Beginner LinuxLesson 3 of 27 1 min read

Filesystem Navigation

Move around the filesystem with pwd, ls, and cd.

On this page3 sections

Three commands you will use constantly
Paths
Try it

Linux organises everything under a single root directory /. Unlike Windows, there are no drive letters; everything branches off /.

Three commands you will use constantly

Command	What it does	Example
`pwd`	Print current directory	`pwd`
`ls`	List files in current dir	`ls -la`
`cd`	Change directory	`cd /tmp`

Paths

Absolute paths start at /, e.g. /home/learner.
Relative paths start from where you are, e.g. ../projects.

Special directory shortcuts:

. - the current directory
.. - the parent directory
~ - your home directory

Try it

Run these in the practice terminal. It opens in a new tab, so you keep your place here.

bash

pwd                # shows something like /home/learner
ls                 # list contents
ls -la             # long format, including hidden files
cd /tmp            # jump to /tmp
pwd                # confirm you're now in /tmp
cd ~               # back home

Challenge

From /home/learner, change into the projects directory.

Want to experiment first? Try things in the practice terminal (opens in a new tab), then enter the command that solves the task here.

Quiz

Lock in the concepts. Score at least 80% to mark the lesson complete.

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Skipped the challenge? You can mark the lesson complete by hand.

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