Directory is four syllables. Folder is two. Shorter wins.
this post was submitted on 20 Jun 2026
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Jokes on them, Iβve been a windows guy so long they have always been directories; I started in the dos days.
More or less same, but I've gotten in the habit of saying "folder" to the younger crowd (at work) to be understood, and now they've become interchangeable, so I will switch back and forth in the same breath, confusing them even further...
I Used to be like this but now I disagree. I intentionally use βfoldersβ instead of Linux directories or gitlab groups.
Folders are distinct and meaningful, while directories and groups have multiple meanings not clear without context.
I say 'drawer' π
I honestly like folders better. It's one of the few good things from windows.
Files are in folders. That makes so much sense.
Not any more. I had a student not that long ago ask about the metaphor, ended up having to explain to the whole class what physical files and folders were.
I don't wanna be that guy but are these kids becoming really dumb? When I was a kid or teen I still knew about things that were in at least 2 3 decades before me, I even knew how to use them. And files and folders are by no means things of the past! We all still use them regularly. Especially in school/office environments.
I don't know how to explain it but I feel like the new generation are so disconnected from the real world and live in a bubble, their domain and depth of knowledge is really bad.
Yeah directory would make more sense if we're talking about something that contains phone numbers.
I guess it makes sense to call /proc a directory, but the things under /home? I interact with a lot of that stuff with a file manager and there's folder icons on them, so...
It's because it's a directory. It's a list of locations for files.
In Windows the command "dir" is used instead of "ls"
Yeah a directory β¦ that thing we need ldap for, right?
Itβs a list of locations of files.
It doesn't tell me which sector of the hard disk the file data is stored when I type "ls". it lists the files within the container in the path provided in the command line or aprovided by an environment variable or whatever. What should we call something that contains files?
In Windows the command βdirβ is used instead of βlsβ
Yeah they were called directories in DOS.
The icon is a folder in both Windows and in every Linux desktop environment I've seen. It's not that it's incorrect to call them directories. It's just that it's not wrong to call them folders.
I pronounce "folder" the same way I pronounce "solder", cuz I'm just badass that way.
Wait, how else do you pronounce it?
I'm an American, let me help. It's pronounced saw-dur.
Americans say solder as sorder for some reason.
I have also heard it as Sodder, especially when they say 'soddering iron'. Makes my eye twitch
Folder rhymes with solder the way solder rhymes with smolder.
wait, windows uses folder?
i've been saying directory since DOS. CD means Change Directory.
Also dir to list director contents
Dont windows also have a rmdir
I dont know if there are any commands with folder ? Maybe it was a marketing stunt somewhere along the way
The Windows GUI (Explorer) has been using the word "folder" since Windows 95. DOS and Windows before that uses the word "directory".
Oh I'll stunt bill gates's marketing.
Most file managers on Linux, like GNOME or KDE have the option "New Folder". It's fine to use them interchangeably, y'all.
imo, directory refers to the filesystem concept, folder refers to the UI concept
Yeah, but if the UI refers to the same file system's directories also as folders, why do people get so bent out of shape when you call them either?
Everyone's gotta have a hobby.
If I'm dealing with text, it's a directory. If I'm clicking around, it's a folder.
Such simpletons. I use the term File Name Category, since "folders" and "directories" are just a fancy way of referring to longer file names used to sort files. You would think someone using linux would understand this.
I use Arch BTW. π©
Where can I download Arch BTW. π©?
I understood that reference.
In spanish wy kind of use both interchangeably... carpeta, directorio.
As an old person who started on MS-DOS, I've always said "directory", and "program". I had trouble switching to "folder" and then more recently "app". I'm happy to have switched to Linux a couple of years ago so I can just say directory again. The word app, short for application, came from Apple, with the iPhone. No doubt they also liked that is the first three letters of Apple, too. It was specifically for the little programs that ran on iPhone, not meant to replace "program" across the board. But, here we are. Also, "web app" was used to refer to those websites or pages that worked like apps on iPhones, before apps became commonplace. Now, everything from Notes to Photoshop is an "app".
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In KDE, when right-click menu gives you an option for a new "folder". I will call it a folder.
The Xfce file manager, Thunar (4.18 with en-US as language), also has "Create Folder..." under the File menu, and in some contexts in the right-click menu.
Under Preferences, Behavior, it has both "directory" and "folders".
man ls uses "directory" only tho, and of course mkdir.
Thunar also calls them folders in the properties menu.
And most Linux icon themes visually represent them with a file cabinet folder image...
I've only seriously been on linux for about 6 months. It's been longer but as far as actually doing the low level linux user stuff in the command line? - 6 months. Saying 'directory' just sort of happens once you start tinkering in any meaningful way.
linux users when they walk into a room:
ls
windows users when they walk into a room
DIR
cd
ls
ls
What was I doing again?
ls
lsd
You start tripping out
dir/w/p dude
i ain't read fast enough to use dir. and i ain't use a vertical monitor with my CLI
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"Task Manager, my beloved"
"I'm System Monitor now" (Arch+KDE)
"Apologies. System Monitor, my beloved"
Also, the bottom bar with icons and stuff is called "Task Manager" on KDE, which is mildly confusing
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