How to Identify Working Directories Using Shell Characters and Variables

Some of the special directories that a Linux user is bound to work with so many times on a shell command line include the user’s home directory, the current and previous working directories.

Therefore, understanding how to easily access or pinpoint these directories using certain unique methods can be a bonus skill for a new or any Linux user.

Identify Working Directories Using Shell Characters and Environment Variables

In this tips for newbies, we shall look at ways of how a user can identify his/her home, current and previous working directories from the shell using special shell characters and environment variables.

1. Using Specific Shell Characters

There are certain specific characters that are understood by the shell when we are dealing with directories from the command line. The first character we shall look at is the tilde (~): it is used to access the current user’s home directory:

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