Tree and Paths

As folders gain sub-folders, it gets hard to picture the whole structure. The tree command draws it for you as a neat diagram.

tree

.
├── mission.txt
├── reports
│   ├── january.log
│   └── february.log
└── tools
    └── deploy.sh

2 directories, 4 files

The indentation and lines show what is inside what. It is a read-only command. Like ls, it never changes anything.

Absolute vs relative paths

A path is the address of a file or folder. There are two kinds.

An absolute path starts at the root / and spells out every step:

/home/student/reports/january.log

It works from anywhere: it is the full address.

A relative path starts from wherever you currently are. If you are in /home/student, then:

reports/january.log

points to the same file. No leading / means "start from here".

Two special names help with relative paths:

.: the current directory
..: the parent directory (one level up)

So ../tools/deploy.sh means "go up one level, then into tools".

Use pwd to see your absolute location, and tree to see the structure below you.

Mission: Map the Station

Before starting repairs, you need a complete map of the station's file system and then to walk one of its branches to reach the reports archive.

See the full directory structure at a glance.
Using a relative path, move into reports, then confirm you landed in /home/student/reports.
From there, list the neighbouring tools folder without moving, using a relative path that steps back up one level.

Expected result

The tree map shows every file and folder, your position confirms you are inside reports, and the final listing reveals deploy.sh living over in tools.