How to open and close directories in the Linux terminal

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Learn how to use the cd command to change directories with this Linux tutorial.

 

Image credits :  CC BY-SA Seth Kenlon

 

To open a directory on a computer with a graphical interface, you double-click on a folder. It opens, and you are now "in" that folder.

 

To open a directory in a terminal, you use the cd command to change your current directory. This essentially opens that folder and places you in it.

 

$ pwd
/home/tux

 

$ ls
example.txt
Documents
Downloads
Music
Pictures
Templates
Videos

 

$ cd Documents

$ pwd
/home/tux/Documents

Close a folder

To close a directory on a computer with a graphical interface, you close the window representing that directory.

 

You don't have to close directories in a terminal, but you can always navigate away from a location you've made your current directory. The cd command, issued alone with no arguments, takes you back home.

 

bash$ cd

 

bash$ pwd

/home/tux

 

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