💻 Software

What is "~/" directory?

Fresh5 days ago

Mar 15, 2026594 views

Confidence Score0%

Problem

Maybe not programming related, but I want to reference this directory in c program. I thought it is $HOME, but when I unset $HOME, I can still cd ~/ in bash. It is also not $USER's home, since I can be root with USER="another", but the “~/" still point to "/root". so how bash explains this "~/"?.

Unverified for your environment

Select your OS to check compatibility.

Your OS

OS version

Product version

1 Fix

Canonical Fix

Unverified Fix

New Fix – Awaiting Verification

Fix for: What is "~/" directory?

Low Risk

Using home dir information from /etc/passwd (6th field).

Awaiting Verification

Be the first to verify this fix

What is "~/" directory?

Problem

1 Fix

Fix for: What is "~/" directory?

Environment