{"id":477168,"date":"2022-07-23T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-23T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-to-change-directories-in-command-prompt-on-windows-10\/"},"modified":"2022-07-23T23:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-07-23T20:00:00","slug":"how-to-change-directories-in-command-prompt-on-windows-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-change-directories-in-command-prompt-on-windows-10\/","title":{"rendered":"#How to Change Directories in Command Prompt on Windows 10"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a368b2175588\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a368b2175588\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-change-directories-in-command-prompt-on-windows-10\/#%E2%80%9CHow_to_Change_Directories_in_Command_Prompt_on_Windows_10%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;How to Change Directories in Command Prompt on Windows 10&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-change-directories-in-command-prompt-on-windows-10\/#Change_Directories_Using_the_Drag-and-Drop_Method\" >Change Directories Using the Drag-and-Drop Method<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-change-directories-in-command-prompt-on-windows-10\/#Change_Directories_Within_Command_Prompt\" >Change Directories Within Command Prompt<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-change-directories-in-command-prompt-on-windows-10\/#A_Navigation_Tip\" >A Navigation Tip<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-change-directories-in-command-prompt-on-windows-10\/#See_Directory_Contents\" >See Directory Contents<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CHow_to_Change_Directories_in_Command_Prompt_on_Windows_10%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;How to Change Directories in Command Prompt on Windows 10&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage alignnone wp-image-819489 size-full\" data-pagespeed-no-defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Windows-White-Large.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A Windows Logo on a white background. Header. \" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/p>\n<p>One of the first things you\u2019ll need to learn as you become more familiar with\u00a0Command Prompt on Windows 10 is how to change directories in the operating system\u2019s file system. There are a few ways you can do this, so we\u2019ll walk you through them.<\/p>\n<p>First, type \u201ccmd\u201d in the Windows Search bar to\u00a0open Command Prompt, and then select \u201cCommand Prompt\u201d from the search results.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-659412 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Command-prompt-app-in-windows-search.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" width=\"347\" height=\"679\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With Command Prompt opened, you\u2019re ready to change directories.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Change_Directories_Using_the_Drag-and-Drop_Method\"><\/span>Change Directories Using the Drag-and-Drop Method<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If the folder you want to open in Command Prompt is on your desktop or already open in\u00a0File Explorer, you can quickly change to that directory. Type\u00a0<code>cd<\/code> followed by a space, drag and drop the folder into the window, and then press Enter.<\/p>\n<p>The directory you switched to will be reflected in the command line.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Change_Directories_Within_Command_Prompt\"><\/span>Change Directories Within Command Prompt<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s not always convenient to open File Explorer and drag and drop. That\u2019s why it\u2019s cool that you can also type a command to change directories right in Command Prompt.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>10 Useful Windows Commands You Should Know<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Say, for example, you\u2019re in your user folder, and there\u2019s a \u201cDocuments\u201d directory in the next file path. You can type the following command in Command Prompt to switch to that directory:<\/p>\n<p><code>cd Documents<\/code><\/p>\n<p>Note that this only works if you\u2019re in the im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>te file structure. In our case, that would be (user folder) &gt; Documents. In our current directory, we wouldn\u2019t be able to use this method to jump to a directory nested two levels down.<\/p>\n<p>So, let\u2019s say we\u2019re currently in the user folder and want to go to the \u201cHow-To Geek\u201d folder, which is nested in \u201cDocuments.\u201d If we try to jump straight to \u201cHow-To Geek\u201d without first going to \u201cDocuments,\u201d we get the error shown in the image below.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-659416 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Can-not-find-directory.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"&quot;The System Cannot Find the Path Specified&quot; error message in Command Prompt.\" width=\"549\" height=\"287\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take things one directory at a time, for now. As we mentioned previously, we\u2019re currently in our user folder. We type\u00a0<code>cd Documents<\/code>\u00a0in Command Prompt to visit \u201cDocuments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-659414 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Change-directory-to-Documents.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"The &quot;cd Documents&quot; command in Command Prompt.\" width=\"607\" height=\"317\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re now in the \u201cDocuments\u201d folder. To move down another level, we type\u00a0<code>cd<\/code>\u00a0on the command line followed by the name of that directory.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-659415 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Move-to-How-To-Geek-directory.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"The &quot;cd How-To Geek&quot; command in Command Prompt.\" width=\"607\" height=\"317\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Now, let\u2019s say we\u2019re back in our user folder and want to skip that extra step and jump two directories down. In our case, this would be our \u201cHow-To Geek\u201d folder. We type the following command:<\/p>\n<pre>cd Documents\\How-To Geek<\/pre>\n<p>This allows us to move two directory levels with one command.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-659417 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Change-two-directories.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"The &quot;cd Documents\\How-To Geek&quot; command in Command Prompt.\" width=\"549\" height=\"287\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you ever go to the wrong directory and want to turn back, type the following command:<\/p>\n<pre>cd . .\u00a0<code\/><\/pre>\n<p>This allows you to move up a level.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-659418 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Move-up-a-level.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"The &quot;cd . .\u00a0&quot; command in Command Prompt.\" width=\"549\" height=\"287\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Navigation_Tip\"><\/span>A Navigation Tip<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you want to be a bit more efficient with your directory changes, type\u00a0<code>cd<\/code>\u00a0on the command line, followed by the first few letters of the directory you want. Then, press Tab to autocomplete the directory name.<\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, you can type <code>cd<\/code>, followed by the first letter of the directory, and then press Tab multiple times until the correct directory <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ears.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"See_Directory_Contents\"><\/span>See Directory Contents<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re ever lost and not sure where to go next, you can view the contents of your current directory by typing <code>dir<\/code>\u00a0on the command line.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-659421 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/See-directory-content.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"The &quot;dir&quot; command and a directory's contents in Command Prompt.\" width=\"546\" height=\"369\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This will give you a hint as to which directory to navigate to next.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/659411\/how-to-change-directories-in-command-prompt-on-windows-10\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;How to Change Directories in Command Prompt on Windows 10&#8221; One of the first things you\u2019ll need to learn as you become more familiar with\u00a0Command Prompt on Windows 10 is how to change directories in the operating system\u2019s file system. There are a few ways you can do this, so we\u2019ll walk you through them&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":477169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Windows-White-Large.png?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-477168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=477168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/477169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=477168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=477168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=477168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}