What is the current directory in a batch file?

I want to create a few batch files to automate a program.

My question is when I create the batch file, what is the current directory? Is it the directory where the file is located or is it the same directory that appears in the command prompt, or something else?

From within your batch file:

• %cd% refers to the current working directory (variable)
• %~dp0 refers to the full path to the batch file's directory (static)
• %~dpnx0 and %~f0 both refer to the full path to the batch directory and file name (static).

See also: What does %~dp0 mean, and how does it work?

It usually is the directory from which the batch file is started, but if you start the batch file from a shortcut, a different starting directory could be given. Also, when you'r in cmd, and your current directory is c:\dir3, you can still start the batch file using c:\dir1\dir2\batch.bat in which case, the current directory will be c:\dir3.