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To change the working directory in R, call setwd("path/to/folder"); to check where you are first, call getwd(). Both are base R functions documented on the same manual page. For analysis you intend to share or rerun, the more durable pattern is to avoid hard-coded setwd() calls altogether: open an RStudio project, which sets the working directory for you, and build file paths with the here package.
What the working directory is used for in research
The working directory is the folder R resolves relative file paths against. When a script reads "data/survey.csv" or writes "output/model.rds", R looks for that path starting from the working directory. If the directory is not the one the script’s author assumed, reads fail or output lands in the wrong place. That is why the working directory matters for reproducible research: a script that only runs after someone edits a path on line 1 is not reproducible by a collaborator, a reviewer or your future self. See reproducibility for the wider definition, and Reading CSV Into R for the file-reading side of the same problem. The same project-folder discipline applies in other tools, as in Stata do-file structure for a reproducible workflow, and keeping the whole project folder under version control is covered in the GitHub tutorial for beginners.
Install or access R
getwd() and setwd() ship with base R, so there is nothing extra to install. R itself is distributed from the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN) at cran.r-project.org, which hosts the installers for each operating system. RStudio, if you use it, is documented at docs.posit.co; the here package is documented at here.r-lib.org.
Step by step: how to change the working directory in R
Step 1. Check the current directory with getwd()
Run getwd(). The R manual describes the value as a character string, or NULL if the working directory is not available. On Windows the path is returned with forward slashes, in UTF-8, and without a trailing slash unless it is the root of a drive.
getwd()Step 2. Change it with setwd()
Pass the folder as a character string. The manual states that tilde expansion is applied to the argument, so a leading ~ is expanded to your home directory.
setwd("~/projects/trial-analysis")Step 3. Restore the previous directory
setwd() returns the directory you were in before the change, invisibly. Store that value and pass it back to setwd() to return to where you started.
old <- setwd("~/projects/trial-analysis")
# ... read and write files here ...
setwd(old)Step 4. Let an RStudio project set it for you
Posit’s documentation states that RStudio projects are associated with R working directories, and that when a project is opened, the current working directory is set to the project directory. Opening the project’s .Rproj file therefore replaces the setwd() call, and the same script works on any machine that has the project folder.
Step 5. Change it from the Files pane
The RStudio Files pane has a More drop-down that, per the Posit documentation, includes an option to modify or navigate to the working directory. Use it for a one-off change in an interactive session; it leaves no record in your script, so do not rely on it for work you need to repeat.
Step 6. Build paths from the project root with here()
The here package is designed for file referencing in project-oriented workflows; its documentation contrasts it with setwd(). It uses the top-level directory of a project to build paths to files, for example:
library(here)
read.csv(here("inst", "demo-project", "data", "penguins.csv"))Calling here::i_am("README.Rmd") prints here() starts at followed by the path it has taken as the project root, which is a quick way to confirm where paths will resolve. To pin the R packages those scripts use, see renv: Lock R Package Versions.
Output and how to read it
getwd() prints the current directory as a quoted string, for example [1] "C:/Users/you/projects/trial-analysis". setwd() prints nothing, because its return value (the previous directory) is invisible. To see that value, assign it or wrap the call in print(). The reliable confirmation that a change worked is to call getwd() again.
Troubleshooting
setwd() stops with an error
The manual states that setwd() gives an error if it does not succeed. A script halts at that line, so the usual cause to check is the path string itself: a typo, a folder that is not where you think it is, or a path that is relative to a directory you are not in. Run getwd() to see where R is starting from.
The path works with ~ in one place and not another
Tilde expansion is documented for the dir argument of setwd(). Check what your home directory resolves to on that machine before sharing a script that depends on it.
getwd() returns NULL
The manual says getwd() returns NULL if the working directory is not available. Set a directory explicitly or restart the R session in a known folder.
The directory differs after changing and returning
According to the manual, symbolic links can make the value from getwd() differ after you change directories and return. If you compare paths as strings, expect this on systems that use symbolic links.
Windows paths
R reports Windows paths with forward slashes, so write paths the same way when you pass them to setwd().
Free alternatives to calling setwd() by hand
| Approach | What it does | Source |
|---|---|---|
setwd(dir) / getwd() |
Changes or reports the working directory in base R; returns the previous directory invisibly. | R base manual |
| RStudio project | Sets the working directory to the project directory when the project is opened. | Posit RStudio documentation |
| RStudio Files pane | More drop-down includes an option to modify or navigate to the working directory. | Posit RStudio documentation |
here::here() |
Builds paths relative to the project’s top-level directory, instead of changing the working directory. | here package documentation |
Frequently asked questions
How do I change the working directory in R?
Call setwd() with the folder path as a string, for example setwd("~/projects/trial-analysis"), then confirm with getwd(). In RStudio, opening a project sets the working directory to the project folder.
How do I change the working directory in R without setwd()?
Open an RStudio project, or keep the working directory as is and build file paths with here(). The Files pane’s More menu also offers a way to modify or navigate to the working directory.
How do I change the working directory in R and go back afterwards?
Save the invisible return value: old <- setwd(dir), then call setwd(old) when you are done.
Why does getwd() show a different folder from the one I expected?
R resolves relative paths from wherever the session started or was last changed. Check with getwd(), and see the troubleshooting section for the cases the manual documents.
Sources
- R Core Team, R base manual, getwd and setwd (checked 2026-10-29).
- Posit, RStudio projects (checked 2026-10-29).
- Posit, The Files pane (checked 2026-10-29).
- here package documentation (checked 2026-10-29).
- CRAN, The Comprehensive R Archive Network (checked 2026-10-29).
