Linus File System

1) /bin

The /bin is the directory that contains binaries, that is, some of the applications and programs you can run. You will find the ls program mentioned above in this directory, as well as other basic tools for making and removing files and directories, moving them around, and so on.

2) /boot

The /boot directory contains files required for starting your system. If you mess up one of the files in here, you may not be able to run your Linux and it is a pain to repair.

3) /dev

/dev contains device files. Many of these are generated at boot time or even on the fly. For example, if you plug in a new webcam or a USB pendrive into your machine, a new device entry will automagically pop up here.

4) /etc

/etc is the directory where names start to get confusing. /etc gets its name from the earliest Unixes and it was literally “et cetera” because it was the dumping ground for system files administrators were not sure where else to put.

5) /home

/home is where you will find your users’ personal directories. In my case, under /home there are two directories: /home/paul, which contains all my stuff; and /home/guest, in case anybody needs to borrow my computer.

6) /lib

/lib is where libraries live. Libraries are files containing code that your applications can use. They contain snippets of code that applications use to draw windows on your desktop, control peripherals, or send files to your hard disk.

There are more lib directories scattered around the file system, but this one, the one hanging directly off of / is special in that, among other things, it contains the all-important kernel modules. The kernel modules are drivers that make things like your video card, sound card, WiFi, printer, and so on, work.

7) /media

The /media directory is where external storage will be automatically mounted when you plug it in and try to access it. As opposed to most of the other items on this list, /media does not hail back to 1970s, mainly because inserting and detecting storage (pendrives, USB hard disks, SD cards, external SSDs, etc) on the fly, while a computer is running, is a relatively new thing.

8) /mnt

The /mnt directory, however, is a bit of remnant from days gone by. This is where you would manually mount storage devices or partitions. It is not used very often nowadays.

9) /opt

The /opt directory is often where software you compile (that is, you build yourself from source code and do not install from your distribution repositories) sometimes lands. Applications will end up in the /opt/bin directory and libraries in the /opt/lib directory.

10) /proc

/proc, like /dev is a virtual directory. It contains information about your computer, such as information about your CPU and the kernel your Linux system is running. As with /dev, the files and directories are generated when your computer starts, or on the fly, as your system is running and things change.

11) /root

/root is the home directory of the superuser (also known as the “Administrator”) of the system. It is separate from the rest of the users’ home directories BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT MEANT TO TOUCH IT. Keep your own stuff in your own directories, people.

12) /run

/run is another new directory. System processes use it to store temporary data for their own nefarious reasons. This is another one of those DO NOT TOUCH folders.

13) /sbin

/sbin is similar to /bin, but it contains applications that only the superuser (hence the initial s) will need. You can use these applications with the sudo command that temporarily concedes you superuser powers on many distributions. /sbin typically contains tools that can install stuff, delete stuff and format stuff. As you can imagine, some of these instructions are lethal if you use them improperly, so handle with care.

14) /usr

The /usr directory was where users’ home directories were originally kept back in the early days of UNIX. However, now /home is where users kept their stuff as we saw above. These days, /usr contains a mish-mash of directories which in turn contain applications, libraries, documentation, wallpapers, icons and a long list of other stuff that need to be shared by applications and services.

15) /srv

The /srv directory contains data for servers. If you are running a web server from your Linux box, your HTML files for your sites would go into /srv/http (or /srv/www). If you were running an FTP server, your files would go into /srv/ftp.

16) /sys

/sys is another virtual directory like /proc and /dev and also contains information from devices connected to your computer.

17) /tmp

/tmp contains temporary files, usually placed there by applications that you are running. The files and directories often (not always) contain data that an application doesn’t need right now, but may need later on.

You can also use /tmp to store your own temporary files — /tmp is one of the few directories hanging off / that you can actually interact with without becoming superuser.

18) /var

/var was originally given its name because its contents was deemed variable, in that it changed frequently. Today it is a bit of a misnomer because there are many other directories that also contain data that changes frequently, especially the virtual directories we saw above.