How to open your user profile folder in Windows

Updated: 12/31/2020 by Computer Hope

User profile folder

In Windows, your user contour folder is a special folder containing files and folders pertaining merely to you. It contains your Desktop, your Documents, and personal data such equally your application preferences.

Files in the user profile folder are individual to y'all. If other people use your computer, they cannot view and modify the files in your user contour folder, unless they are an ambassador. The same permissions utilise to all subdirectories of your profile directory, such as your Desktop directory, your Documents directory, etc.

Where is the user profile folder?

Your user profile folder is located in the Users folder on your Windows system drive, which on almost computers is C:.

In the Users binder, your profile folder name is the same as your username. If your username is hope, your user profile binder is located at C:\Users\hope\.

The %USERPROFILE% environment variable

If you're not sure what your username is, you can always get to your contour folder using the environs variable %USERPROFILE%.

An surround variable is a special word containing a value. The %USERPROFILE% variable contains the path of your user contour folder.

Using %USERPROFILE% in File Explorer

In your File Explorer, the location bar shows the name of the folder you lot're viewing. It works like an address bar in a spider web browser. You can type a location on your reckoner into the location bar, and File Explorer opens that folder.

As shown in the following steps, if yous type %USERPROFILE% in the location bar, File Explorer opens your contour folder.

  1. Open up a new File Explorer window. You lot can open it from the Outset card (Windows System → File Explorer).

    Or, press the keyboard shortcut Windows key+E (agree down the Windows key and press E).

  2. Click in the location bar.
  3. Type %USERPROFILE% and press Enter.

%USERPROFILE% in File Explorer

  1. File Explorer opens your user profile folder and displays its contents. The title bar of the window and your location bar both display your total login proper name.

User profile folder

Using %USERPROFILE% in Control Prompt

If y'all use the Windows Command Prompt, you tin can use the cd control with %USERPROFILE% to modify the current directory to your profile folder.

  1. Open up the Command Prompt. For example, press Windows central+R to open the run box, then blazon cmd and press Enter.

Run Box

  1. Your control prompt displays the current directory, followed past a >.

User profile current directory

Tip

By default, when you open a new Command Prompt window, the electric current directory is your user profile folder.

  1. To modify to your contour binder at any time, apply the cd command:
cd %USERPROFILE%

Change directory to %USERPROFILE% in Command Prompt.

  1. You can also utilize the echo control to display the value of %USERPROFILE%.
echo %USERPROFILE%

To view your username, employ echo %USERNAME%.

repeat %USERNAME%

Echo %USERPROFILE% and %USERNAME% in Command Prompt.

Why practise I need to open the contour folder?

Usually, yous don't demand to open your profile folder directly. The Quick Access shortcuts on the left side of the File Explorer window (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, etc.) already point to the major folders in your profile directory.

Note

As a general rule, you should non rearrange the files and folders that already exist in your profile directory, because Windows expects them to accept certain names and locations. For example, practise not move or rename your Desktop binder.

Yet, you can put files and folders in your profile directory if you choose.

Also, some tasks, such equally adding items to your Startup binder, require you know the location of your profile folder.

  • How to make Windows programs start automatically.