whatis home-directory
Home Directory
Also known as: ~, $HOME, /home
Each user's personal directory, usually /home/username and abbreviated ~, holding their files and per-user configuration.
What Is the Home Directory in Linux?
Regular users can write freely inside their home directory and almost nowhere else, which keeps personal data separate from the system. The shell expands ~ to $HOME, and cd with no argument returns there.
Because user data and dotfiles live here, many people put /home on its own partition so reinstalling the OS leaves it untouched.
Example
echo ~
# /home/aliceLearn more about Home Directory
- The /home Directory Explained The /home directory is where every user on a Linux system keeps their personal files, settings, and configuration. This guide covers how /home is structured, why it often lives on its own partition, and how to manage it safely.
- XDG Base Directories Explained: Why Your Home Folder Is a Mess The specification that sorts config from cache from data, what each variable actually means, which programs ignore it and what you can do about them, and why deleting the wrong directory loses your data.