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Filesystem Hierarchy Standard

lastmod 2022-09-30created 2022-09-302 edits

This standard consists of a set of requirements and guidelines for file and directory placement under UNIX-like operating systems. The guidelines are intended to support interoperability of applications, system administration tools, development tools, and scripts as well as greater uniformity of documentation for these systems.

Purpose

This standard enables:

  • Software to predict the location of installed files and directories, and
  • Users to predict the location of installed files and directories.

We do this by:

  • Specifying guiding principles for each area of the filesystem,
  • Specifying the minimum files and directories required,
  • Enumerating exceptions to the principles, and
  • Enumerating specific cases where there has been historical conflict.

The Root Filesystem

  • /bin : Essential user command binaries (for use by all users)
  • /boot : Static files of the boot loader
  • /dev : Device files
  • /etc : Host-specific system configuration
    • /etc/opt : Configuration files for /opt
    • /etc/X11 : Configuration for the X Window System (optional)
    • /etc/sgml : Configuration files for SGML (optional)
    • /etc/xml : Configuration files for XML (optional)
  • /home : User home directories (optional)
  • /lib : Essential shared libraries and kernel modules
  • /lib<qual> : Alternate format essential shared libraries (optional)
  • /media : Mount point for removable media
  • /mnt : Mount point for a temporarily mounted filesystem
  • /opt : Add-on application software packages
  • /root : Home directory for the root user (optional)
  • /run : Run-time variable data
  • /sbin : System binaries
  • /srv : Data for services provided by this system
  • /tmp : Temporary files

See also

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References

  1. Filesystem_Hierarchy_Standard.pdf ↩

author Zer0 sitemap