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This topic contains the description of Linux operating system directory structure :
< / >
The root directory. The starting point of your directory structure. This is where the Linux system begins. Every other file and directory on your system is under the root directory. (/). Usually, the root directory contains only subdirectories, so it's a bad idea to store single files directly under root.Don't confuse the root directory with the root user account, root password (which obviously is the root user's password) or root user's home directory.
< /boot >
As the name suggests, this is the place where Linux keeps information that it needs while booting up. For example, this is where the Linux kernel is kept. If you list the contents of /boot, you'll see a file called vmlinuz - that's the kernel.
< /etc >
The configuration files for the Linux system. Most of these files are text files with cfg extension.
For example : /etc/passwd - This file contains various pieces of information for each user account. This is where the users are defined.
< /bin, /usr/bin >
These two directories contain a lot of programs (binaries) for the system. The /bin directory contains the most important programs that the system needs to operate, such as the shells, ls, grep etc. /usr/bin contains application files for the system's users. However, in some cases it really doesn't make much difference if you put the program in /bin or /usr/bin.
< /sbin, /usr/sbin >
Most system administration programs are stored in these directories. In many cases you must run these programs as the root user.
< /usr >
This directory contains user applications and a variety of other things for them, like their source codes, and pictures, docs, or config files they use. /usr is the largest directory on a Linux system. Some of the sample files are following :
/usr/doc : Documentation for the user apps, in many file formats.
/usr/share : Config files and graphics for many user apps.
/usr/src : Source code files for the system's software, including the Linux kernel.
/usr/include : Header files for the C compiler. The header files define structures and constants that are needed for building most standard programs. A subdirectory under /usr/include contains headers for the C++ compiler.
< /lib >
The shared libraries for programs that are dynamically linked. The shared libraries are similar to DLL's on Windows.
< /home >
This is where users keep their personal files. Every user has their own directory under /home, and usually it's the only place where normal users are allowed to write files. You can configure a Linux system so that normal users can't even list the contents of other users' home directories.
< /root >
The superuser's (root) home directory. Don't confuse this with the root directory (/) of a Linux system.
< /var >
This directory contains variable data that changes constantly when the system is running. Some interesting subdirectories:
/var/log : A directory that contains system log files. They're updated when the system runs, and checking them out can give you valuable info about the health of your system. If something in your system suddenly goes wrong, the log files may contain some info about the situation.
Some of the files samples are :
/var/mail : Incoming and outgoing mail is stored in this directory.
/var/spool : This directory holds files that are queued for some process, like printing.
< /tmp >
Programs can write their temporary files here.
< /dev >
The devices that are available to a Linux system. Remember that in Linux, devices are treated like files and you can read and write devices like they were files. For example, /dev/fd0 is your first floppy drive, /dev/cdrom is your CD drive, /dev/hda is the first IDE hard drive, and so on. All the devices that a Linux kernel can understand are located under /dev, and that's why it contains hundreds of entries.
< /mnt >
This directory is used for mount points. The different physical storage devices (like the hard disk drives, floppies, CD-ROM's) must be attached to some directory in the file system tree before they can be accessed. This attaching is called mounting, and the directory where the device is attached is called the mount point.
< /proc >
This is a special directory. Well, actually /proc is just a virtual directory, because it doesn't exist at all! It contains some info about the kernel itself. There's a bunch of numbered entries that correspond to all processes running on the system, and there are also named entries that permit access to the current configuration of the system. Many of these entries can be viewed.
< /lost+found >
Here Linux keeps the files that it restores after a system crash or when a partition hasn't been unmounted before a system shutdown. This way you can recover files that would otherwise have been lost.
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< / >
The root directory. The starting point of your directory structure. This is where the Linux system begins. Every other file and directory on your system is under the root directory. (/). Usually, the root directory contains only subdirectories, so it's a bad idea to store single files directly under root.Don't confuse the root directory with the root user account, root password (which obviously is the root user's password) or root user's home directory.
< /boot >
As the name suggests, this is the place where Linux keeps information that it needs while booting up. For example, this is where the Linux kernel is kept. If you list the contents of /boot, you'll see a file called vmlinuz - that's the kernel.
< /etc >
The configuration files for the Linux system. Most of these files are text files with cfg extension.
For example : /etc/passwd - This file contains various pieces of information for each user account. This is where the users are defined.
< /bin, /usr/bin >
These two directories contain a lot of programs (binaries) for the system. The /bin directory contains the most important programs that the system needs to operate, such as the shells, ls, grep etc. /usr/bin contains application files for the system's users. However, in some cases it really doesn't make much difference if you put the program in /bin or /usr/bin.
< /sbin, /usr/sbin >
Most system administration programs are stored in these directories. In many cases you must run these programs as the root user.
< /usr >
This directory contains user applications and a variety of other things for them, like their source codes, and pictures, docs, or config files they use. /usr is the largest directory on a Linux system. Some of the sample files are following :
/usr/doc : Documentation for the user apps, in many file formats.
/usr/share : Config files and graphics for many user apps.
/usr/src : Source code files for the system's software, including the Linux kernel.
/usr/include : Header files for the C compiler. The header files define structures and constants that are needed for building most standard programs. A subdirectory under /usr/include contains headers for the C++ compiler.
< /lib >
The shared libraries for programs that are dynamically linked. The shared libraries are similar to DLL's on Windows.
< /home >
This is where users keep their personal files. Every user has their own directory under /home, and usually it's the only place where normal users are allowed to write files. You can configure a Linux system so that normal users can't even list the contents of other users' home directories.
< /root >
The superuser's (root) home directory. Don't confuse this with the root directory (/) of a Linux system.
< /var >
This directory contains variable data that changes constantly when the system is running. Some interesting subdirectories:
/var/log : A directory that contains system log files. They're updated when the system runs, and checking them out can give you valuable info about the health of your system. If something in your system suddenly goes wrong, the log files may contain some info about the situation.
Some of the files samples are :
/var/mail : Incoming and outgoing mail is stored in this directory.
/var/spool : This directory holds files that are queued for some process, like printing.
< /tmp >
Programs can write their temporary files here.
< /dev >
The devices that are available to a Linux system. Remember that in Linux, devices are treated like files and you can read and write devices like they were files. For example, /dev/fd0 is your first floppy drive, /dev/cdrom is your CD drive, /dev/hda is the first IDE hard drive, and so on. All the devices that a Linux kernel can understand are located under /dev, and that's why it contains hundreds of entries.
< /mnt >
This directory is used for mount points. The different physical storage devices (like the hard disk drives, floppies, CD-ROM's) must be attached to some directory in the file system tree before they can be accessed. This attaching is called mounting, and the directory where the device is attached is called the mount point.
< /proc >
This is a special directory. Well, actually /proc is just a virtual directory, because it doesn't exist at all! It contains some info about the kernel itself. There's a bunch of numbered entries that correspond to all processes running on the system, and there are also named entries that permit access to the current configuration of the system. Many of these entries can be viewed.
< /lost+found >
Here Linux keeps the files that it restores after a system crash or when a partition hasn't been unmounted before a system shutdown. This way you can recover files that would otherwise have been lost.
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