File Path

A file path is a string that identifies where a file or directory lives in a file system. An absolute path starts at the root, while a relative path starts from the current working directory.

Why it matters

Wrong paths cause many everyday errors such as file not found. Windows uses drive letters and backslashes, like C:\Users\dev\notes.txt, while Linux and macOS use forward slashes starting at a single root, like /home/dev/notes.txt. Web URLs also use forward slashes, but a URL path is not a file path on the server.

Symbols such as . (current directory) and .. (parent) shorten relative paths.

Example

# current directory: /var/www/site
./images/logo.png   -> /var/www/site/images/logo.png
../backup/db.sql    -> /var/www/backup/db.sql

Common mistakes

• Hard-coding absolute paths in scripts that later move to another machine.
• Forgetting that Linux paths are case-sensitive, so Logo.png and logo.png differ.
• Not quoting paths that contain spaces on the command line.

Related

• File System
• Command Line (CLI)
• File Extension
• Shell

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