IntroToLinux

7. Essential Navigation Commands

🧭 Basic Navigation

🎯 Core Commands

Command Purpose Icon
pwd Print Working Directory 📍
cd Change Directory 🚶
ls List directory contents 📋

🧪 Lab 2.1: Basic Navigation (5 minutes)

Step-by-Step Guide

# 1️⃣ Check current directory
pwd
# Output: /home/user

# 2️⃣ Go to home directory (all equivalent)
cd
cd ~
cd $HOME

# 3️⃣ Go to root directory
cd /

# 4️⃣ Go back to home directory
cd ~

# 5️⃣ List current directory contents
ls

# 6️⃣ List with details
ls -l

# 7️⃣ List including hidden files
ls -la

📺 Sample Terminal Session

user@localhost:~$ pwd
/home/user
┌────────────────────────────┐
│ ✅ Shows current location  │
└────────────────────────────┘

user@localhost:~$ cd
user@localhost:~$ pwd
/home/user
┌────────────────────────────┐
│ ✅ Still in home directory │
└────────────────────────────┘

user@localhost:~$ cd /
user@localhost:~$ pwd
/
┌────────────────────────────┐
│ ✅ Now at root directory   │
└────────────────────────────┘

user@localhost:~$ cd ~
user@localhost:~$ pwd
/home/user
┌────────────────────────────┐
│ ✅ Back to home directory  │
└────────────────────────────┘

🎓 Navigation Shortcuts

| Shortcut | Destination | Example | |———-|————-|———| | cd or cd ~ | 🏠 Home directory | /home/user | | cd / | 🌳 Root directory | / | | cd .. | ⬆️ Parent directory | Up one level | | cd - | ↩️ Previous directory | Last location | | cd ~/Documents | 📁 Subdirectory of home | /home/user/Documents | —

Next: → Essential File Commands
Previous: ← File System Permissions
Lesson Home: ↑ Lesson 2: The Shell
Course Home: ⌂ Introduction to Linux