{"id":1768,"date":"2025-08-17T23:09:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T06:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=1768"},"modified":"2025-08-17T23:09:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T06:09:19","slug":"access-root-directory-in-nautilus-file-manager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=1768","title":{"rendered":"Access Root Directory in Nautilus File Manager"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/content\/images\/2025\/08\/nautilus-access-root.png\" alt=\"Access Root Directory in Nautilus File Manager\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Once upon a time, Nautilus allowed accessing the root directory from &#8216;Other locations&#8217; option in the sidebar.<\/p>\n<p>This tiny but useful option has disappeared in the recent versions. But <strong>you can still access root folder in Nautilus by typing \/ in the address bar<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s see it in a bit more detail in this quick tutorial for Linux beginners. <\/p>\n<p>Nautilus is the default file explorer in GNOME desktop environment and thus it should be applicable for Ubuntu, Fedora and many other distributions that use GNOME.<\/p>\n<h2>Access root directory from Nautilus<\/h2>\n<p>Open the Nautilus file manager. You&#8217;ll notice that there is an address bar on the top that displays like Home or the current location. Click on it and you&#8217;ll see that you can enter text here.<\/p>\n<p>All you have to do is to enter <code>\/<\/code> here. That&#8217;s it.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/content\/images\/2025\/08\/access-root-folder-as-normal-user-nautlus-1.png\" class=\"kg-image\" alt=\"Access Root Directory in Nautilus File Manager\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1162\" \/><figcaption><span>Click on the address bar and enter \/<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If it helps, here&#8217;s a video of the entire process to show things better.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-video-card kg-width-regular kg-card-hascaption\" data-kg-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/content\/media\/2025\/08\/access-root-folder-as-normal-user-nautilus_thumb.jpg\" data-kg-custom-thumbnail>\n<div class=\"kg-video-container\">\n                <video src=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/content\/media\/2025\/08\/access-root-folder-as-normal-user-nautilus.mp4\" poster=\"https:\/\/img.spacergif.org\/v1\/1808x1020\/0a\/spacer.png\" width=\"1808\" height=\"1020\" loop autoplay muted playsinline preload=\"none\"><\/video>\n<div class=\"kg-video-overlay\">\n                    <button class=\"kg-video-large-play-icon\" aria-label=\"Play video\">\n<p>                    <\/p><\/button>\n                <\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-video-player-container kg-video-hide\">\n<div class=\"kg-video-player\">\n                        <button class=\"kg-video-play-icon\" aria-label=\"Play video\">\n<p>                        <\/p><\/button><br \/>\n                        <button class=\"kg-video-pause-icon kg-video-hide\" aria-label=\"Pause video\">\n<p>                        <\/p><\/button><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"kg-video-current-time\">0:00<\/span>\n<div class=\"kg-video-time\">\n                            \/<span class=\"kg-video-duration\">0:13<\/span>\n                        <\/div>\n<p>                        <button class=\"kg-video-playback-rate\" aria-label=\"Adjust playback speed\">1\u00d7<\/button><br \/>\n                        <button class=\"kg-video-unmute-icon\" aria-label=\"Unmute\"><\/button><\/p>\n<p>                        <br \/>\n                        <button class=\"kg-video-mute-icon kg-video-hide\" aria-label=\"Mute\"><\/button><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span>Access root directory as a normal user<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There is one tiny thing to note here. You&#8217;ll be accessing the root directory as a normal user. So while you can read most files, you won&#8217;t be able to create new or modify existing ones.<\/p>\n<p>If you want that, you can easily do that. Let me show that in the next section.<\/p>\n<h2>Access root directory as a root user<\/h2>\n<p>Open the Nautilus file explorer and type the following in the address bar:<\/p>\n<pre><code>admin:\/\/<\/code><\/pre>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-image-card\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/content\/images\/2025\/08\/access-root-folder-as-root-nautilus.png\" class=\"kg-image\" alt=\"Access Root Directory in Nautilus File Manager\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1162\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>You&#8217;ll be asked to enter the password. That will be your own user account password.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a video to show things in a better way.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-video-card kg-width-regular\" data-kg-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/content\/media\/2025\/08\/access-root-folder-as-root-nautilus_thumb.jpg\" data-kg-custom-thumbnail>\n<div class=\"kg-video-container\">\n                <video src=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/content\/media\/2025\/08\/access-root-folder-as-root-nautilus.mp4\" poster=\"https:\/\/img.spacergif.org\/v1\/1808x1020\/0a\/spacer.png\" width=\"1808\" height=\"1020\" loop autoplay muted playsinline preload=\"none\"><\/video>\n<div class=\"kg-video-overlay\">\n                    <button class=\"kg-video-large-play-icon\" aria-label=\"Play video\">\n<p>                    <\/p><\/button>\n                <\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-video-player-container kg-video-hide\">\n<div class=\"kg-video-player\">\n                        <button class=\"kg-video-play-icon\" aria-label=\"Play video\">\n<p>                        <\/p><\/button><br \/>\n                        <button class=\"kg-video-pause-icon kg-video-hide\" aria-label=\"Pause video\">\n<p>                        <\/p><\/button><br \/>\n                        <span class=\"kg-video-current-time\">0:00<\/span>\n<div class=\"kg-video-time\">\n                            \/<span class=\"kg-video-duration\">0:15<\/span>\n                        <\/div>\n<p>                        <button class=\"kg-video-playback-rate\" aria-label=\"Adjust playback speed\">1\u00d7<\/button><br \/>\n                        <button class=\"kg-video-unmute-icon\" aria-label=\"Unmute\"><\/button><\/p>\n<p>                        <br \/>\n                        <button class=\"kg-video-mute-icon kg-video-hide\" aria-label=\"Mute\"><\/button><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>When you access the root directory as an admin (sudo), you can make changes here, create new files etc. This comes handy in situations where you have to make changes to config files and you want to avoid the terminal. Files opened from here will be opened in graphical text editor, easier to modify.<\/p>\n<p>This is different from <a href=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/open-nautilus-as-administrator\/\">opening any file as root trick I shared earlier<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-bookmark-card\"><a class=\"kg-bookmark-container\" href=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/open-nautilus-as-administrator\/\">\n<div class=\"kg-bookmark-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-bookmark-title\">Open Files and Folders as Admin in Nautilus File Manager<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-bookmark-description\">Learn to add an \u201cOpen as Administrator\u201d option in the right click context menu in Nautilus file manager in Ubuntu and other Linux distributions.<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-bookmark-metadata\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"kg-bookmark-icon\" src=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/content\/images\/icon\/android-chrome-192x192-606.png\" alt=\"Access Root Directory in Nautilus File Manager\" \/><span class=\"kg-bookmark-author\">It&#8217;s FOSS<\/span><span class=\"kg-bookmark-publisher\">Abhishek Prakash<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-bookmark-thumbnail\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/content\/images\/thumbnail\/open-nautilus-as-root.jpg\" alt=\"Access Root Directory in Nautilus File Manager\" \/><\/div>\n<p><\/p><\/a><\/figure>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>This is one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/nautilus-tips-tweaks\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">many Nautilus tweaks<\/a> that you can use to get more out of it.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-bookmark-card\"><a class=\"kg-bookmark-container\" href=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/nautilus-tips-tweaks\/\">\n<div class=\"kg-bookmark-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-bookmark-title\">15 Ways to Tweak Nautilus File Manager in Linux<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-bookmark-description\">Nautilus, aka GNOME Files, is a good file manager with plenty of features. You can further enhance your experience by using these extensions, tweaks and tips.<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-bookmark-metadata\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"kg-bookmark-icon\" src=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/content\/images\/icon\/android-chrome-192x192-605.png\" alt=\"Access Root Directory in Nautilus File Manager\" \/><span class=\"kg-bookmark-author\">It&#8217;s FOSS<\/span><span class=\"kg-bookmark-publisher\">Abhishek Prakash<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-bookmark-thumbnail\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/content\/images\/thumbnail\/customizing-GNOME-Nautilus-File-Manager.png\" alt=\"Access Root Directory in Nautilus File Manager\" \/><\/div>\n<p><\/p><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>It&#8217;s quite powerful and it is always good to explore the less obvious features of your regular tools. In that regard, you may also want to learn a thing or two about <a href=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/nautilus-file-search\/\">utilizing the search feature in Nautilus<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-bookmark-card\"><a class=\"kg-bookmark-container\" href=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/nautilus-file-search\/\">\n<div class=\"kg-bookmark-content\">\n<div class=\"kg-bookmark-title\">Mastering Nautilus File Search in Linux Desktop<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-bookmark-description\">Become a pro finder with these handy tips to improve your file search experience with GNOME\u2019s Nautilus file search.<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-bookmark-metadata\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"kg-bookmark-icon\" src=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/content\/images\/icon\/android-chrome-192x192-607.png\" alt=\"Access Root Directory in Nautilus File Manager\" \/><span class=\"kg-bookmark-author\">It&#8217;s FOSS<\/span><span class=\"kg-bookmark-publisher\">Sreenath<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kg-bookmark-thumbnail\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/itsfoss.com\/content\/images\/thumbnail\/nautilus-file-search-1.png\" alt=\"Access Root Directory in Nautilus File Manager\" \/><\/div>\n<p><\/p><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>As I mentioned initially, the option to access root files used to be under the &#8216;Other locations&#8217; in the left sidebar. It is removed and replaced by a clandestine method. I think the rational behind this decision was to avoid accidental changes to root files. That&#8217;s just my guess. I let you enjoy this quick Nautilus tip.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Once upon a time, Nautilus allowed accessing the root directory from &#8216;Other locations&#8217; option in the sidebar. This tiny but useful option has disappeared in the recent versions. But you&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1768\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}