Print (pwd), Change (cd), or List (ls) Directory

Print Working Directory (pwd)

Purpose: The pwd command shows your current location in the file system by displaying the absolute pathname of your working directory.

Usage:

eos$ pwd

Example output:

eos$ /mnt/ncsudrive/s/ssrahman

Should I expect an output?

Yes: The terminal will return the absolute path. For example: /mnt/ncsudrive/s/ssrahman

Change Directory (cd)

Purpose: The cd command changes your current working directory to a specified location.

Usage:

eos$ cd pathname

Example

Changing from the E115 Course Locker directory to your home directory. (View animation here)

Animation showing cd command usage

To return to the E115 Course Locker:

eos$ cd /mnt/coe/workspace/csc/admin/e115

Should I expect an output?

No: The cd command does not produce output unless an error occurs.

List Directory (ls)

Purpose: The ls command lists the contents of a directory. It’s useful for checking that files are present or confirming a directory’s contents.

Usage:

eos$ ls

Or, to list contents of a different directory:

eos$ ls pathname

Common Options:

-lList contents in long format (includes size, date, owner, permissions, etc.)
-aShow all files, including hidden files (those starting with .)
-al or -laCombine both options to show all files in long format

Example

To list the contents of your home directory while you are in it:

eos$ ls

You can also specify another directory by providing a pathname with the ls command.

Should I expect an output?

Yes: The contents of the directory will be listed. For example:

MyDocuments  MyE115  File.txt

Note: The actual output will vary depending on the directory and the user’s files.

Exercises

  • What does the command ls do when used with the -l option?
  • What happens if you use two options at the same time, such as ls -l -h?
  • The command ls -R lists the contents of directories recursively, which means the subdirectories, sub-subdirectories, and so on at each level are listed. The command ls -t lists things by time of last change, with most recently changed files or directories first.
    • In what order does ls -R -t display things? Hint: ls -l uses a long listing format to view timestamps.
  • which of the following commands could ssrahman use to navigate to home directory, which is
    /mnt/ncsudrive/s/ssrahman?
    • cd .
    • cd /
    • cd /home/ssrahman
    • cd ../..
    • cd ~
    • cd home
    • cd ~/data/..
    • cd
    • cd ..
    • cd ../.
  • Moving and copying
    Assuming the hypothetical file books.dat
    as the only one in the directory you’re currently in, what is the output of the closing ls command in the sequence shown below?
  • $ mkdir doc
  • $ mv books.dat doc/
  • $ cp doc/books.dat ../books-saved.dat
  • $ ls