Understanding File Paths in Linux

When interacting with the file system, you will most definitely need to understand how paths work. Every file and directory within the file system has its own unique path, which is an address within the file system hierarchy.

The path can be constructed in two ways: relative to the address you are currently at, or relative to the root. These are known as the Relative Path and Absolute Path, respectively.

Example

For example, a text file called flag.txt located in your documents dir within your home directory (/home, where all user directories are stored, including yours) can be accessed in two ways, assuming your current path is set to your home directory.

• Relative Path: documents/flag.txt
• Absolute Path: /home/user/documents/flag.txt

You will often use both of these pathing standards while using Linux, so get used to using both.

Path Shortcuts

There are also a few shortcuts you'll see in paths all the time:

So if you're in /home/user/documents, then .. is /home/user, and ../.. is /home. You'll be using these a LOT once you start moving around in the next unit.