Home Directory

What Does Home Directory Mean?

A home directory is a file system directory on a multiuser operating system containing files for a given user of the system.

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A home directory is also known as a login directory.

Techopedia Explains Home Directory

As a repository for a user’s personal files, directories and programs, and a default directory for a user who logs in, a home directory helps to provide a setting for individual users to navigate the network, through a disk folder that contains the user’s personal files. This takes various forms; for example in Windows, a home directory is accessed under “Documents and Settings.”

In complicated network systems, a home directory is a way to keep files and folders straight for multiuser access. Each user is assigned a home directory, which he or she works from to access other elements of the network.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…