pwd: Where Am I?

Every time you use the terminal, you are inside a folder. Linux calls it a directory. This is your current location, also known as the working directory.

Knowing where you are matters: commands like "list the files here" or "delete this file" act on your current directory.

To find out where you are, use pwd. It stands for print working directory.

pwd

It prints the full path of the folder you are in, for example:

/home/student

This path is read like a road: it starts at / (the root of the whole system) and each / separates one folder from the next. So /home/student means:

• /: the root
• home: a folder inside root
• student: a folder inside home (this is your folder)

When you start the terminal you usually begin in your home directory, the place that belongs to you. For the user student, that home directory is /home/student.

pwd never changes anything. It only reports. It is completely safe to run as often as you like.

Mission: Locate Your Position

You have just arrived at the station and opened a fresh terminal. Before doing anything else, you need to confirm your position in the file system.

Run pwd to find out which directory you are currently in.

Expected result

The terminal displays your absolute path, showing you are in /home/student.