory" and .. means "the parent directory".
• ls folder lists another folder without moving.

Absolute and relative paths

• An absolute path starts at the root: /home/ada/projects/notes. It works from anywhere.
• A relative path starts from where you are: notes, ../website.

mkdir -p projects/website/css projects/notes
cd projects/website/css
cd ../..
ls
cd notes && cd ../website && ls

notes
website
css

Shortcuts

cd on its own goes home; cd - jumps back to where you were.

Common mistakes

• Spaces in names: cd My Documents tries to use two arguments. Quote the name — cd "My Documents" — or press Tab to let the shell escape it for you.
• Confusing / (the root) with ~ (your home).