codex-lv2-may-2025

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Navigating Files and Directories

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Steps

1. Understand files and directories

   • A file holds data (like a document or an image).
   • A directory (also called a folder) holds files or other directories. The system that manages all this is called the file system.

2. Find your current location Open your terminal and type:

   pwd
   

   (This stands for “print working directory.”) You’ll see output like this:

   /Users/nelle
   

   This tells you your current working directory—like your current location in the file system.

3. What does this location mean? Think of the file system like an upside-down tree:

   /
   └── Users
       ├── imhotep
       ├── larry
       └── nelle
   

   • / is the root (the top level of the system).
   • /Users contains a folder for each user.
   • /Users/nelle is Nelle’s personal folder. That’s why pwd shows /Users/nelle—Nelle is the current user.

4. Know that your result may look different Your output might vary based on your operating system:

   • On Mac: /Users/yourname
   • On Linux: /home/yourname
   • On Windows (using Git Bash): something like /c/Users/yourname

   If your prompt doesn’t show your home folder, you can move there by typing:

   cd ~
   

5. Understand slashes

   • A leading / means “start from the root.”
   • Slashes in the middle are separators between folders. For example: /Users/nelle/data means the data folder inside nelle, inside Users, starting from root.

6. Use cd to move to other folders Try this:

   cd Desktop
   

   This moves you into the Desktop folder inside your current directory.

   💡 OneDrive Users: If you’re using OneDrive, you might need to use cd OneDrive/Desktop instead of cd Desktop.

   To go back:

   cd ..
   

   This means “go up one level.”

7. Use ls to list the contents of a directory While in a folder, type:

   ls
   

   This shows the files and subfolders in that folder.

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Notes

• The shell keeps track of your current working directory.
• Most commands operate on files “here” unless you give them a full path.
• You can use tab completion to save time: Start typing a folder name, then press Tab to auto-complete it.
• Use relative paths when working near your current location. Use absolute paths (starting with /) when you want to refer to a file from anywhere in the system.

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