Translations by Scott Todd

The <command>cd</command> command changes directories. When you open a terminal you will be in your home directory. To move around the file system you will use <command>cd</command>.

The <command>~</command> character represents the current user's home directory. As seen above, <command>cd ~</command> is equivalent to <command>cd /home/username/</command>. However, when running a command as root (using <command>sudo</command>, for example), <command>~</command> points instead to <filename class="directory">/root</filename>. When running a command with <command>sudo</command>, the full path to your home directory must be given.

<application>GNOME Terminal</application> also displays this information in the title bar of its window.

The <command>pwd</command> command outputs which directory you are currently located in (<acronym>pwd</acronym> stands for <quote>print working directory</quote>). For example, typing <screen>pwd</screen> in the <filename class="directory">Desktop</filename> directory, will show <computeroutput>/home/username/Desktop</computeroutput>. <placeholder-1/>

The <command>ls</command> command outputs a list of the files in the current directory. For example, typing <screen>ls ~</screen> will show you the files that are in your home directory.

Used with the <command>-l</command> options, <command>ls</command> outputs various other information alongside the filename, such as the current permissions on the file, and the file's owner.

The <command>cp</command> command makes a copy of a file. For example, type: <screen>cp foo bar</screen> to make an exact copy of <filename>foo</filename> and name it <filename>bar</filename>. <filename>foo</filename> will be unchanged.

The <command>mv</command> command moves a file to a different location or will rename a file. Examples are as follows: <screen>mv foo bar</screen> will rename the file <filename>foo</filename> to <filename>bar</filename>. <screen>mv foo ~/Desktop</screen> will move the file <filename>foo</filename> to your <filename class="directory">Desktop</filename> directory but will not rename it.

<command>rm</command> is used to delete files. <screen>rm foo</screen> deletes the file <filename>foo</filename> from the current directory.

The <command>mkdir</command> command allows you to create directories. For example, typing: <screen>mkdir music</screen> will create a directory named <filename class="directory">music</filename> in the current directory.