# Project Navigation

You can treat `dx` as an invocation command for navigating the data objects on the DNAnexus Platform. By adding `dx` in front of commonly used bash commands, you can manage objects in the platform directly from the command-line. Common commands include `dx ls`, `dx cd`, `dx mv`, and `dx cp`, which let you list objects, change folders, move data objects, and copy objects.

## Listing Objects

### Listing Objects in Your Current Project

By default when you set your current project, you are placed in the root folder `/` of the project. You can list the objects and folders in your current folder with [`dx ls`](https://documentation.dnanexus.com/helpstrings-of-sdk-command-line-utilities#ls).

```shell
$ dx ls
Developer Quickstart/
Developer Tutorials/
Quickstart/
RNA-seq Workflow Example/
SRR100022/
_README.1st.txt
```

### Listing Object Details

To see more details, you can run the command with the option `dx ls -l`.

```shell
$ dx ls -l
Project: Demo Data (project-BQbJpBj0bvygyQxgQ1800Jkk)
Folder : /
Developer Quickstart/
Developer Tutorials/
Quickstart/
RNA-seq Workflow Example/
SRR100022/
State   Last modified       Size     Name (ID)
closed  2015-09-01 17:55:33 712 bytes _README.1st.txt (file-BgY4VzQ0bvyg22pfZQpXfzgK)
```

As in bash, you can list the contents on a path.

```shell
$ dx ls SRR100022/
SRR100022_1.filt.fastq.gz
SRR100022_2.filt.fastq.gz
```

### Listing Objects in a Different Project

You can also list the contents of a different project. To specify a path that points to a different project, start with the project-ID, followed by a `:`, then the path within the project where `/` is the root folder of the project.

Enclose the path in quotes (`" "`) so `dx` interprets the spaces as part of the folder name, not as a new command.

```shell
$ dx ls "project-BQpp3Y804Y0xbyG4GJPQ01xv:/C. Elegans - Ce10/"
ce10.bt2-index.tar.gz
ce10.bwa-index.tar.gz
ce10.cw2-index.tar.gz
ce10.fasta.fai
ce10.fasta.gz
ce10.tmap-index.tar.gz
```

### Listing Objects That Match a Pattern

You can also list only the objects that match a pattern. In this example, an asterisk `*` acts as a wildcard to represent all objects with names containing `.fasta`. This returns only a subset of the objects from the original query.

Enclose the path in quotes for two reasons:

* The shell passes the wildcard pattern to `dx` without expanding it against local files.
* The `dx` command correctly interprets any spaces in the path.

```shell
$ dx ls "project-BQpp3Y804Y0xbyG4GJPQ01xv:/C. Elegans - Ce10/*.fasta*"
ce10.fasta.fai
ce10.fasta.gz
```

For more information about using wildcards with `dx` commands, see [Quoting Wildcards in Shell Commands](https://documentation.dnanexus.com/objects/searching-data-objects#quoting-wildcards-in-shell-commands).

## Switching Contexts

### Changing Folders

To find out your present folder location, use the `dx pwd` command. You can switch contexts to a subfolder in a project using [`dx cd`](https://documentation.dnanexus.com/helpstrings-of-sdk-command-line-utilities#cd).

```shell
$ dx pwd
Demo Data:/
$ dx cd Quickstart/
$ dx ls
SRR100022_20_1.fq.gz
SRR100022_20_2.fq.gz
```

## Moving or Renaming Data Objects

You can move and rename data objects and folders using the command [`dx mv`](https://documentation.dnanexus.com/helpstrings-of-sdk-command-line-utilities#mv).

To rename an object or a folder, "move" it to a new name in the same folder. Here, a file named `ce10.fasta.gz` is renamed to `C.elegans10.fastq.gz`.

```shell
$ dx ls
some_folder/
an_applet
ce10.fasta.gz
Variation Calling Workflow
$ dx mv ce10.fasta.gz C.elegans10.fasta.gz
$ dx ls
some_folder/
an_applet
C.elegans10.fasta.gz
Variation Calling Workflow
```

If you want to move the renamed file into a folder, specify the path to the folder as the destination of the move command (`dx mv`).

```shell
$ dx mv C.elegans10.fasta.gz some_folder/
$ dx ls some_folder/
Hg19
C.elegans10.fasta.gz
...
```

## Copying Objects or Folders to Another Project

You can copy data objects or folders to another project by running the command `dx cp`. The following example shows how to copy a human reference genome FASTA file (`hs37d5.fa.gz`) from a public project, "Reference Genome Files", to a project "Scratch Project" that the user has *ADMINISTER* permission to.

```shell
$ dx select project-BQpp3Y804Y0xbyG4GJPQ01xv
Selected project project-BQpp3Y804Y0xbyG4GJPQ01x
$ dx cd H.\ Sapiens\ -\ GRCh37\ -\ hs37d5\ (1000\ Genomes\ Phase\ II)/
$ dx ls
hs37d5.2bit
hs37d5.bt2-index.tar.gz
hs37d5.bwa-index.tar.gz
hs37d5.cw2-index.tar.gz
hs37d5.fa.fai
hs37d5.fa.gz
hs37d5.fa.sa
hs37d5.tmap-index.tar.gz
$ dx cp hs37d5.fa.gz project-9z94ZPZvbJ3qP0pyK1P0000p:/
$ dx select project-9z94ZPZvbJ3qP0pyK1P0000p
$ dx ls
some_folder/
an_applet
C.elegans10.fasta.gz
hs37d5.fa.gz
Variation Calling Workflow
```

You can also copy folders between projects by running `dx cp folder_name destination_path`. **Folders are automatically copied recursively.**

The Platform prevents copying a data object within the same project, since each specific data object exists only once in a project. The system also prohibits copying any data object between projects that are located in different [cloud regions](https://documentation.dnanexus.com/developer/api/regions) through `dx cp`.

## Changing Your Current Project

### Changing to Another Project With a Project Prompt List

You can change to another project where you wanted to work by running the command [`dx select`](https://documentation.dnanexus.com/helpstrings-of-sdk-command-line-utilities#select). It brings up a prompt with a list of projects for you to select from. In the following example, the user has entered option **2** to select the project named "Mouse".

```shell
$ dx select

Note: Use "dx select --level VIEW" or "dx select --public" to select from
projects for which you only have VIEW permission to.

Available projects (CONTRIBUTE or higher):
0) SAM importer test (CONTRIBUTE)
1) Scratch Project (ADMINISTER)
2) Mouse (ADMINISTER)

Project # [1]: 2
Setting current project to: Mouse
$ dx ls -l
Project: Mouse (project-9zVfbG2y8x65kxKY7x20005G)
Folder : /
```

### Changing to a Public Project

To view and select between all public projects, projects available to all DNAnexus users, you can run the command `dx select --public`:

```shell
$ dx select --public

Available public projects:
0) Example 1 (VIEW)
1) Apps Data (VIEW)
2) Parliament (VIEW)
3) CNVkit Tests (VIEW)
...
m) More options not shown...

Pick a numbered choice or "m" for more options: 1
```

### Changing to a Project With VIEW Permission

By default, `dx select` prompts a list of projects that you have at least *CONTRIBUTE* permission to. If you wanted to switch to a project that you have *VIEW* permission to view the data objects, you can run `dx select --level VIEW` to list all the projects in which you have at least *VIEW* permission to.

```shell
$ dx select --level VIEW

Available projects (VIEW or higher):
0) SAM importer test (CONTRIBUTE)
1) Scratch Project (ADMINISTER)
2) Shared Applets (VIEW)
3) Mouse (ADMINISTER)

Pick a numbered choice or "m" for more options: 2
```

### Changing Directly to a Specific Project

If you know the project ID or name, you can also give it directly to switch to the project as `dx select [project-ID | project-name]`:

```shell
$ dx select project-9zVfbG2y8x65kxKY7x20005G
Selected project project-9zVfbG2y8x65kxKY7x20005G
$ dx ls -l
Project: Mouse (project-9zVfbG2y8x65kxKY7x20005G)
Folder : /
```