Unix Directories

If you've spent any time on a Unix system, you've probably come across a directory name that you didn't understand.

Here's the list of most common directory names and a little bit about each of them.

/bin Binaries

All the very basic commands used by all users on the system. This is where ls, cat, and sh live.

/boot Boot

Unsurprisingly contains everything needed to boot.

/dev Device

Special, device related files. This is where file descriptors, nulland urandom live.

/etc Etcetera

Configuration files and should not include any executable programs. This is where motd, passwd, and profile live.

/home Home

User home directories, used for user specific configuration and documents.

/lib Library

Shared libraries need for booting and running system commands.

/mnt Mount

Mount points for other file systems.

/opt Optional

Add-on software packages.

/sbin System Binaries

Commands like /bin which are only used by administrators. This is where ifconfig, mount, and shutdown live.

/tmp Temporary

Files that are temporarily used by other programs. Files in this directory are not required to be preserved after the program that created them has finished executing.

/usr User or User System Resources

Executables, libraries, configuration files, and C header files which are not necessary to the operating system. These files are organized in a hierarchy with names similar to those in the root file system. Historically, this was where the user home directories lived, hence the name.

/var Variable

Variable data files. This is where you should put lock files, log files, and temporary files that need to be preserved.

To find out more about the specific directory structure on your file system, checkout the hier manpage. You can also read through the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard for more information.Type your post