The pwd command allows the user to view their current location in the directory structure.
Command: pwd
Synopsis: pwd [OPTION]…
Options:
These are the few options available for the pwd command.
| Option | Long Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| -L | –logical | use PWD from environment, even if it contains symlinks |
| -P | –physical | avoid all symlinks |
If both -L and -P are entered (pwd -LP or pwd -PL), the last one will be used. If neither option is used, the -L option will be assumed by default.
Examples
Using the base command
Using the pwd command will result in displaying the path where the user is located.
$# pwd /home/userna5/public_html Using the logical option
Using the logical option will display the path including symlinks. For the example below we are in a folder named ‘www‘, the www folder is actually a symlink to the public_html folder. The result displays the www folder in the path as if it were an actual folder.
$# pwd -L /home/userna5/www Using the physical option
Using the physical option will display the path not including any symlinks. As in the above example, we are in the www folder. However, since it is a symlink to the public_html folder, it displays the actual physical folder it is in instead, which is public_html.
$# pwd -P /home/userna5/public_html 
