diff --git a/examples/interactive/cli-platform/Dir.roc b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/Dir.roc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cf5a615815
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/Dir.roc
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+interface Dir
+    exposes [ReadErr, DeleteErr, DirEntry, deleteEmptyDir, deleteRecursive, list]
+    imports [Effect, Task.{ Task }, InternalTask, Path.{ Path }, InternalPath, InternalDir]
+
+ReadErr : InternalDir.ReadErr
+
+DeleteErr : InternalDir.DeleteErr
+
+DirEntry : InternalDir.DirEntry
+
+## Lists the files and directories inside the directory.
+list : Path -> Task (List Path) [DirReadErr Path ReadErr]* [Read [File]*]*
+list = \path ->
+    effect = Effect.map (Effect.dirList (InternalPath.toBytes path)) \result ->
+        when result is
+            Ok entries -> Ok (List.map entries InternalPath.fromOsBytes)
+            Err err -> Err (DirReadErr path err)
+
+    InternalTask.fromEffect effect
+
+## Deletes a directory if it's empty.
+deleteEmptyDir : Path -> Task {} [DirDeleteErr Path DeleteErr]* [Write [File]*]*
+
+## Recursively deletes the directory as well as all files and directories inside it.
+deleteRecursive : Path -> Task {} [DirDeleteErr Path DeleteErr]* [Write [File]*]*
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/interactive/cli-platform/Effect.roc b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/Effect.roc
index 92a6fc49ae..26505ddc07 100644
--- a/examples/interactive/cli-platform/Effect.roc
+++ b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/Effect.roc
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ hosted Effect
         always,
         forever,
         loop,
+        dirList,
+        cwd,
         stdoutLine,
         stderrLine,
         stdinLine,
@@ -15,7 +17,7 @@ hosted Effect
         fileWriteUtf8,
         fileWriteBytes,
     ]
-    imports [InternalHttp.{ Request, Response }, InternalFile]
+    imports [InternalHttp.{ Request, Response }, InternalFile, InternalDir]
     generates Effect with [after, map, always, forever, loop]
 
 stdoutLine : Str -> Effect {}
@@ -26,5 +28,8 @@ fileWriteBytes : List U8, List U8 -> Effect (Result {} InternalFile.WriteErr)
 fileWriteUtf8 : List U8, Str -> Effect (Result {} InternalFile.WriteErr)
 fileDelete : List U8 -> Effect (Result {} InternalFile.WriteErr)
 fileReadBytes : List U8 -> Effect (Result (List U8) InternalFile.ReadErr)
+dirList : List U8 -> Effect (Result (List (List U8)) InternalDir.ReadErr)
+
+cwd : Effect (List U8)
 
 sendRequest : Box Request -> Effect Response
diff --git a/examples/interactive/cli-platform/Env.roc b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/Env.roc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..72a10e8d61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/Env.roc
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+interface Env
+    exposes [cwd]
+    imports [Task.{ Task }, Path.{ Path }, InternalPath, Effect, InternalTask]
+
+## Reads the [current working directory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_directory)
+## from the environment.
+cwd : Task Path [CwdUnavailable]* [Env]*
+cwd =
+    effect = Effect.map Effect.cwd \bytes ->
+        if List.isEmpty bytes then
+            Err CwdUnavailable
+        else
+            Ok (InternalPath.fromArbitraryBytes bytes)
+
+    InternalTask.fromEffect effect
diff --git a/examples/interactive/cli-platform/File.roc b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/File.roc
index 257218b082..4fd0b03e61 100644
--- a/examples/interactive/cli-platform/File.roc
+++ b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/File.roc
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ ReadErr : InternalFile.ReadErr
 
 WriteErr : InternalFile.WriteErr
 
+## Encodes a value using the given `EncodingFormat` and writes it to a file.
+##
 ## For example, suppose you have a [JSON](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JSON)
 ## `EncodingFormat` named `Json.toCompactUtf8`. Then you can use that format
 ## to write some encodable data to a file as JSON, like so:
@@ -31,7 +33,7 @@ write = \path, val, fmt ->
     # TODO handle encoding errors here, once they exist
     writeBytes path bytes
 
-## Write bytes to a file.
+## Writes bytes to a file.
 ##
 ##     # Writes the bytes 1, 2, 3 to the file `myfile.dat`.
 ##     File.writeBytes (Path.fromStr "myfile.dat") [1, 2, 3]
@@ -43,7 +45,7 @@ writeBytes : Path, List U8 -> Task {} [FileWriteErr Path WriteErr]* [Write [File
 writeBytes = \path, bytes ->
     toWriteTask path \pathBytes -> Effect.fileWriteBytes pathBytes bytes
 
-## Write a [Str] to a file, encoded as [UTF-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-8).
+## Writes a [Str] to a file, encoded as [UTF-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-8).
 ##
 ##     # Writes "Hello!" encoded as UTF-8 to the file `myfile.txt`.
 ##     File.writeUtf8 (Path.fromStr "myfile.txt") "Hello!"
@@ -55,7 +57,7 @@ writeUtf8 : Path, Str -> Task {} [FileWriteErr Path WriteErr]* [Write [File]*]*
 writeUtf8 = \path, str ->
     toWriteTask path \bytes -> Effect.fileWriteUtf8 bytes str
 
-## Delete a file from the filesystem.
+## Deletes a file from the filesystem.
 ##
 ##     # Deletes the file named
 ##     File.delete (Path.fromStr "myfile.dat") [1, 2, 3]
@@ -75,7 +77,7 @@ delete : Path -> Task {} [FileWriteErr Path WriteErr]* [Write [File]*]*
 delete = \path ->
     toWriteTask path \bytes -> Effect.fileDelete bytes
 
-## Read all the bytes in a file.
+## Reads all the bytes in a file.
 ##
 ##     # Read all the bytes in `myfile.txt`.
 ##     File.readBytes (Path.fromStr "myfile.txt")
@@ -87,7 +89,7 @@ readBytes : Path -> Task (List U8) [FileReadErr Path ReadErr]* [Read [File]*]*
 readBytes = \path ->
     toReadTask path \bytes -> Effect.fileReadBytes bytes
 
-## Read a [Str] from a file containing [UTF-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-8)-encoded text.
+## Reads a [Str] from a file containing [UTF-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-8)-encoded text.
 ##
 ##     # Reads UTF-8 encoded text into a `Str` from the file `myfile.txt`.
 ##     File.readUtf8 (Path.fromStr "myfile.txt")
diff --git a/examples/interactive/cli-platform/FileMetadata.roc b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/FileMetadata.roc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..89386f259f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/FileMetadata.roc
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+interface FileMetadata
+    exposes [FileMetadata, bytes, type, isReadonly, mode]
+    imports []
+
+# Design note: this is an opaque type rather than a type alias so that
+# we can add new operating system info if new OS releases introduce them,
+# as a backwards-compatible change.
+
+FileMetadata := {
+    bytes : U64,
+    type : [File, Dir, Symlink],
+    isReadonly : Bool,
+    mode : [Unix U32, NonUnix],
+}
+
+bytes : FileMetadata -> U64
+bytes = \@FileMetadata info -> info.bytes
+
+isReadonly : FileMetadata -> Bool
+isReadonly = \@FileMetadata info -> info.isReadonly
+
+type : FileMetadata -> [File, Dir, Symlink]
+type = \@FileMetadata info -> info.type
+
+mode : FileMetadata -> [Unix U32, NonUnix]
+mode = \@FileMetadata info -> info.mode
+
+# TODO need to create a Time module and return something like Time.Utc here.
+# lastModified : FileMetadata -> Utc
+
+# TODO need to create a Time module and return something like Time.Utc here.
+# lastAccessed : FileMetadata -> Utc
+
+# TODO need to create a Time module and return something like Time.Utc here.
+# created : FileMetadata -> Utc
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/interactive/cli-platform/InternalDir.roc b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/InternalDir.roc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6163125e84
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/InternalDir.roc
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+interface InternalDir
+    exposes [ReadErr, DeleteErr, DirEntry]
+    imports [FileMetadata.{ FileMetadata }, Path.{ Path }]
+
+DirEntry : {
+    path : Path,
+    type : [File, Dir, Symlink],
+    metadata : FileMetadata,
+}
+
+ReadErr : [
+    NotFound,
+    Interrupted,
+    InvalidFilename,
+    PermissionDenied,
+    TooManySymlinks, # aka FilesystemLoop
+    TooManyHardlinks,
+    TimedOut,
+    StaleNetworkFileHandle,
+    NotADirectory,
+    OutOfMemory,
+    Unsupported,
+    Unrecognized I32 Str,
+]
+
+DeleteErr : [
+    NotFound,
+    Interrupted,
+    InvalidFilename,
+    PermissionDenied,
+    TooManySymlinks, # aka FilesystemLoop
+    TooManyHardlinks,
+    TimedOut,
+    StaleNetworkFileHandle,
+    NotADirectory,
+    ReadOnlyFilesystem,
+    DirectoryNotEmpty,
+    OutOfMemory,
+    Unsupported,
+    Unrecognized I32 Str,
+]
diff --git a/examples/interactive/cli-platform/InternalPath.roc b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/InternalPath.roc
index b27ff8e5e5..6731b1a92a 100644
--- a/examples/interactive/cli-platform/InternalPath.roc
+++ b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/InternalPath.roc
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ interface InternalPath
         wrap,
         unwrap,
         toBytes,
+        fromArbitraryBytes,
+        fromOsBytes,
     ]
     imports []
 
@@ -61,3 +63,11 @@ toBytes = \@InternalPath path ->
         FromOperatingSystem bytes -> bytes
         ArbitraryBytes bytes -> bytes
         FromStr str -> Str.toUtf8 str
+
+fromArbitraryBytes : List U8 -> InternalPath
+fromArbitraryBytes = \bytes ->
+    @InternalPath (ArbitraryBytes bytes)
+
+fromOsBytes : List U8 -> InternalPath
+fromOsBytes = \bytes ->
+    @InternalPath (FromOperatingSystem bytes)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/interactive/cli-platform/Path.roc b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/Path.roc
index 12de18ee32..dad8f989f6 100644
--- a/examples/interactive/cli-platform/Path.roc
+++ b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/Path.roc
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ interface Path
         WindowsRoot,
         # toComponents,
         # walkComponents,
+        display,
         fromStr,
         fromBytes,
         withExtension,
@@ -85,10 +86,10 @@ fromBytes = \bytes ->
 ## with the given [Charset]. (Use [Env.charset] to get the current system charset.)
 ##
 ## For a conversion to [Str] that is lossy but does not return a [Result], see
-## [displayUtf8].
+## [display].
 # toInner : Path -> [Str Str, Bytes (List U8)]
 ## Assumes a path is encoded as [UTF-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-8),
-## and converts it to a string using [Str.displayUtf8].
+## and converts it to a string using [Str.display].
 ##
 ## This conversion is lossy because the path may contain invalid UTF-8 bytes. If that happens,
 ## any invalid bytes will be replaced with the [Unicode replacement character](https://unicode.org/glossary/#replacement_character)
@@ -103,17 +104,21 @@ fromBytes = \bytes ->
 ## Converting paths to strings can be an unreliable operation, because operating systems
 ## don't record the paths' encodings. This means it's possible for the path to have been
 ## encoded with a different character set than UTF-8 even if UTF-8 is the system default,
-## which means when [displayUtf8] converts them to a string, the string may include gibberish.
+## which means when [display] converts them to a string, the string may include gibberish.
 ## [Here is an example.](https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/667652/can-a-file-path-be-invalid-utf-8/667863#667863)
 ##
 ## If you happen to know the [Charset] that was used to encode the path, you can use
-## [toStrUsingCharset] instead of [displayUtf8].
-# displayUtf8 : Path -> Str
-# displayUtf8 = \path ->
-#     when InternalPath.unwrap path is
-#         FromStr str -> str
-#         FromOperatingSystem bytes | ArbitraryBytes bytes ->
-#             Str.displayUtf8 bytes
+## [toStrUsingCharset] instead of [display].
+display : Path -> Str
+display = \path ->
+    when InternalPath.unwrap path is
+        FromStr str -> str
+        FromOperatingSystem bytes | ArbitraryBytes bytes ->
+            when Str.fromUtf8 bytes is
+                Ok str -> str
+                # TODO: this should use the builtin Str.display to display invalid UTF-8 chars in just the right spots, but that does not exist yet!
+                Err _ -> "�"
+
 # isEq : Path, Path -> Bool
 # isEq = \p1, p2 ->
 #     when InternalPath.unwrap p1 is
diff --git a/examples/interactive/cli-platform/src/lib.rs b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/src/lib.rs
index 58b7a89cfc..d801fcd8da 100644
--- a/examples/interactive/cli-platform/src/lib.rs
+++ b/examples/interactive/cli-platform/src/lib.rs
@@ -238,6 +238,50 @@ pub extern "C" fn roc_fx_fileDelete(roc_path: &RocList<u8>) -> RocResult<(), Rea
     }
 }
 
+#[no_mangle]
+pub extern "C" fn roc_fx_cwd() -> RocList<u8> {
+    // TODO instead, call getcwd on UNIX and GetCurrentDirectory on Windows
+    match std::env::current_dir() {
+        Ok(path_buf) => os_str_to_roc_path(path_buf.into_os_string().as_os_str()),
+        Err(_) => {
+            // Default to empty path
+            RocList::empty()
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[no_mangle]
+pub extern "C" fn roc_fx_dirList(
+    // TODO: this RocResult should use Dir.WriteErr - but right now it's File.WriteErr
+    // because glue doesn't have Dir.WriteErr yet.
+    roc_path: &RocList<u8>,
+) -> RocResult<RocList<RocList<u8>>, WriteErr> {
+    println!("Dir.list...");
+    match std::fs::read_dir(path_from_roc_path(roc_path)) {
+        Ok(dir_entries) => RocResult::ok(
+            dir_entries
+                .map(|opt_dir_entry| match opt_dir_entry {
+                    Ok(entry) => os_str_to_roc_path(entry.path().into_os_string().as_os_str()),
+                    Err(_) => {
+                        todo!("handle dir_entry path didn't resolve")
+                    }
+                })
+                .collect::<RocList<RocList<u8>>>(),
+        ),
+        Err(_) => {
+            todo!("handle Dir.list error");
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(target_family = "unix")]
+/// TODO convert from EncodeWide to RocPath on Windows
+fn os_str_to_roc_path(os_str: &OsStr) -> RocList<u8> {
+    use std::os::unix::ffi::OsStrExt;
+
+    RocList::from(os_str.as_bytes())
+}
+
 #[no_mangle]
 pub extern "C" fn roc_fx_sendRequest(roc_request: &glue::Request) -> glue::Response {
     let mut builder = reqwest::blocking::ClientBuilder::new();
diff --git a/examples/interactive/file.roc b/examples/interactive/file.roc
index e6f9b3a3fd..d491ec9477 100644
--- a/examples/interactive/file.roc
+++ b/examples/interactive/file.roc
@@ -1,12 +1,18 @@
 app "file-io"
     packages { pf: "cli-platform/main.roc" }
-    imports [pf.Stdout, pf.Stderr, pf.Task, pf.File, pf.Path]
+    imports [pf.Stdout, pf.Stderr, pf.Task, pf.File, pf.Path, pf.Env, pf.Dir]
     provides [main] to pf
 
-main : Task.Task {} [] [Write [File, Stdout, Stderr], Read [File]]
+main : Task.Task {} [] [Write [File, Stdout, Stderr], Read [File], Env]
 main =
     path = Path.fromStr "out.txt"
     task =
+        cwd <- Env.cwd |> Task.await
+        cwdStr = Path.display cwd
+        _ <- Stdout.line "cwd: \(cwdStr)" |> Task.await
+        dirEntries <- Dir.list cwd |> Task.await
+        contentsStr = Str.joinWith (List.map dirEntries Path.display) "\n    "
+        _ <- Stdout.line "Directory contents:\n    \(contentsStr)\n" |> Task.await
         _ <- Stdout.line "Writing a string to out.txt" |> Task.await
         _ <- File.writeUtf8 path "a string!" |> Task.await
         contents <- File.readUtf8 path |> Task.await
@@ -18,4 +24,5 @@ main =
             Err (FileWriteErr _ Unsupported) -> Stderr.line "Err: Unsupported"
             Err (FileWriteErr _ (Unrecognized _ other)) -> Stderr.line "Err: \(other)"
             Err (FileReadErr _ _) -> Stderr.line "Error reading file"
-            _ -> Stdout.line "Successfully wrote a string to out.txt"
+            Err _ -> Stderr.line "Uh oh, there was an error!"
+            Ok _ -> Stdout.line "Successfully wrote a string to out.txt"