Directory.GetCurrentDirectory Method

Definition

Gets the current working directory of the application.

public static string GetCurrentDirectory ();

Returns

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

Exceptions

The caller does not have the required permission.

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 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());
        }
    }
}

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

Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0

See also