Display Current Folder

Maintained on October 2, 2026

To check which folder you are working in from Command Prompt or a batch file, use the cd command.

This article explains how to display the current directory (working directory), the difference between %cd% and %~dp0 in batch files, and how to change to a folder on another drive.

Quick Answer

Goal	Command
Display the current directory	`cd`
Use the current directory as a variable	`%cd%`
Get the folder where the batch file is saved	`%~dp0`
Change to a folder on another drive	`cd /d D:\work`
Display the current directory in PowerShell	`Get-Location` (`pwd`)

Display the Current Directory

Running cd without arguments prints the full path of the current directory.

Run from Command Prompt

－ □ ×

Command Prompt

Microsoft Windows [Version xx.x.xxxxx.xxx]

C:\users\user>cd

C:\Users\user

C:\users\user>

Run from a batch file

@echo off
setlocal

cd

endlocal
exit

To embed the path in a string, use %cd%.

@echo off
echo Current folder: %cd%

Change the Current Directory

Pass a path to cd to change the current directory. For example, to move to the temporary folder (the %TEMP% environment variable):

－ □ ×

Command Prompt

Microsoft Windows [Version xx.x.xxxxx.xxx]

C:\users\user>cd %TEMP%

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If the path contains spaces, enclose it in double quotes.

cd "C:\Program Files"

Use /d to Switch Drives

cd alone cannot switch to a different drive. Add the /d option to change the drive and folder at once.

－ □ ×

Command Prompt

Microsoft Windows [Version xx.x.xxxxx.xxx]

C:\users\user>cd /d D:\work

Work with Files Using Relative Paths

Relative paths are based on the current directory, so your commands keep working even if the folder layout changes.

Symbol	Meaning
`.`	Current directory
`..`	One folder up

As an example, move sample.txt in the current directory to the backup folder one level up.

－ □ ×

Command Prompt

Microsoft Windows [Version xx.x.xxxxx.xxx]

C:\users\user>move sample.txt ..\backup\

@echo off
setlocal

set "FILE=sample.txt"
set "DEST=..\backup\"

move "%FILE%" "%DEST%"

endlocal
exit

In Batch Files, Know the Difference from %~dp0

The current directory when a batch file runs is not always the folder where the batch file is saved.

Run from Command Prompt: the directory you were in
Run by double-clicking: the batch file’s folder
Run as administrator: often C:\Windows\System32

To reliably work with files next to the batch file, use %~dp0 (the batch file’s own folder) or run cd /d "%~dp0" at the top.

@echo off
cd /d "%~dp0"
echo Folder of this batch file: %cd%

In PowerShell

PowerShell uses the Get-Location cmdlet (alias pwd) to display the current directory. cd is an alias of Set-Location and is used to change folders, not to display the path.