Navigating with pwd, cd, and ls

When navigating the Linux filesystem from the command line, three of the most basic commands are pwd, cd, and ls. They answer three questions: Where am I? Where do I want to go? What is here?

pwd Print the full path of the current working directory.

cd Change the current working directory.

ls List files and subdirectories in a directory.

pwd: confirm your location

pwd stands for “print working directory.” If you are inside Alice's Documents directory, pwd might print /home/alice/Documents. It is useful whenever you are not sure where you have navigated.

cd: change the current directory

cd Documents enters a subdirectory named Documents inside the current directory. cd .. moves to the parent directory, while running cd with no argument normally returns to the current user's home directory. You can also use a full path such as cd /var/log.

$ pwd
/home/alice
$ cd Documents
$ pwd
/home/alice/Documents
$ ls
notes.txt  project

ls: see what is inside

With no arguments, ls lists visible entries in the current directory. You can also ask it to inspect another directory, such as ls /etc. As you will see later, ls has useful options for hidden files, detailed information, and human-readable file sizes.

Navigation habit: Use pwd when you are unsure where you are, cd to move, and ls after arriving to inspect the directory.

Simulated terminal ready. Run commands and watch the filesystem on the right.