Where is the Git Bash `/` directory?

Question

When I open Git Bash on Windows 7, the default directory is /. It has *nix-style subdirectories, and cd .. doesn't change the directory. Where is this directory on my Windows machine?

The directory C:\Program Files\Git\ has similar contents, except that / has a proc subdirectory, and C:\Program Files\Git\ doesn't.

I put dir /s /a git-bash.exe in cmd.exe, and it only came up with the git-bash.exe in C:\Program Files\Git, no other one (such as the one in /).

Read https://danlimerick.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/git-for-windows-tip-setting-home-and-the-startup-directory/ or http://shawnhymel.com/576/quick-tip-changing-default-directory-of-git-bash/ — Lazy Badger, Mar 26 '17 at 19:03
@LazyBadger OK so according to Git Bash Properties (I right-clicked on Git Bash), it starts in `C:\Program Files\Git\ `. This still doesn't answer why `/` has a `proc` subdirectory and `C:\Program Files\Git\ ` doesn't. Do you know? — Joshua Meyers, Mar 27 '17 at 05:05
@DavidPostill Thanks, this also corroborates this. `mount` gives the line: ```C:/Program Files/Git on / type ntfs (binary,noacl,auto)```. But why does `/` have a `proc` subdirectory that `C:\Program FIles\Git\ ` doesn't have then? — Joshua Meyers, Mar 27 '17 at 05:08
Again: http://www.tldp.org/LDP/Linux-Filesystem-Hierarchy/html/proc.html "`/proc` is very special in that it is also a **virtual filesystem**. It's sometimes referred to as a process information pseudo-file system. **It doesn't contain 'real' files** but runtime system information (e.g. system memory, devices mounted, hardware configuration, etc)." — Lazy Badger, Mar 27 '17 at 08:39

score 76 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 20 '19 at 18:28

76

In Git Bash, open Windows Explorer with this command:

explorer .

You will then see your current directory in the explorer address bar

answered Feb 20 '19 at 18:28

Gary Barrett

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excellent answer : simple and actually works for any folder. With this I discovered that /tmp was mounted for c:/users/[my winuser]/[local app data folder]/temp – Pacopaco Jun 12 '19 at 07:48
Mine was at C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Temp\2 – Lenne Jan 12 '22 at 12:16
On Windows 10: `C:\Users\my_username\AppData\Local\Programs\Git\etc` – Gabriel Staples Jul 18 '23 at 19:13

score 12 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 23 '19 at 22:40

12

You can run cmd from the current directory in Git Bash. That will start a windows cmd shell, which will show the windows path in the command prompt. Then type exit to return to Git Bash.

For example:

$ cmd
Microsoft Windows ...

C:\Program Files\Git>

(This is also a quick way to convert unix path to windows path.)

answered Sep 23 '19 at 22:40

wisbucky

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Do you have advice on the opposite conversion? I.e. I am having trouble navigating to some of the standard Windows paths on the Linux prompt (e.g. how do I cd to C:\Program Files ?) – Ben Farmer Oct 29 '20 at 02:59

Mir-Ismaili · Answer 3 · 2021-04-12T18:52:13.797

3

Thank @GaryBarrett for his/her nice hint.

In git-bash:

cd /bin
start .

edited Apr 12 '21 at 18:52

answered Apr 12 '21 at 15:37

Mir-Ismaili

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What does `start` do? Explaining your answer would make it more useful. – Paul Wintz Jun 07 '23 at 23:17

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Feb 16 '21 at 23:57

cd / && pwd -W | sed 's/\//\\/g'

$ echo "$(cd / && pwd -W | sed 's/\//\\/g')"
C:\Users\EXAMPLEUSER\Documents\PortableGit

Explanation:

Changing directory to root directory '/' will take you to where git was installed. The conventional "$PWD" variable won't provide much help as it says '/' too. To get the true working directory, the command pwd followed by the -W argument is required

-W print the Win32 value of the physical directory

This alone will print the correct and full directory, however it uses the Unix '/' separator between directories which Windows may not use system-wide, so the sed command edits the '/'s to '\'s

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 19 '21 at 18:21

if you using Far Manager it's possible to find an application/file by pressing Alt-F7 then bash.exe in the search field. Second, need to select the Select search area parameter to In PATH Folders.

This will be helpful if you accidentally install more bash installations than one.

score -1 · Answer 6 · answered Nov 18 '21 at 10:16

-1

if on my computer with windows it is here: C:\Program Files\Git\mingw64\bin

or this is the default location C:\Program Files\Git\mingw64\

answered Nov 18 '21 at 10:16

gUfriL

1

That doesn't make any sense unless you've modified the install. If you haven't modified your install / isn't where you think it is. – music2myear Nov 20 '21 at 04:14

Where is the Git Bash `/` directory?

6 Answers6