Question: ```
after installation with

pip3 install --user steem-piston
you will get a new executable piston installed in ~/.local/bin

```

I installed the tool using pip install, but I cannot find the executable file.

I'm not quite sure I understand what this directory is: ~/.local/bin.

Is it just root/local/bin?

Answer: 
`~/` is a shell abbreviation for your home folder, usually `/home/USERNAME/`, where `USERNAME` is the name of your user. It's the same as `$HOME`

`~/.local/bin` is a subfolder named `bin` in the subfolder named `.local` in your home folder.

You can use 

```
~/.local/bin/pip3

```

to call your new `pip3` executable. It may be easier to add `~/.local/bin` to the `$PATH` environment variable, see [How to add a directory to my path?](https://askubuntu.com/questions/60218/how-to-add-a-directory-to-my-path) so you don't need to type `~/.local/bin/` all the time.

Make sure you add it *before* the old value of `$PATH`, like

```
PATH="$HOME/.local/bin/:$PATH"

```
`~/.local/bin` has been added to the PATH in Ubuntu 16.10, and backported to 16.04. See <https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/bash/+bug/1588562>

If you're running Ubuntu >=16.04 with all updates, it should already be fine.
If not, you can add it manually :

For a single user, edit the file `~/.profile`, and add at its end :

```
PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

```

If you want any newly-created user to have this, you can add this same line at the end of `/etc/skel/.profile`