Where Are You Located?

pwd

Your first question after logging in might be "Where am I?". The pwd command displays your current location in the UNIX filesystem hierarchy. pwd stands for "print working directory".

$ pwd
/home/stu1

$ _

Your system administrator assigns you a "home" directory when your account is created. This is the place in the filesystem where your personal files will be located. On most UNIX systems, for a user named "stu1", this location will be "/home/stu1" or "/usr/stu1".

"Home Directory" Your "home" in the UNIX filesystem. This is the direcory where you will begin storing your personal files and directories (i.e., your documents). This location is assigned to you by the system administrator.

Notice that after your command executes, and returns it's response, you are presented with your prompt again, the "$" symbol.