til/postgres/change-the-current-directory-for-psql.md

Change The Current Directory For psql

When you start a psql session, your current directory is what psql will use as its current directory. This is important for meta-commands that use relative paths based on the current directory -- for instance, the \i meta-command for importing files.

You can change the current directory within a psql session using the \cd meta-command.

If my current directory is home and there is a sql directory in `home, these commands will do the following:

\! pwd
-- /home
\cd sql
\! pwd
-- /home/sql

The \cd meta-command even supports tab completion relative to the current directory.

You can also change to your home directory using just \cd.