~/ (tilde slash)

See BLT.

The tilde (~) is a Linux "shortcut" to denote a user's home directory. Thus tilde slash (~/) is the beginning of a path to a file or directory below the user's home directory.

For example, for user01, file /home/user01/test.file can also be denoted by ~/test.file (when referenced by the logged in user01).

That construct can be used in Linux commands, for example: ls -al ~/test.file

Note: Sometimes, the succeeding file or directory name is preceded by a period (".") which indicates that it is hidden (in Linux).

Aside: It is unfortunate (imo) that I can't name this TWiki page "~/". Maybe someday that will be possible.

Aside: I don't like hidden directories or files -- for me, they are a trap -- I have done dumb things like deleted what I thought were empty directories only to (later) realize I had deleted (usually important) files. At some point I will describe in more detail what I do to avoid the problem -- in general, I create my own top level directory (e.g., /user01) and keep all my "real" user files (e.g., documents, photos, code I write, ...) in a file hierarchy that starts there. I have done nothing to move things like (personal) configuration files and other things that programs store in the /home hierarchy, nor to make them non-hidden except maybe in a few instances. And I then try to treat /home as a no go zone -- I try to avoid doing things there in the ordinary course of using the computer -- I go there only when I need to resolve a configuration issue or such.

Contributors

• RandyKramer - 22 Jan 2002
• RandyKramer - 02 Apr 2021: Came across this page, decided it could be improved (I hope
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