The pwd built-in prints the current working directory.

Syntax

  • pwd [-L|-P]

Description

The pwd built-in prints an absolute path to the shell’s current working directory to the standard output.

Options

-L
--logical

If the value of the PWD variable is an absolute path to the shell’s working directory and the path does not contain any . or .. components, then the path is printed. Otherwise, the printed path is the same as when the -P option is specified.

-P
--physical

The printed path does not contain any . or .. components, symbolic link components, or redundant slashes.

The -L (--logical) and -P (--physical) options are mutually exclusive: only the last specified one is effective. If neither is specified, -L is assumed.

Exit status

The exit status of the pwd built-in is zero unless there is any error.

Notes

The pwd built-in is a semi-special built-in.