File system

Moving around (cd)

You need to use paths when you move around the file system. Use the cd (“change directory”) command to change your current directory. Controlling which directory you are in is critically important when using the command line.

cd ../../chaz

This command moves from /ada/data to /chaz.

Click on a directory to see the cd command that takes you there. Click on “go” to see how the path is being followed.

This example is using relative paths to navigate the file system with cd. Notice how you can’t jump sideways (to siblings) — to do that you must go via the parent (..). For example, in this file structure, to move from ada to chaz you must go via /.

You can “chain” multiple ..s together to travel up the tree.

You don’t need to use relative paths with cd: you can use absolute paths instead. But for small, local moves — which are very common — relative paths are often simpler.