Masters of Computer Science Open Source Technology

Linux Standard Directories

Linux Standard Directories

  • All files and directories are under root directory (/)
    • Some standard directories are
  • /root
    • Every file and directory starts from root
      • Root user can write on this directory
      • /root is home directory of root user
      • It is not same as /
  • /bin
    • All executable binary files
    • Files required for booting, repair are here
    • Common binaries
    • Common linux command in single user mode
    • Eg cat, ls, cp, tar, history etc
  • /boot
    • Static file of boot loader
    • Holds file required during boot process
    • Linux kernel
  • /dev
    • Contains device files
    • Hardware device oriented
    • Usb, cdrom etc attached with system
    • Eg dev
  • /etc
    • Contains configuration files of applications
    • All configuration files that run in the system
    • Also have start abd shutdown shell scripts to start/stop program
  • /home
    • User’s home directory
    • Contains directory like desktop, downloads, documents
  • /lib
    • Contains shared library image to boot system
    • Also contains kernel modules
  • /lost /found
    • Directory installed during linux installation
    • For recovery purpose
    • Recovery of file due to unexpected shut down
  • /media
    • Directory for removable devices
    • Temporary mount directory
    • E.g /media/cdrom , /media/floppy
  • /mnt
    • Temporary mount directory
    • System admins can mount file systems
  • /opt
    • Optional apps
    • Third party apps
  • /proc
    • Virtual file
    • Information about running process with process id i.e pid
  •  /run
  • /sbin
    • Binary executable programs
  • /srv
    • Server specific files
    • Service related files
  • /sys
    • Virtual file system
    • Devices connected to system
  • /tmp
    • Stores temporary files
  • /usr
  • /var
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