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understanding absolute path in Linux

A absolute path is the complete path to a file from the root directory. This includes the filename and all directories in between. The absolute path starts with the forward slash (/). The easiest way to get absolute path of file in Linux is using pwd command.

In Linux, it is important to understand how absolute paths work in order to navigate your filesystem effectively. In this blog post, we will discuss what an absolute path is and how to find it on your Linux system. We will also provide some examples of how absolute paths are used in practice.

What is absolute path in Linux

When we talk about the root directory, we are referring to the very top level of the filesystem. All other directories and files on the system are located beneath it. The root directory is denoted by a forward slash (/). Any time you see a forward slash by itself, it is referring to the root directory. For example, if we wanted to list all of the files in the root directory, we would use the command: ls /

This command would list all of the files and directories that are located directly under the root directory. If we wanted to list all of the files in a specific sub-directory, we would need to specify the path to that directory. For example, let’s say we want to list all of the files in the /home directory. We would use the command: ls /home

This would list all of the files and directories located under the /home directory. In order to specify an absolute path, we need to include the root directory in our path. So, if we wanted to list all of the files in the /home directory using an absolute path, we would use this command: ls /home

As you can see, when we use an absolute path, we need to start with the forward slash (/). This tells Linux that we want to start at the root directory. From there, we can specify any number of sub-directories until we reach our desired location.

check absolute path using pwd command in Linux

The pwd command can help us find the absolute path to any file on our system. This command prints the full pathname of the current working directory. So, if we want to find the absolute path to a specific file, all we need to do is run this command.

pwd
ls /etc
cd /etc
pwd
cd ~
pwd
cd /tmp
pwd

If we need to get the absolute path for a command, the easiest way to do this is to use the command: which. This command will take command as an argument and return the absolute path of that command. For example, if we wanted to find the absolute path of the ls command, we would use this command: which ls

This would return the following output: /bin/ls. As you can see, this tells us that the ls command is located in the /bin/ directory. We can also use this command to find out where our Bash shell is located. Remember, Bash is just a program like any other, so it too has an absolute path.

We can find out what that path is by using the which command: which bash. This returns the output: /bin/bash. So, we know that our Bash shell is located in the /bin/ directory. We can also use this command to find the absolute path of any other program on our system.

how to use absolute path in Linux

Now that you know what an absolute path is and how to find it, let’s talk about some practical examples of how it can be used. One common use case for the absolute path is when we want to run a program from a specific location. For example, let’s say we have a program called my_program located in the /home/user/ directory. We can execute this program by running the following command: /home/user/my_program.This will execute the my_program program located in the /home/user/ directory.

Another common use case for the absolute path is when we want to specify a file or directory that is not located in our current working directory. For example, let’s say we are currently in the /home/user/directory and we want to list all of the files in the /etc/ directory. We can do this by running the following command: ls /etc. This will list all of the files located in the /etc/ directory. As you can see, absolute paths can be very useful when working with files and directories on your Linux system.

Tips to use absolute path in Linux

There are a few things to keep in mind when working with absolute paths in Linux:

  •  Always use the forward slash (/). This tells Linux that we want to start at the root directory.
  • When specifying a sub-directory, always include the path to the root directory.
  • If we want to list all of the files in a specific sub-directory, we can use the ls command with the –l flag. This will give us a more detailed listing of the files and directories located in that directory.
  • We can also use the cd command to change directories. This command takes an argument which is the name of the directory that we want to go to.
  • We can also use wildcards with absolute paths. For example, if we want to list all of the files in the /tmp directory that end with .txt, we would use this command: ls /tmp/*.txt

I hope this blog post has helped you to understand what an absolute path is and how to use it. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below and I will do my best to answer them. Thanks for reading!