Which symbol is used in Linux to denote a home directory?

The home directory in Linux is represented by the tilde symbol (~). This notation provides a convenient shorthand for referencing the current user's home directory, which can vary based on the user logged into the system. For instance, if a user named "alice" is currently logged in, ~ would equate to /home/alice.

The use of this symbol is particularly useful in command-line interfaces, allowing users to quickly navigate to or reference their home directory without needing to type out the full path. For example, a command like cd ~ instantly takes the user to their home directory, making it a practical and efficient feature in Linux file management.

The other symbols have different meanings in Linux; for example, the dollar sign ($) usually indicates that the command line is ready for input and signifies a regular user prompt, while the forward slash (/) signifies the root directory of the filesystem. The exclamation mark (!) is often used in command-line contexts to reference previous commands or to denote certain special variables in shells like bash.