Navigation & Paths

Where am I
List a deploy directory
Explain absolute vs relative path
Recover from wrong directory mid-troubleshoot

Must-know cold

pwd · cd /path · cd / cd ~ · cd - · cd ..
ls -la · ls -lh · ls -lt
Absolute path starts with /
- ~ = home
- . = here
- .. = parent

Path concepts

Token	Argument	Meaning	Example
`/`	—	Root of filesystem; absolute paths start here	`/var/log`
`~`	—	Current user’s home directory	`cd ~` → `/home/you`
`.`	—	Current directory	`ls .`
`..`	—	Parent directory	`cd ..`
`-`	—	Previous directory (for `cd` only)	`cd -`

Commands

`pwd`

Definition: Print the absolute path of the current working directory.

Option	Argument	Meaning	Example
(none)	—	Print working (current) directory absolute path	`pwd`
`-P`	—	Resolve symlinks; show physical path	`pwd -P`
`-L`	—	Show logical path (default; may keep symlink path)	`pwd -L`

Flag combos

Combo	Meaning	Example
`pwd -P`	Real path after symlink dirs	`cd /lib; pwd -P`

`cd`

Definition: Change the current working directory (or jump home / previous).

Option	Argument	Meaning	Example
(none)	—	Go to `$HOME`	`cd`
(none)	`DIR`	Change to directory	`cd /var/log`
(none)	`-`	Go to previous directory	`cd -`
(none)	`~`	Go home (same as bare `cd`)	`cd ~`
(none)	`~user`	Go to that user’s home	`cd ~jenkins`
`-P`	`DIR`	Resolve symlinks when changing	`cd -P /link/to/dir`
`-L`	`DIR`	Follow logical path (default)	`cd -L somedir`

Flag combos

Combo	Meaning	Example
`cd / && pwd`	Jump root and confirm	`cd /var && pwd`
`cd ../..`	Up two levels	`cd ../..`

`ls`

Definition: List directory entries; with flags, show metadata, sorting, and hidden files.

Option	Argument	Meaning	Example
(none)	—	List names in current dir	`ls`
(none)	`PATH`	List that file/dir	`ls /etc`
`-l`	—	Long format (mode, owner, size, mtime, name)	`ls -l`
`-a`	—	Include hidden (names starting with `.`)	`ls -a`
`-A`	—	Almost all; hidden but not `.` and `..`	`ls -A`
`-h`	—	Human-readable sizes (with `-l`)	`ls -lh`
`-t`	—	Sort by modification time (newest first)	`ls -lt`
`-S`	—	Sort by size (largest first)	`ls -lS`
`-r`	—	Reverse sort order	`ls -ltr`
`-R`	—	Recursive list	`ls -R`
`-d`	—	List directory itself, not contents	`ls -ld /tmp`
`-1`	—	One name per line	`ls -1`
`-i`	—	Show inode number	`ls -li`
`-F`	—	Classify (`/` dir, `*` exec, `@` link)	`ls -F`

Flag combos

Combo	Meaning	Example
`ls -la`	Long + all hidden	`ls -la ~`
`ls -lah`	Long + all + human sizes	`ls -lah /var/log`
`ls -ltr`	Long, oldest→newest (log triage)	`ls -ltr /var/log`
`ls -lS`	Long, largest files first	`ls -lS`
`ls -ld dir`	Metadata of dir, not listing inside	`ls -ld /etc/nginx`

`tree`

Definition: Display the directory hierarchy as an indented tree. Optional package — install if missing.

Option	Argument	Meaning	Example
(none)	—	Print directory tree	`tree`
(none)	`DIR`	Tree starting at DIR	`tree /etc/nginx`
`-L`	`N`	Max depth N	`tree -L 2`
`-a`	—	Include hidden	`tree -a`
`-d`	—	Directories only	`tree -d`
`-h`	—	Human sizes	`tree -h`

Flag combos

Combo	Meaning	Example
`tree -L 2 -d`	Shallow dir map	`tree -L 2 -d /opt`

Common recipes

Goal	Command
Where am I?	`pwd`
Go home	`cd` or `cd ~`
Toggle last two dirs	`cd -`
List everything useful	`ls -lah`
Newest files in log dir	`ls -ltr /var/log \| tail`
Dir permissions only	`ls -ld /path/to/dir`
Confirm path after cd	`cd /var/lib/jenkins && pwd`

Pitfalls

Relative paths depend on current directory — always pwd when lost.
ls without -a hides .env, .git, .ssh.
ls -l size is not always “disk used” for dirs (use du).
cd to a file fails; cd to a symlink may show the logical path (pwd -P to verify).

For more details, try man <command> in your terminal.

Navigation & Paths

Where am I
List a deploy directory
Explain absolute vs relative path
Recover from wrong directory mid-troubleshoot

Must-know cold

pwd · cd /path · cd / cd ~ · cd - · cd ..
ls -la · ls -lh · ls -lt
Absolute path starts with /
- ~ = home
- . = here
- .. = parent

Path concepts

Token	Argument	Meaning	Example
`/`	—	Root of filesystem; absolute paths start here	`/var/log`
`~`	—	Current user’s home directory	`cd ~` → `/home/you`
`.`	—	Current directory	`ls .`
`..`	—	Parent directory	`cd ..`
`-`	—	Previous directory (for `cd` only)	`cd -`

Commands

`pwd`

Definition: Print the absolute path of the current working directory.

Option	Argument	Meaning	Example
(none)	—	Print working (current) directory absolute path	`pwd`
`-P`	—	Resolve symlinks; show physical path	`pwd -P`
`-L`	—	Show logical path (default; may keep symlink path)	`pwd -L`

Flag combos

Combo	Meaning	Example
`pwd -P`	Real path after symlink dirs	`cd /lib; pwd -P`

`cd`

Definition: Change the current working directory (or jump home / previous).

Option	Argument	Meaning	Example
(none)	—	Go to `$HOME`	`cd`
(none)	`DIR`	Change to directory	`cd /var/log`
(none)	`-`	Go to previous directory	`cd -`
(none)	`~`	Go home (same as bare `cd`)	`cd ~`
(none)	`~user`	Go to that user’s home	`cd ~jenkins`
`-P`	`DIR`	Resolve symlinks when changing	`cd -P /link/to/dir`
`-L`	`DIR`	Follow logical path (default)	`cd -L somedir`

Flag combos

Combo	Meaning	Example
`cd / && pwd`	Jump root and confirm	`cd /var && pwd`
`cd ../..`	Up two levels	`cd ../..`

`ls`

Definition: List directory entries; with flags, show metadata, sorting, and hidden files.

Option	Argument	Meaning	Example
(none)	—	List names in current dir	`ls`
(none)	`PATH`	List that file/dir	`ls /etc`
`-l`	—	Long format (mode, owner, size, mtime, name)	`ls -l`
`-a`	—	Include hidden (names starting with `.`)	`ls -a`
`-A`	—	Almost all; hidden but not `.` and `..`	`ls -A`
`-h`	—	Human-readable sizes (with `-l`)	`ls -lh`
`-t`	—	Sort by modification time (newest first)	`ls -lt`
`-S`	—	Sort by size (largest first)	`ls -lS`
`-r`	—	Reverse sort order	`ls -ltr`
`-R`	—	Recursive list	`ls -R`
`-d`	—	List directory itself, not contents	`ls -ld /tmp`
`-1`	—	One name per line	`ls -1`
`-i`	—	Show inode number	`ls -li`
`-F`	—	Classify (`/` dir, `*` exec, `@` link)	`ls -F`

Flag combos

Combo	Meaning	Example
`ls -la`	Long + all hidden	`ls -la ~`
`ls -lah`	Long + all + human sizes	`ls -lah /var/log`
`ls -ltr`	Long, oldest→newest (log triage)	`ls -ltr /var/log`
`ls -lS`	Long, largest files first	`ls -lS`
`ls -ld dir`	Metadata of dir, not listing inside	`ls -ld /etc/nginx`

`tree`

Definition: Display the directory hierarchy as an indented tree. Optional package — install if missing.

Option	Argument	Meaning	Example
(none)	—	Print directory tree	`tree`
(none)	`DIR`	Tree starting at DIR	`tree /etc/nginx`
`-L`	`N`	Max depth N	`tree -L 2`
`-a`	—	Include hidden	`tree -a`
`-d`	—	Directories only	`tree -d`
`-h`	—	Human sizes	`tree -h`

Flag combos

Combo	Meaning	Example
`tree -L 2 -d`	Shallow dir map	`tree -L 2 -d /opt`

Common recipes

Goal	Command
Where am I?	`pwd`
Go home	`cd` or `cd ~`
Toggle last two dirs	`cd -`
List everything useful	`ls -lah`
Newest files in log dir	`ls -ltr /var/log \| tail`
Dir permissions only	`ls -ld /path/to/dir`
Confirm path after cd	`cd /var/lib/jenkins && pwd`

Pitfalls

Relative paths depend on current directory — always pwd when lost.
ls without -a hides .env, .git, .ssh.
ls -l size is not always “disk used” for dirs (use du).
cd to a file fails; cd to a symlink may show the logical path (pwd -P to verify).

For more details, try man <command> in your terminal.