Java Program to Find Current Working Directory

The System.getProperty() method in Java is used to retrieve the value of a system property using its property key. If the specified property does not exist, the method returns null.

• The key parameter identifies the system property whose value needs to be retrieved.
• System.getProperty() returns the property value as a String.
• The user.dir property returns the current working directory of the Java application.

Syntax

public static String getProperty(String key)

Parameter: key – the name of the system property to retrieve.

Returns:

• The value of the specified system property as a String.
• null if no property exists with the specified key.

Working of System.getProperty()

System.getProperty() uses a property key to look up the corresponding system property and returns its value as a String.

• Provide the Key: Pass the name of the required system property to getProperty().
• Search the Property: Java looks for a system property associated with the specified key.
• Retrieve the Value: If the property exists, its value is returned as a String.
• Handle Missing Property: If no property exists with the specified key, the method returns null.

Example: Program uses System.getProperty() with the user.dir key to retrieve the current working directory.

public class GFG {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        String path = System.getProperty("user.dir");

        System.out.println("Working Directory = " + path);
    }
}

Output:

Explanation: The System.getProperty("user.dir") call retrieves the current working directory stored in the user.dir system property. The returned value is stored in the path variable and printed to the console.

Note: The output path depends on the directory from which the Java program is executed.

Common System Properties

Java provides several predefined system properties that provide information about the current environment.