cd and pwd: move between directories

Updated November 2026

cd changes the current working directory and pwd prints it. Together they are how you move around the file tree.

Examples

pwd                    # where am I? e.g. /home/anna
cd /var/log            # absolute path: from the root
cd nginx               # relative path: /var/log/nginx
cd ..                  # one level up
cd ../..               # two levels up
cd                     # your home directory
cd ~                   # the same
cd ~bob                # bob's home directory
cd -                   # back to the previous directory (and print it)
cd "My Documents"      # quote names with spaces

Directory stack: pushd and popd

In bash and zsh you can keep a stack of directories and jump back to them:

pushd /etc/nginx       # go to /etc/nginx and remember where you were
pushd /var/log         # go on to /var/log
dirs -v                # show the stack
popd                   # back to /etc/nginx
popd                   # back to where you started

pwd and symbolic links

If you reached a directory through a symbolic link, pwd shows the path you used. pwd -P shows the physical path with links resolved. cd -P resolves links while changing directory.

CDPATH

The CDPATH variable lists directories that cd searches for relative names, like PATH for commands. With CDPATH=.:~/projects, typing cd website from anywhere jumps to ~/projects/website. Do not export it in scripts; it can make cd go somewhere unexpected.

Why cd is not a program

cd is built into the shell, because a separate program cannot change the directory of the shell that started it. That is also why cd inside a script does not change the directory of your terminal: the script runs in its own shell. In scripts, always check that cd worked before doing anything destructive:

cd /srv/app/tmp || exit 1
rm -f ./*.tmp