How to generically refer to the AppData folder on the Windows command line?

Solution 1:

Run a command shell (start/Run, then "cmd") and type "set". This will list all the environmental variables available. Having said that, USERPROFILE is perfectly valid. There's also APPDATA and LOCALAPPDATA.

(Edit: stuartd has the right answer too - I was sidetracked while editing!)

Solution 2:

Here are some of the common system path variables on windows, but check here for a complete reference:

| Variable       | Default Value                                                                |
|----------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| %SystemDrive%  | C:                                                                           |
| %ProgramFiles% | C:\Program Files                                                             |
| %AppData%      | C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming                                          |
| %LocalAppData% | C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local                                            |
| %UserProfile%  | C:\Users\{username}                                                          |
| %UserName%     | {username}                                                                   |
| %COMPUTERNAME% | {computername}                                                               |
| %PATH%         | C:\Windows\system32;C:\Windows;C:\Windows\System32\Wbem;{plus program paths} |

These should automatically be expanded when using the windows cmd prompt (or bash / powershell):

cd %UserProfile%

Your specific issue here seems to be using UserProfile instead of UserName. Either use cd %UserProfile% or cd C:\Users\%UserName%

Further Reading:

• %USERPROFILE% variable not working
• SS64 - Windows Environment Variables
• MS Docs - Recognized Environment Variables