Confused with relative paths?

Here’s a list of how directories and file paths work in most programming environments:

Relative Paths

• ./name.txt:
  Refers to the file name.txt in the current directory.

• ../name.txt:
  Refers to the file name.txt in the parent directory of the current folder.

• ../../name.txt:
  Refers to the file name.txt two levels up from the current folder.

• ./folder/name.txt:
  Refers to the file name.txt inside the subfolder folder in the current directory.

• ../folder/name.txt:
  Refers to the file name.txt inside the subfolder folder in the parent directory.

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Absolute Paths

• /name.txt:
  Refers to the file name.txt in the root directory (applicable in Unix-like systems).

• C:\folder\name.txt:
  Refers to the file name.txt in the folder folder on the C: drive (Windows-specific).

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Special Cases

• ~:
  Refers to the home directory of the current user (e.g., /home/username or C:\Users\username).

• name.txt:
  A plain filename without a relative (./) or absolute (/) prefix usually defaults to current directory, but its resolution depends on the environment.

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Path Normalization

Different path notations (/ vs \) matter based on the operating system:

• Unix/Linux/MacOS: Use / as the path separator.

• Windows: Use \ as the path separator but most Node.js modules (like path) can handle / as well.