How can I access Desktop if it says "-bash: cd: /home/username/Desktop: No such file or directory"?

I tried cd /home/username/Desktop but still didn't work. And when I enter ls it shows the "practice" folder I created, not the desktop.

1 Answer

There are a couple of possible reasons for there not being a Desktop (or any of the other directories).

1. You installed a server version. Servers tend to not have a desktop so also do not have a directory linking to a Desktop. If this is the case, and you want a desktop, you can install a desktop. The 2 most used:

   • GNOME: sudo apt install ubuntu-desktop
   • KDE sudo apt-get install kde-plasma-desktop

2. You installed WSL (Windows subsystem layer; a tool where you can use Ubuntu from within Windows). That one does not have a desktop do will also not have those directories.

• These 2 you login from a prompt not from a graphical login.

3. You do have a desktop and created the user manually without creating a /home/$USER and created jared yourself or deleted the contents of /home/jared. In that case feel free to do a

   cd /home/jared && mkdir Desktop Music Documents Downloads Templates Videos

   But I doubt this ... those directories are automatically re-created as soon as you login into the system from a graphical login.