The Linux Neighborhood

The Linux Filesystem Standard/Filesystem Hierarchy Standard

The Linux Filesystem Standard is your roadmap for the Linux system. This standard indicates where you should be able to find files, devices and commands on your Linux system.

This standard is about to be renamed to the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard because of the following:

The new standard addresses multi-architecture issues that FSSTND 1.2 did not anticipate and includes other minor improvements.

In addition, the new standard, while primarily directed at Linux systems, will be drafted in a way that any Unix operating system can follow the standard.

Taken from the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard web page.

Filesystem Layout

The Root Directory

/bin : Essential user command binaries (for use by all users)

/boot : Static files of the boot loader

/dev : Device files

/etc : Machine-local system configuration

/home : User home directories (optional)

/lib : Essential shared libraries and kernel modules

/mnt : Mount point for temporarily mounted filesystems

/proc : Kernel and process information virtual filesystem

/root : Home directory for root (optional)

/sbin : System binaries (binaries once kept in /etc)

/tmp : Temporary files

The /usr Hierarchy

/usr/X11R6 : X Window System, Version 11 Release 6

/usr/X386 : X Window System, Version 11 Release 5, on x86 platforms

/usr/bin : Most user commands

/usr/dict : Word lists

/usr/etc : Site-wide system configuration

/usr/include : Directory for standard include files.

/usr/lib : Libraries for programming and packages

/usr/local : Local hierarchy

/usr/man : Manual pages

/usr/sbin : Non-essential standard system binaries

/usr/share : Architecture-independent data

/usr/src : Source code

The /var Hierarchy

/var/adm : System logging and accounting files (obsolete)

/var/catman : Locally-formatted manual pages (optional)

/var/lib : Application state information

/var/local : Variable data of software from /usr/local

/var/lock : Lock files

/var/log : Log files and directories

/var/named : DNS files

/var/nis : Network Information Service (NIS) database files

/var/preserve : Saved files after crash or hang-up from ex or vi

/var/run : Run-time variable files

/var/spool : Spool directories

/var/tmp : temporary files, used to keep /tmp small

Last Modified: 14 April 1997