Displaying the Current Working Directory in Linux | pwd Command (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 1 Nov, 2025

The pwd command in Linux displays the full path of your current working directory from the root directory.

• It helps users identify their present location within the filesystem.
• pwd can be a shell built-in command (pwd) or an external binary (/bin/pwd).
• The $PWD environment variable stores the current directory path.
• The command supports two common options: -L (logical) and -P (physical).

It helps users identify their exact location within the Linux file system hierarchy.

**Displaying the Current Working Directory

To print the current working directory, simply enter:

pwd

Display the Current Working Directory

• The output will be the absolute path of your current location in the file system.
• In the given example the directory /home/shital/logs/ is a symbolic link for a target directory /var/logs/

Syntax

The basic syntax of the 'pwd' command is

pwd [OPTIONS]

This command doesn't have any arguments or options, but it can accept flags for specific behavior.

**1. Displaying the Current Working Directory Using Binary pwd (/bin/pwd):

The binary /bin/pwd displays the absolute path of the current working directory directly from the system’s executable, ensuring accurate results even in complex environments.

**Syntax:

/bin/pwd

Display the Current Working Directory

• The default behavior of Built-in pwd is the same as pwd -L. Using "pwd -L" to obtain the symbolic path of a directory containing a symbolic link.
• The default behavior of /bin/pwd is the same as pwd -P. Utilizing "pwd -P" to display the actual path, ignoring symbolic links.

**2. The $PWD Environment variable.

The $PWD environment variable is a dynamic variable that stores the path of the current working directory. It holds the same value as 'pwd -L' – representing the symbolic path.

$PWD

Executing this command prints the symbolic path stored in the $PWD environment variable

Flags For Specific behavior in `pwd` command in Linux.

• The "-L" flag resolves symbolic links and prints the path of the target directory.
• The default behavior of the shell built-in "pwd" is equivalent to using "pwd -L".
• Mention the "-P" flag, which displays the actual path without resolving symbolic links.
• The default behavior of the binary "/bin/pwd" is the same as using "pwd -P"

**pwd -L: Prints the symbolic path. 
**pwd -P: Prints the actual path.