3.2.1 Before You Begin

Before you start experimenting with files, make sure that you are in your home directory. This is a directory established for you by your system administrator when your account was created. If you perform the tasks shown in the following examples from your home directory, you'll be less likely to create, copy, move, or (worst of all) delete files within portions of the system that other users expect to remain unchanged.

To make certain that you are indeed in your home directory, type the cd (change directory) command by itself. This moves you to your home (default) directory. Then type the pwd (print working directory) command to display your current location within the filesystem. The directory displayed is your home directory:

$ cd
$ pwd
/export/home/username

In this example, the user's home directory is /export/home/username, where username is the name of the user owning the home directory.