How your computer is organized

The terminal stops being scary the moment you realize it’s just standing in a folder, looking around. This short module gives you that mental map. By the end you’ll create the folder where all your projects will live, and you’ll know three commands that tell you where you are and let you move around.

The filing-cabinet picture

Your computer stores everything in folders inside folders, like a filing cabinet. A drawer holds folders, a folder holds more folders or documents. Nothing mysterious — it’s the same File Explorer you already use, just described in words.

A couple of terms you’ll keep hearing:

• A directory A container that holds files and other folders. Same thing the rest of your computer calls a folder. is simply another word for “folder.” Builders say “directory” out of habit; they mean folder.
• Your home folder Your personal top-level folder on Windows: C:\Users\YourName. It holds your Documents, Downloads, and Desktop. is your personal top drawer — the one that holds your Documents, Downloads, and Desktop. On Windows it lives at C:\Users\YourName (with your own Windows account name in place of “YourName”). PowerShell also lets you write it as a shortcut: the ~ symbol (called the “tilde”). Both mean the same place.

Where am I standing?

When the terminal is open, it’s always “standing” inside one folder, called the working directory The folder your terminal is currently standing in. Commands act here unless you say otherwise. . Everything you type happens there unless you say otherwise. The single most useful habit in the terminal is knowing which folder you’re in.

Helpfully, PowerShell already shows your current folder right in the prompt — that PS C:\Users\YourName> text before the cursor is where you’re standing. When you want it printed as a clean line to be sure, use pwd (“print working directory” — where am I?):

PS> pwd

It prints a path like C:\Users\YourName. Read it left to right as “drawers inside drawers”: the drive (C:), then the big container, then the next, then the folder you’re actually in — the last name on the line.

What’s in here?

First, let’s make sure we’re standing somewhere familiar — your home folder. Type this to go there (we’ll explain cd properly in a moment):

PS> cd ~

Now see what’s around you with ls (“list” — what’s here?):

PS> ls

It lists the folders and files in your current spot — the same things you’d see if you opened this folder in File Explorer.

⤢ click to enlarge

Moving around

To step into a folder, use cd (“change directory” — go here) followed by the folder’s name:

PS> cd Documents

Now pwd would show you’re inside Documents. To step back out to the folder that contains you, use two dots — they always mean “the folder one level up”:

PS> cd ..

And to jump straight home from anywhere, use cd with the ~ home shortcut:

PS> cd ~

After this, the prompt shows your home folder’s real path — PS C:\Users\YourName> — not a ~. That’s expected: ~ is just a shortcut you type, and PowerShell always displays the full path back to you.

Make your Projects folder

Let’s create one home for everything you’ll build, so your projects never end up scattered across your Desktop and Downloads. First go home, then make a new folder called Projects with mkdir (“make directory”):

PS> cd ~
PS> mkdir Projects

That’s two commands — the copy button grabs both, and the terminal runs them one after the other. Now step into it and confirm where you are:

PS> cd Projects
PS> pwd

You should see a path ending in Projects. This is where your first real project will live next module.

Want to see it the familiar way? Run the command below — the dot means “this folder” — to pop the current folder open in File Explorer, the same window you normally click around in:

PS> explorer .

One folder = one project (this is the big idea)

This little Projects folder you just made is worth pausing on, because the way you’ll organize everything from here rests on one simple rule:

Each thing you build gets its own folder inside Projects. That folder is the project.

There’s no separate “project file” to hunt for, no app you have to register your work in. A project is simply a folder with your stuff in it — the web page, the images, everything that thing needs, all living together in one box. When builders say “open the project,” they mean “open that folder.” Folder and project are the same thing.

Picture your Projects folder filling up over time, one box per idea:

Projects\
  about-me\        ← your first project (next module)
  recipe-site\     ← a later idea
  trip-planner\    ← another one

A few things that follow from this, and that save real confusion later:

• A new idea means a new folder. Starting something fresh? You make a new folder inside Projects and build there. You never build two different things in the same folder — that’s the one habit that keeps everything tidy.
• Projects never touch each other. Because each lives in its own box, nothing you do in one can disturb another. They’re completely independent.
• Keep them all in Projects. Resisting the urge to scatter folders on your Desktop or in Downloads means you’ll always know where your work is: it’s all right here, in this one place.

Your five-word vocabulary

That’s the whole map. Five things to remember:

• pwd — where am I?
• ls — what’s here?
• cd folder — go in
• cd .. — go up
• ~ — home

You’ll use these constantly, and soon without thinking. Next module is the fun one: you launch your assistant and build something real.