File System Hierarchy
The Linux operating system is
structured in a tree-like hierarchy and is documented in the File system
Hierarchy Standard (FHS). Linux is structured with the following standard
top-level
directories:
|
Path |
Description |
|
/ |
The top-level directory is the root
filesystem and contains all of the files required to boot the operating
system before other filesystems are mounted as well as the files required to
boot the other filesystems. After boot, all of the other filesystems are
mounted at standard mount points as subdirectories of the root.. |
|
/bin |
Contains essential command binaries.. |
|
/boot |
Consists of the static bootloader, kernel
executable, and files required to boot the Linux OS. |
|
/dev |
Contains device files to facilitate access
to every hardware device attached to the system.. |
|
/etc |
Local system configuration files.
Configuration files for installed applications may be saved here as well. |
|
/home |
Each user on the system has a subdirectory
here for storage |
|
/lib |
Shared library files that are required for system
boot. |
|
/media |
External removable media devices such as
USB drives are mounted here. |
|
/mnt |
Temporary mount point for regular
filesystems. |
|
/opt |
Optional files such as third-party tools
can be saved here. |
|
/root |
The home directory for the root user. |
|
/sbin |
This directory contains executables used
for system administration (binary system files). |
|
/tmp |
The operating system and many programs use
this directory to store temporary files. This directory is generally cleared
upon system boot and may be deleted at other times without any warni |
|
/usr |
Contains executables, libraries, man files,
etc. |
|
/var |
This directory contains variable data files
such as log files, email in-boxes, web application related files, cron files,
and more. |
