by In this quick guide, we will show you how to quickly and easily change to your home directory using the cd command on Linux.
The home directory is an essential place for users on a Linux system. This is a place where a user typically has full file permissions. Additionally, outside of the superuser, the only user who should be able to access files in this directory is your own.
If you have been using a Linux system and the terminal for any length of time, the one command you will already be super familiar with is the cd command. This command allows you to change between directories on your system.
This same cd command is also the one you will use to swap to your home directory on Linux easily. There are three different shortcuts you can use with this command to return to your home, and they are all incredibly easy to remember.
Before we get started, one thing to mention is that not all users have a home directory. Using the useradd command, you can create new users without a home. In those cases, the methods we have covered below will not work.
Using the cd Command on Linux to Change to your Home Directory
In this section, we will explore three different ways to use the cd command to change to your current user’s home directory. Each method is simple and easy to remember.
a. On Linux, to change to your user’s home directory, you can use the cd command without any of its parameters.
When used this way, the cd command will assume that you intended to change to your home.
cdb. On Linux the tilde symbol (~) is used as a shortcut for your current user’s home directory.
This means that if we use the cd command followed by the tilde symbol on our Linux system, we will be taken to our home directory.
cd ~c. The final method we are showing you involves using an environment variable. This environment variable is called “HOME” and is automatically populated with the home directory for the current user.
This means that referencing this variable when using the cd command will take us to our home directory.
In this case, you need only use “cd” followed by “$HOME.” We use the dollar sign symbol ($) in front of “HOME” so the terminal will interpret it as an environment variable rather than the word “HOME.”
cd $HOMEConclusion
If you have reached this point in the tutorial, you should now know how to change to your home directory quickly and easily on Linux. Check out our more in-depth guide to learn more about the cd command.
The cd command is crucial for navigating the terminal on a Linux system; luckily, it is a relatively well-thought-out tool with lots of shortcuts that make swapping between folders a breeze.
Please feel free to comment below if you have had any issues using the cd command to change to your home directory on Linux. The three methods we have shown should work on almost any Linux system, but there are always some odd edge cases.
If you found this quick guide helpful, we recommend exploring the other Linux guides we offer.
