The prompt

The command line shows you a prompt to indicate that it is waiting for your input. It often also has a cursor that may be flashing or blinking.

But it’s very common for the prompt to be meaningful — and often it’s the name of directory or folder you are currently in. This is because a lot of commands make sense depending on where you are when you issue them.

This is why often you’ll see a directory name.

On your own machine, you can change your prompt to be whatever you find most helpful. It’s common for developers using git to have the git branch name in the prompt, and maybe a status indicator.