PF-02 · Pick or Create a Project Folder

Who this is for

Beginners with an existing repo/folder — or none yet (you'll make a practice one).

Which machine are you on? (saved across terminal + folder lessons)

↑ Pick one to see only your path. (Showing all until you do.)

The emergency brake

Command failed? Read the error aloud — slowly. Most say exactly what’s missing (a folder, a permission).
“Permission denied”? Stop. Don’t add sudo to random lines — bring the exact error to the fix table below.

Pick existing or create practice

About 10 min

Have a real project? Choose one (website, script folder, small app). Skip to the next step.
None yet? Run the block below to create a practice folder + README.
None yet? Run the PowerShell block below to create a practice folder + README.

make practice foldermacOS

mkdir -p ~/Documents/Projects/my-app
printf 'Practice project for Academy PF track.\n' > ~/Documents/Projects/my-app/README.md

make practice folderWSL Ubuntu

mkdir -p ~/projects/my-app
printf 'Practice project for Academy PF track.\n' > ~/projects/my-app/README.md

make practice folderWindows PowerShell

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\Documents\Projects\my-app"
Set-Content -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\Documents\Projects\my-app\README.md" -Value "Practice project for Academy PF track."

Try this

Run your OS block above, then list the folder.

You should see: a new folder containing README.md. No output on Mac/WSL is normal — silence means success.

Don't

Create the project on the Desktop “for convenience.” Desktops are where launch pads go to die.

Write the full path

About 5 min

Write the full path on paper — not just my-app.

macOS: ~/Documents/Projects/my-app (or ~/Developer/my-app)
Windows: C:\Users\You\Documents\Projects\my-app (or …\source\my-app)
WSL: ~/projects/my-app — or /mnt/c/Users/You/Documents/Projects/my-app if the team lives in Windows tools. Pick one; write it down.

Grab the path card and fill it in:

↓ Download the path card (PDF)

Prefer paper via browser? Print-ready HTML version (File → Print → Save as PDF).

Run the depth check

About 5 min

Count segments after your user folder. The project name must be the leaf — the last folder.
If your path ends at Projects, go one level deeper into my-app.

Don't

Use Projects itself as the launch folder — that is still a sibling zoo. And skip spaces: prefer my-app over My Cool App.

Success check

Full path written
Folder exists and contains at least one file
Target is the project, not Documents or Projects parent

Common failure modes

Failure	Fix
Using `Projects` as cwd	Go one level deeper into `my-app`
Project only a zip in Downloads	Unzip/move into Documents/Projects first
Path has spaces, terminal panics	Quote paths — or rename to `my-app` style

Don't dump PII here

Don’t create the project on the Desktop. Don’t put client PII in the practice folder — practice means practice.

Stuck with a named error or a confusing path?

Bring the exact path and the exact error text to a free 30-minute consult. Copy them first — vague “it doesn't work” wastes the call.

Book free