.. _cmd-cd:

cd - change directory
=====================

Synopsis
--------

.. synopsis::

    cd [DIRECTORY]

Description
-----------
``cd`` changes the current working directory.

If *DIRECTORY* is given, it will become the new directory. If no parameter is given, the :envvar:`HOME` environment variable will be used.

If *DIRECTORY* is a relative path, all the paths in the :envvar:`CDPATH` will be tried as prefixes for it, in addition to :envvar:`PWD`.
It is recommended to keep **.** as the first element of :envvar:`CDPATH`, or :envvar:`PWD` will be tried last.

Fish will also try to change directory if given a command that looks like a directory (starting with **.**, **/** or **~**, or ending with **/**), without explicitly requiring **cd**.

Fish also ships a wrapper function around the builtin **cd** that understands ``cd -`` as changing to the previous directory.
See also :ref:`prevd <cmd-prevd>`.
This wrapper function maintains a history of the 25 most recently visited directories in the ``$dirprev`` and ``$dirnext`` global variables.
If you make those universal variables your **cd** history is shared among all fish instances.

As a special case, ``cd .`` is equivalent to ``cd $PWD``, which is useful in cases where a mountpoint has been recycled or a directory has been removed and recreated.

The **--help** or **-h** option displays help about using this command, and does not change the directory.

Examples
--------

::

    cd
    # changes the working directory to your home directory.
    
    cd /usr/src/fish-shell
    # changes the working directory to /usr/src/fish-shell

See Also
--------

Navigate directories using the :ref:`directory history <directory-history>` or the :ref:`directory stack <directory-stack>`
