Bash cannot find any files at all

Question

I am quite new to using Bash, so apologies if this is a rather rudimentary question;

I am trying to open a text file in Bash, but Bash does not seem to be able to find any of my files or directories at all. Whenever I try to use the cat command or cd command (for example, cd Desktop/), no matter what file or directory I specify, Bash tells me "No such file or directory". pwd says that I am in /mnt/c/WINDOWS/system32 . ls shows me a very long list of files, but none of them are that for which I am looking. I am trying to open a .txt file on my Desktop, but neither the Desktop nor the txt file are showing up in that list. I'm running Bash via the Linux subsystem on Windows 10.

What directory are you in? (check with `pwd`) What files *are* visible? (check with `ls`) BTW welcome to SO! Check out the [tour] and [ask]. — wjandrea, May 23 '20 at 01:43
The best would be to copy/paste a session transcript from a terminal window. — Peter - Reinstate Monica, May 23 '20 at 01:44
And perhaps [this answer](https://superuser.com/a/1107619/316104) helps. — Peter - Reinstate Monica, May 23 '20 at 01:46
Have you tried cd-ing to your home folder (userprofile)? I think it'll be at `/mnt/c/Users/$USER` — wjandrea, May 23 '20 at 01:56

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered May 23 '20 at 01:55

He are tips to start with WSL:

Your windows files will be found at /mnt/c/

cd /mnt/c

from here use ls to see the folders and find the files you want to use, I personally tend to put the files I use with windows subsystem for linux on the C: directory for easier use, like c:\FilesForWSL you can just create the folder on windows or cd /mnt/c and mkdir FilesForWsl then cd FilesForWsl.

After this setup anytime you want to put a file to be used by windows or from windows into linux just go to cd /mnt/c/FilesForWsl substitute FilesForWsl with your preferred folder name. Hope this clarify a little how WSL works.

Bash cannot find any files at all

1 Answers1