Is there a shortcut command in Windows command prompt to get to the current users home directory like there is in Linux?

Question

I am used to using

cd ~

to get right into my home directory. In windows command prompt I have to do

cd Users\username

to get there. Is there a shortcut like the Linux one? It would be nice if I could get there by doing

cd username

Any ideas on how to do this in Windows Vista?

Thanks,
Adam

Answer 1

You can always put a .bat-File somewhere in your %PATH% which does the path changing for you.

Answer 2

Yes, you can use %HOMEPATH%, which is the full path of the user's home directory.

There are quite a few other useful variables available, such as %OS% (Operating System), or %WINDIR% (Windows system directory). See e.g.

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/ntcmds_shelloverview.mspx?mfr=true

for a list.

Answer 3

Dunno if its a feature of our work login script or a windows default, but I can use cd %HOMEPATH% to achieve that, where HOMEPATH is an environment variable.

Answer 4

Two other options both of which can be added to a script and auto-executed in a similar manner to BillP3rd's answer.

It's two more characters but...

SET ~=%HOMEPATH%    
CD %~%

or...

CD %~%\Desktop

---

Or...

doskey ~=cd %homepath%
~

Of course you can't use this ~ in paths but as a quick "jump to my home dir" typing ~ Enter is pretty quick.

Answer 5

If you want all user's commmand prompts to start in their "home" directory, create the following registry key as an Expandable String Value (sans quotes, of course):

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor\AutoRun : "cd /d %USERPROFILE%"

If you want only your command prompts to do it:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor\AutoRun : "cd /d %USERPROFILE%"

I make it a practice to keep a c:\Scripts folder in which I keep an "autoexec"-type batch file which I invoke via this key.

Answer 6

Windows has really become 'All about the gui' so in your case I'd just get the tools you want instead of trying to 'bend' the system to your will ... The MinGW tools are an excellent little collection of some of the most widely used gnu tools ... I highly recommend it if your a nix fan on Win ...

http://www.mingw.org/wiki/MSYS

Answer 7

I created a .cmd file on a directory in my path, and named it "cd~.cmd". Its contents are:

@cd %HOMEPATH%

So I can type "cd~" from anywhere to get to my home directory. Not the same as "cd ~" (note the missing space) but close enough for me.