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Running Ubuntu 12.04, while in a terminal, I type ls and see list of folders, including the downloads folder. I then type cd downloads, press Enter. I get:

bash: cd: downloads: No such file or directory

I tried each folder, on two computers. What am I missing?

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4 Answers 4

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Linux file and directory names are case-sensitive. The default name of the downloads directory in Ubuntu is Downloads not downloads.

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  • Probably a misunderstanding, rather than a blatant typo.
    – Thomas Ward
    Jun 18, 2012 at 12:37
  • I just knew it would be something dumb! Many thanks
    – Rich Dell
    Jun 18, 2012 at 12:41
  • @RichDell You may want to accept this answer. Jun 18, 2012 at 22:36
  • The answer seems perfect but we can also let the system indifferent to CASE setting the inputrc file, see answer below Jun 19, 2012 at 17:37
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To make Bash behave case-insensitively, edit your ~/.inputrc (create it if it doesn't exist) and add

set completion-ignore-case on

start a new shell (type bash or close the terminal and open a new one) or source ~/.inputrc, and then try

cd dowTab

and watch it complete to

cd Downloads/
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  • While making tab-completion case-sensitive is a great thing, It doesn not answer the question why the ls command in this case didn't work?
    – Nanne
    Nov 3, 2012 at 7:19
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You need to observe two things:

  1. Spelling of the word i.e. you should type Downloads not downloads.
  2. Downloads folder must be in Home directory
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It should cd Downloads with a capital D.

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