pwd & ls

Where am I?

Lesson 1 of 20 · 6 min · Module 1: Find your way around

A terminal is a conversation with a computer. You type a command, press Enter, and the computer answers with text. Every command runs somewhere: in your current folder.

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By the end, you’ll be able to…

Read a terminal prompt
Show the current folder
List a folder with and without moving

The idea

pwd (print working directory) shows the folder you are in. ls lists what that folder contains. Give ls a folder name, like ls projects, to look inside another folder without moving.

pwd
ls
ls projects

01Read the prompt

The prompt learner@codetemper:~$ tells you three things: the user name (learner), the computer name (codetemper), and the current folder. The ~ symbol is short for your home folder, /home/learner. The $ means the shell is ready for a command.

02A path is an address

/home/learner is an absolute path: it starts at the root folder / and names every folder on the way. pwd always prints the full absolute path, so you never have to guess.

pwd

Output

/home/learner

03Look before you move

ls on its own lists the current folder. ls projects lists a different folder but leaves you where you are. Looking first is a good habit before you change or delete anything.

ls projects

Output

scripts  website

Your turn

Show your current folder with pwd. List your home folder with ls. Then list the contents of the projects folder.

What the checks look for

Shows the current folder: /home/learner
Lists the home folder
Lists the projects folder

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Take this with you

pwd answers "where am I?" and ls answers "what is here?".

Go a little further

List the data folder too, and notice which names look like files and which look like folders.