pi@raspberrypi ~ $<\/code><\/p>\nWhat does it mean?<\/p>\n
\n- The
pi<\/code> section is your username followed by @<\/code>.<\/li>\n- The
raspberrypi<\/code> (the default hostname), the ~<\/code> is your current working directory.<\/li>\n- The
~<\/code> symbol is short hand for your home directory. When you log into your Raspberry Pi, you first land in your home directory.<\/li>\n- The tailing
$<\/code> is your shell prompt, anything you type to the right of it gets executed as commands.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nPoking around the home directory<\/h2>\n
When you first login, you\u2019re in the home directory. The home directory is represented as ~<\/code> on the command prompt. The ~<\/code> character can be used as a shortcut to jump into your home directory.<\/p>\nTo see what\u2019s inside your home directory use the ls<\/em> command.<\/p>\nOther Directories<\/h2>\n
Your home directory has the following path \/home\/pi<\/code>. There are other folders\/directories above your home directory.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t believe me? We can ask Linux to tell us what our current directory is by running:<\/p>\n
pwd<\/code><\/p>\nyou should see the following output:<\/p>\n
\/home\/pi<\/code><\/p>\npwd<\/em> stands for print working directory<\/em>.<\/p>\nChanging directory<\/h2>\n
To change directory use the cd<\/em> command. What did you think cd<\/em> stands for?<\/p>\nMoving up a directory<\/strong><\/p>\nTo move up a directory from pi\u2019s<\/em> home directory to the \/home<\/code> directory use the following command:<\/p>\ncd ..<\/code><\/p>\nNow when you print the current working directory, you should see.<\/p>\n
\/home<\/code><\/p>\nTo go back to your home directory you would use the command:<\/p>\n
cd pi<\/code> however the following commands could also do the trick:<\/p>\n\ncd \/home\/pi<\/code> (specifying the full path)<\/li>\ncd ~<\/code> (using the ~<\/code> shorthand)<\/li>\ncd<\/code> (even typing just cd<\/code> takes you back to your home directory, the maker of cd<\/code> sure hates to type extra characters)<\/li>\ncd -<\/code> (the -<\/code> argument takes us to the directory we were immediately previously in, so this command would also work)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nOther directories<\/h2>\n
Of course there\u2019s more to your Pi than the \/home<\/code> directory. Let\u2019s have an explore.<\/p>\nThe folder structure on your Raspberry Pi looks something like this (with your home directory highlighted).’<\/p>\n
![\"folder-structure\"](\"http:\/\/courses.haigarmen.com\/intd300\/files\/2016\/11\/folder-structure.png\")
<\/p>\n
\n\n\nDirectory<\/th>\n Description<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n\n\/<\/code><\/td>\nThe upper most of your hard disk (or SD Card)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/bin<\/code><\/td>\nPrograms and commands that all users can run<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/boot<\/code><\/td>\nAll the files needed for booting your Raspberry Pi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/dev<\/code><\/td>\nFiles that represent devices on your Raspberry Pi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/etc<\/code><\/td>\nConfiguration files<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/etc\/init.d<\/code><\/td>\nScripts to start, stop and otherwise command services<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/etc\/X11<\/code><\/td>\nX11 Configuration Files<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/home<\/code><\/td>\nAll the user home directories (except for root\u2019s)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/home\/pi<\/code><\/td>\nThe Pi user\u2019s home directory<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/lib<\/code><\/td>\nThis is where the Kernel modules \/ drivers live.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/media<\/code><\/td>\nThere is where hard disks, SD Cards and other removable media are mounted<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/proc<\/code><\/td>\nVirtual directory that provides details of running processes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/sbin<\/code><\/td>\nPrograms primarily used for systems maintenance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/sys<\/code><\/td>\nAnother special folder that represents hardware devices<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/tmp<\/code><\/td>\nA space for temporary files<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/usr<\/code><\/td>\nPrograms and data usable by every user<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/usr\/bin<\/code><\/td>\nMost programs you\u2019ll run live in here<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/usr\/lib<\/code><\/td>\nLibraries to support programs and programming languages<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/usr\/local<\/code><\/td>\nBy convention software specific to a machine goes here.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/usr\/sbin<\/code><\/td>\nMore system software<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/usr\/share<\/code><\/td>\nSupporting files that aren\u2019t specific to chip architecture<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/usr\/src<\/code><\/td>\nSource code!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/var<\/code><\/td>\nSystem logs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/var\/backups<\/code><\/td>\nTypically compressed copies of system logs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/var\/cache<\/code><\/td>\napt-get and other programs keep their data here<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/var\/log\/<\/code><\/td>\nAll the system and service logs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/var\/mail<\/code><\/td>\nThis is where your mail goes (if you\u2019ve set it up)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\/var\/spool<\/code><\/td>\nData that is waiting to be processed or dealt with lives here (e.g. mail or print jobs)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n