/ (Root): This is the top-level directory of the file system. All other directories are nested beneath this one.
/bin (User Binaries): Contains essential user command binaries (programs) that are needed for the system to boot up and run.
/sbin: Stands for "system binaries" and contains essential system administration binaries. These commands are not intended for regular users but for the root and system maintenance purposes.
/etc (Configuration Files): Houses system-wide configuration files and directories.
- It typically contains the configuration files for all the software on your system.
/home (User Home Directories): Holds the personal directories of all users who have an account on the system, except for the root user.
/boot: Contains files needed to start up the system, including the Linux kernel, an initial RAM disk image (for drivers needed at startup), and the bootloader.
- In simple terms, this is where the files necessary for booting the system are stored.
/opt (Optional Software): Generally contains third-party software that doesn't conform to the standard system structure.
- Software inside
/opt is static and does not change frequently.
/tmp (Temporary Files): Used to store temporary files created by system and user applications.
/var (Variable Files): Intended for files that are expected to grow over time. This includes log files, spool files, and cached data.
/dev: This is a special directory which contains device nodes.
- It's a way for the Linux kernel to provide access to the hardware of the system via these files.
- For example,
/dev/sda typically represents the first SATA drive.
/usr (User Binaries and Libraries): Contains user commands, their libraries, documentation, etc. It is the second major hierarchy after the root.
/usr/local: This hierarchy is for use by the system administrator when installing software locally. It should mimic the structure of /usr. These are usually software or programs that are installed from source, or manually by the sysadmin.
