Your First Termux Commands: pwd, ls, cd, clear and pkg search

You already installed Termux from F-Droid. This lesson is your first five minutes in the shell: where you are (pwd), what’s here (ls), how to move (cd), how to clear the screen, and how to search packages with pkg search. Assumes F-Droid Termux is open and you see a prompt like ~ $.

What You Need

Navigate the Termux home

1. 01

   Step 1: See where you are with pwd

   Type and press Enter:

   pwd

   You’ll get a long path under Termux’s private app storage (often ending in .../files/home). That folder is your home—Android file managers usually can’t browse it until you set up shared storage.

2. 02

   Step 2: List files with ls

   Run:

   ls
   ls -la

   ls lists names; ls -la adds hidden files (names starting with .) and permissions. A fresh home may look nearly empty—that’s normal.

3. 03

   Step 3: Change directory with cd

   Move into Termux’s usr tree briefly, then return home:

   cd $PREFIX
   pwd
   ls
   cd ~
   pwd

   $PREFIX is where Termux installs packages. cd ~ (or just cd) always brings you back home. Use cd .. to go up one level.

4. 04

   Step 4: Clear the screen

   When the scrollback gets noisy:

   clear

   Or press Ctrl+L on a hardware keyboard. History still exists—this only cleans the view.

5. 05

   Step 5: Search packages with pkg search

   Prefer the wiki’s pkg wrapper over raw apt. Search without installing:

   pkg search git
   pkg search python
   pkg search nano

   You’ll see matching package names from Termux’s repos. Next lesson: install them with pkg install.

Official docs