Directory.GetCurrentDirectory Method

Reference

Definition

Namespace:: System.IO

Assemblies:: mscorlib.dll, System.IO.FileSystem.dll

Assembly:: System.IO.FileSystem.dll

Assembly:: System.Runtime.dll

Assembly:: mscorlib.dll

Assembly:: netstandard.dll

Source:: Directory.cs

Source:: Directory.cs

Source:: Directory.cs

Important

Some information relates to prerelease product that may be substantially modified before it’s released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.

Gets the current working directory of the application.

public:
 static System::String ^ GetCurrentDirectory();

public static string GetCurrentDirectory ();

static member GetCurrentDirectory : unit -> string

Public Shared Function GetCurrentDirectory () As String

Returns

String

A string that contains the absolute path of the current working directory, and does not end with a backslash (\).

Exceptions

UnauthorizedAccessException

The caller does not have the required permission.

NotSupportedException

The operating system is Windows CE, which does not have current directory functionality.

This method is available in the .NET Compact Framework, but is not currently supported.

Examples

The following example demonstrates how to use the GetCurrentDirectory method.

using namespace System;
using namespace System::IO;
int main()
{
   try
   {
      
      // Get the current directory.
      String^ path = Directory::GetCurrentDirectory();
      String^ target = "c:\\temp";
      Console::WriteLine( "The current directory is {0}", path );
      if (  !Directory::Exists( target ) )
      {
         Directory::CreateDirectory( target );
      }
      
      // Change the current directory.
      Environment::CurrentDirectory = target;
      if ( path->Equals( Directory::GetCurrentDirectory() ) )
      {
         Console::WriteLine( "You are in the temp directory." );
      }
      else
      {
         Console::WriteLine( "You are not in the temp directory." );
      }
   }
   catch ( Exception^ e ) 
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "The process failed: {0}", e );
   }

}

using System;
using System.IO;

class Test
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        try
        {
            // Get the current directory.
            string path = Directory.GetCurrentDirectory();
            string target = @"c:\temp";
            Console.WriteLine("The current directory is {0}", path);
            if (!Directory.Exists(target))
            {
                Directory.CreateDirectory(target);
            }

            // Change the current directory.
            Environment.CurrentDirectory = (target);
            if (path.Equals(Directory.GetCurrentDirectory()))
            {
                Console.WriteLine("You are in the temp directory.");
            }
            else
            {
                Console.WriteLine("You are not in the temp directory.");
            }
        }
        catch (Exception e)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("The process failed: {0}", e.ToString());
        }
    }
}

open System
open System.IO

try
    // Get the current directory.
    let path = Directory.GetCurrentDirectory()
    let target = @"c:\temp"
    printfn $"The current directory is {path}"
    if not (Directory.Exists target) then
        Directory.CreateDirectory target |> ignore

    // Change the current directory.
    Environment.CurrentDirectory <- target
    if path.Equals(Directory.GetCurrentDirectory()) then
        printfn "You are in the temp directory."
    else
        printfn "You are not in the temp directory."
with e ->
    printfn $"The process failed: {e}"

Imports System.IO

Public Class Test
    Public Shared Sub Main()
        Try
            ' Get the current directory.
            Dim path As String = Directory.GetCurrentDirectory()
            Dim target As String = "c:\temp"
            Console.WriteLine("The current directory is {0}", path)
            If Directory.Exists(target) = False Then
                Directory.CreateDirectory(target)
            End If
            ' Change the current directory.
            Environment.CurrentDirectory = (target)
            If path.Equals(Directory.GetCurrentDirectory()) Then
                Console.WriteLine("You are in the temp directory.")
            Else
                Console.WriteLine("You are not in the temp directory.")
            End If
        Catch e As Exception
            Console.WriteLine("The process failed: {0}", e.ToString())
        End Try
    End Sub
End Class

Remarks

The current directory is distinct from the original directory, which is the one from which the process was started.

For a list of common I/O tasks, see Common I/O Tasks.

Applies to

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