This page lists core Ubuntu/Linux commands related to directories: navigation, creation, removal, inspection, searching, and permissions. All examples assume a Bash shell.
Ubuntu Directory Command Reference
This page lists core Ubuntu/Linux commands related to directories: navigation, creation, removal, inspection, searching, and permissions. All examples assume a Bash shell.
1. Directory navigation
| Command |
Usage |
Description |
Example |
pwd |
pwd |
Print current working directory. |
pwd |
cd |
cd [dir] |
Change current directory. |
cd /var/log |
cd ~ |
cd ~ |
Go to your home directory. |
cd ~ |
cd - |
cd - |
Switch to previous directory. |
cd - |
cd .. |
cd .. |
Go one level up (parent directory). |
cd .. |
cd ../.. |
cd ../.. |
Go up two levels. |
cd ../.. |
2. Listing directory contents
| Command |
Usage |
Description |
Example |
ls |
ls [dir] |
List directory contents (files and directories). |
ls /etc |
ls -l |
ls -l |
Long listing (permissions, owner, size, date). |
ls -l |
ls -a |
ls -a |
Show all, including hidden (.‑prefixed) entries. |
ls -a |
ls -la |
ls -la [dir] |
Long listing + hidden files. |
ls -la /var/log |
ls -R |
ls -R |
Recursive listing of subdirectories. |
ls -R /etc |
ls -d |
ls -d */ |
List directories themselves, not their contents. |
ls -d */ |
Tree-style view
tree is not installed by default on Ubuntu, but is very useful.
# install
sudo apt update
sudo apt install tree
# usage
tree
tree -L 2
tree /etc
3. Creating and removing directories
| Command |
Usage |
Description |
Example |
mkdir |
mkdir dir |
Create a new directory. |
mkdir projects |
mkdir -p |
mkdir -p path/to/dir |
Create parent directories as needed (no error if existing). |
mkdir -p /srv/data/backups/2025 |
rmdir |
rmdir dir |
Remove an empty directory. |
rmdir old_empty_dir |
rm -r |
rm -r dir |
Recursively remove directory and its contents. |
rm -r /tmp/testdir |
rm -rf |
rm -rf dir |
Force recursive remove (no prompts). Dangerous. |
rm -rf /tmp/build-output |
Safety tip: avoid running rm -rf with wildcards or as root unless you are 100% sure.
4. Copying, moving, and renaming directories
| Command |
Usage |
Description |
Example |
cp -r |
cp -r src dst |
Copy a directory recursively. |
cp -r /var/www /backup/www |
cp -a |
cp -a src dst |
Copy directory, preserving permissions, ownership, timestamps. |
cp -a /etc /backup/etc |
mv |
mv src dst |
Move or rename directories. |
mv logs old_logs |
rsync |
rsync -a src/ dst/ |
Advanced sync/copy; preserves metadata, supports remote. |
rsync -a /srv/data/ /backup/data/ |
# rename a directory
mv oldname newname
# move directory to another path
mv /opt/app /srv/app
5. Inspecting directory size and usage
| Command |
Usage |
Description |
Example |
du |
du dir |
Show disk usage of a directory (in blocks by default). |
du /var/log |
du -h |
du -h dir |
Human-readable sizes (K, M, G). |
du -h /home |
du -sh |
du -sh dir |
Summary size of a directory (single line). |
du -sh /var/lib/docker |
du -sh * |
du -sh * |
Size of each item in current directory. |
cd /var; du -sh * |
df |
df |
Show filesystem disk usage. |
df -h |
# biggest directories under current path (top 10)
du -sh * | sort -h | tail -n 10
6. Finding directories
| Command |
Usage |
Description |
Example |
find |
find path -type d |
Find directories under a path. |
find /etc -type d |
find -name |
find path -type d -name "pattern" |
Find directories by name (glob pattern). |
find / -type d -name "nginx" |
find -maxdepth |
find path -maxdepth N -type d |
Limit search depth. |
find . -maxdepth 2 -type d |
locate |
locate dirname |
Search filenames in a pre-built index (not always installed). |
locate nginx | grep /etc |
# find directories named "logs" under /var
find /var -type d -name "logs"
7. Directory permissions and ownership
| Command |
Usage |
Description |
Example |
ls -ld |
ls -ld dir |
Show permissions and ownership of a directory itself. |
ls -ld /var/www |
chmod |
chmod mode dir |
Change directory permissions (mode like 755 or symbolic). |
chmod 750 private_dir |
chmod -R |
chmod -R mode dir |
Recursively change permissions on directory and contents. |
chmod -R 755 /var/www |
chown |
chown user:group dir |
Change owner and group of a directory. |
sudo chown www-data:www-data /var/www |
chown -R |
chown -R user:group dir |
Recursively change ownership. |
sudo chown -R ubuntu:ubuntu /srv/data |
# give user full access, others read+execute
chmod 755 /srv/media
# make directory owned by a service user
sudo chown -R immich:immich /srv/immich
8. Directory links (shortcuts)
| Command |
Usage |
Description |
Example |
ln -s |
ln -s target linkname |
Create a symbolic link (symlink) to a directory. |
ln -s /srv/data ~/data |
readlink |
readlink -f path |
Resolve a symlink to its real path. |
readlink -f ~/data |
# symlink a long path to something short
ln -s /var/lib/docker/volumes/my_volume/_data ~/mydata
9. Special directory helpers
| Item |
Meaning |
Example |
. |
Current directory. |
cp file.txt ./backup/ |
.. |
Parent directory. |
cd .. |
~ |
Current user’s home directory. |
cd ~/Downloads |
~user |
Home directory of another user. |
cd ~root |
10. Quick directory workflows (examples)
Create a project directory tree
mkdir -p ~/projects/app/{config,logs,data,scripts}
cd ~/projects/app
tree
Backup a directory with permissions preserved
sudo rsync -a /etc/ /backup/etc_$(date +%F)/
Find and inspect large directories
cd /
sudo du -xh / | sort -h | tail -n 30
