LINUX

Structure

/bin

Short for “binaries”. Contains executable files of many basic shell commands (e.g. ls, cp, cd). This is generally accessible by everyone.

/sbin

Short for “System/Superuser binaries”. Same as above, but only can be run by the root user or by using sudo.

/boot

Short (or not) for “Bootl”. Contains the files of the kernel, the boot image, the bootloader (e.g. GRUB) as well as other files needed for booting.

/dev

Short for “devices”. Contains special files, including those relating to devices.

/etc

Short for “et cetera” (see Latin). Used to be a junk drawer but in modern days contains configuration files for the system.

/usr

Short for “user”. Contains all the executables, libraries, and source code for system programs.

/usr/bin

Short for “user binaries”. Much like /bin it contains executable for basic user commands.

/usr/sbin

Short for “System/superuser binaries”. Same as /usr/bin but with stuff for administrators

/usr/lib

Short for “user libraries”. Contains the libraries for the system.

/usr/local

Short for “User Local”. Contains executables here are “local” to this machine and so would persist between upgrades.

/usr/share

Short (or not) for “User share”. Contains docuemntation common to all libraries.

/home (a.k.a /~)

Contains personal directories for each user/ Each of those directories then contains all the user-specific data and configuration files. This is where personal files and software live.

/lib

Short for “libraries”. Holds all the libraries that are needed by the executable binaries that live in /bin and /sbin.

/tmp

Short for “Temporary”. Contains temporary files that many applications find it convenient to generate. All the files in here are deleted when the system restarts.

/var

Short for “Variable”. Contains files regarding system logging, user tracking, caches, and other system-related things that change a bunch.

/var/log

/var/lock

/var/tmp

/proc

Short for “Process”. Contains information about currently running processes and kernel parameters.

/opt

Short for “Optional”. Contains files for 3rd party software that are not available through the distribution’s repository.

/root

Short (or not) for “root”. Not to be confused with /, which is known as “the root directory”. /root is instead the home directory of the root user rather than what you might expect: /home/root.

/media

Short (or not) for “Media”. Contains directories for removable media that is connected to the system, for example a USB drive.

/srv

Short for “Service”. Contains files for services provided by the system. One example is if you run an http server, it might live in the /srv directory.

References