Absolute vs relative paths in Linux CLI - Interactive Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the command to list files using an absolute path.

Linux CLI

ls [1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A../documents

B/home/user/documents

C./documents

Ddocuments

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using relative paths when an absolute path is required.

Not starting absolute paths with '/'.

An absolute path starts from the root directory, which is '/'. So '/home/user/documents' is an absolute path.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the command to change directory to a relative path.

Linux CLI

cd [1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A/var/log

B/logs

Clogs

D/var

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using absolute paths when a relative path is expected.

Starting relative paths with '/'.

Relative paths do not start with '/'. 'logs' is a relative path to the current directory.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the command to copy a file using an absolute path.

Linux CLI

cp [1] /backup/

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Ahome/user/file.txt

B./file.txt

Cfile.txt

D/home/user/file.txt

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Omitting the leading '/' in absolute paths.

Using relative paths when absolute paths are needed.

Absolute paths must start with '/'. '/home/user/file.txt' is the correct absolute path.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a relative path command to move up one directory and then into 'projects'.

Linux CLI

cd [1]/[2]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A..

Bprojects

C.

D/projects

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '.' instead of '..' to move up.

Using absolute path '/projects' instead of relative.

To move up one directory, use '..'. Then enter the 'projects' directory.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a command that lists files in the documents folder inside the user's home directory using an absolute path.

Linux CLI

ls [1]/[2]/[3]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A/home

Buser

Cdocuments

Ddownloads

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using relative paths instead of absolute.

Mixing up folder order in the path.

The absolute path is '/home/user/documents'. This lists files in the documents folder inside the user's home directory.

Practice

1. Which of the following is an absolute path in Linux?

easy

A. documents/reports

B. /home/user/documents

C. ./downloads

D. ../pictures

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand absolute path definition

   An absolute path always starts from the root directory, which is represented by /.

2. Step 2: Identify the path starting with /

   Only /home/user/documents starts with /, making it an absolute path.

3. Final Answer:

   /home/user/documents -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Absolute path starts with / = A [OK]

Hint: Absolute paths always start with a slash / [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing relative paths with absolute paths
• Thinking ./ or ../ are absolute paths
• Ignoring the leading slash in paths

2. Which command correctly changes directory to a relative path named projects inside the current folder?

easy

A. cd projects

B. cd .projects

C. cd /projects

D. cd ../projects

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand relative path usage in cd

   To move into a folder inside the current directory, you can use the folder name directly or prefix it with ./.

2. Step 2: Identify the simplest correct syntax

   cd projects uses cd projects, which is correct and simplest for relative path inside current folder.

3. Final Answer:

   cd projects -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Relative path inside current folder = cd projects [OK]

Hint: Use folder name alone to cd into relative path [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using leading slash for relative paths
• Confusing ../ with current directory
• Adding unnecessary ./ prefix

3. If your current directory is /home/user, what is the full absolute path of ../documents/report.txt?

medium

A. /documents/report.txt

B. /home/user/documents/report.txt

C. /home/documents/report.txt

D. /home/user/../documents/report.txt

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand .. in relative paths

   .. means move one directory up from current directory. From /home/user, going up one level is /home.

2. Step 2: Append the rest of the path

   After moving up, append documents/report.txt to get /home/documents/report.txt.

3. Final Answer:

   /home/documents/report.txt -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   .. moves up one folder = /home/documents/report.txt [OK]

Hint: .. means go up one folder from current directory [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Not moving up directory with ..
• Confusing relative and absolute paths
• Leaving .. in the final path

4. You run cd ../folder but get an error: bash: cd: ../folder: No such file or directory. What is the likely cause?

medium

A. The folder folder does not exist inside the parent directory

B. You used an absolute path instead of relative

C. You need to use ./folder instead

D. You must use cd /folder to access it

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the error message

   The error says the directory ../folder does not exist, meaning the folder named folder is missing in the parent directory.

2. Step 2: Check the path usage

   The command uses relative path correctly. The problem is the folder is not found at that location.

3. Final Answer:

   The folder folder does not exist inside the parent directory -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   No such file means folder missing at relative path [OK]

Hint: Check if folder exists in parent directory when using ../folder [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming syntax error instead of missing folder
• Confusing relative and absolute paths
• Trying to use ./ instead of ../ incorrectly

5. You are in /var/www/html. You want to copy a file index.html from /home/user/website to your current directory using a relative path. Which command is correct?

hard

A. cp /home/user/website/index.html .

B. cp ../../home/user/website/index.html .

C. cp ../../../../home/user/website/index.html .

D. cp ../../../home/user/website/index.html .

Solution

1. Step 1: Calculate relative path from /var/www/html to /home/user/website

   From /var/www/html, going up three levels: html -> www -> var reaches /. Then go into home/user/website.

2. Step 2: Form the relative path

   The relative path is ../../../home/user/website/index.html. So the command is cp ../../../home/user/website/index.html ..

3. Final Answer:

   cp ../../../home/user/website/index.html . -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   3 ups to root, then home path = ../../../home/user/website [OK]

Hint: Count folders up to root, then add full path [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using too few ../ and missing root
• Using absolute path when asked for relative
• Confusing current directory (.) with parent (..)