Change directory in PowerShell

Question

My PowerShell prompt's currently pointed to my C drive (PS C:\>). How do I change directory to a folder on my Q (PS Q:\>) drive?

The folder name on my Q drive is "My Test Folder".

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simple as this `cd -Path Q:/` – Omer Sep 19 '20 at 12:20

score 240 · Accepted Answer · edited Oct 19 '19 at 18:32

240

Unlike the CMD.EXE CHDIR or CD command, the PowerShell Set-Location cmdlet will change drive and directory, both. Get-Help Set-Location -Full will get you more detailed information on Set-Location, but the basic usage would be

PS C:\> Set-Location -Path Q:\MyDir

PS Q:\MyDir>

By default in PowerShell, CD and CHDIR are alias for Set-Location.

(Asad reminded me in the comments that if the path contains spaces, it must be enclosed in quotes.)

edited Oct 19 '19 at 18:32

Mathieu Gemard

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answered Dec 13 '16 at 20:55

Jeff Zeitlin

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You have to enclose the path in "" otherwise it will give you error. Command will look like this Set-Location "Q:\My Test Folder" – Asad Apr 26 '18 at 12:30
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@Asad - Good point, and one that I should have included originally, though quoting is only necessary if the path contains spaces. – Jeff Zeitlin Apr 26 '18 at 12:34
cmd.exe supports "cd /d e:\somedirectory" to also switch drives – Marco van de Voort Dec 18 '21 at 15:30

score 38 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 13 '16 at 20:54

38

To go directly to that folder, you can use the Set-Location cmdlet or cd alias:

Set-Location "Q:\My Test Folder"

answered Dec 13 '16 at 20:54

BenH

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score 28 · Answer 3 · edited Feb 15 '18 at 09:50

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Multiple posted answer here, but probably this can help who is newly using PowerShell

SO if any space is there in your directory path do not forgot to add double inverted commas "".

edited Feb 15 '18 at 09:50

wonea

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answered Nov 14 '17 at 13:16

Deepesh

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Single quotes will work as well, e.g., `Set-Location 'C:\Path With Spaces'` – Jeff Zeitlin Mar 28 '18 at 14:37
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`double inverted commas` ‍♂️ – OwnageIsMagic Aug 21 '20 at 11:35

score 24 · Answer 4 · answered Dec 13 '16 at 20:53

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You can simply type Q: and that should solve your problem.

answered Dec 13 '16 at 20:53

Cordo van Saviour

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It doesn't seem to work. Am I doing this correctly? PS C:\> Q: – SoConfused Dec 13 '16 at 20:57
Are you sure it's there? I guess if it's Q:/ drive that that is some sort of removable media, it is maybe something as simple as plugging it in. – Cordo van Saviour Dec 13 '16 at 21:00
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The assumption is that the drive Q does in fact exist. If it does not, PowerShell will throw an error specifying that the drive does not exist. – Jeff Zeitlin Dec 13 '16 at 21:01
Oh, yeah, my bad. – Cordo van Saviour Dec 13 '16 at 21:04
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Love simple solutions :) – Heike Sep 25 '19 at 14:11

score 12 · Answer 5 · edited Dec 21 '20 at 01:17

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Set-Location -Path 'Q:\MyDir'

In PowerShell cd = Set-Location

edited Dec 21 '20 at 01:17

phuclv

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answered Jan 09 '18 at 09:57

Rao Adnan

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This must be one of the worlds best reason not to use Powershell. – not2qubit Dec 05 '18 at 16:41
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Since aliases can be removed and redefined, I will _always_ use the expanded cmdlet in answers here - I can't assume that just because _I_ haven't removed or changed the `cd` alias, neither have you. – Jeff Zeitlin Oct 03 '20 at 15:29

score 4 · Answer 6 · edited Oct 31 '21 at 05:41

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You can also use the sl command to be able to change directories. It is Set-Location but it is much shorter.

Example:

# Too verbose
Set-Location -Path C:\

# Just the right amount of characters to type
sl C:\

edited Oct 31 '21 at 05:41

tdy

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answered Oct 31 '21 at 04:09

jaycedotbin

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gluttony · Answer 7 · 2023-07-03T06:20:12.117

I don't know why everyone talks about Set-Location and the fact that cd does not change drive and directory, in fact it actually does it (in powershell, not cmd), you just need to put quotes (single or double) around if there are spaces in folder name(s), also you can just type drive letter if you just want to go to its root:

Edit: now I started editing my PowerShell scripts with a "real" IDE I understood why everyone talks about Set-Location, cd is just an alias to it:

Sibasis Mohanty · Answer 8 · 2020-02-25T14:19:31.830

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If your Folder inside a Drive contains spaces In Power Shell you can Simply Type the command then drive name and folder name within Single Quotes(''):

Set-Location -Path 'E:\FOLDER NAME'

The Screenshot is attached here

edited Feb 25 '20 at 14:19

answered Feb 25 '20 at 03:58

Sibasis Mohanty

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score 0 · Answer 9 · answered Sep 02 '22 at 04:20

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On Powershell use Set-Location instead of cd.
Put path in quotes. Single quotes works for me.

Set-Location 'C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\6.0'

answered Sep 02 '22 at 04:20

Monika

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Change directory in PowerShell

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