Appendix A. Linux Directory Tree
Appendix A. Linux Directory Tree
Table A-1 describes the directories in the Linux directory tree.
|
Directory |
Description |
|---|---|
|
/bin |
User programs and scripts essential to system startup |
|
/boot |
Boot information, including the kernel |
|
/dev |
Device files |
|
/etc |
Host-specific configuration files |
|
/etc/sysconfig |
Stores configuration files specific to Red Hat Linux |
|
/home |
Users' home directories |
|
/initrd |
Used during boot process as a mount point for a directory containing special device drivers |
|
/lib |
Libraries, modules, and other object files |
|
/lib/modules |
Loadable kernel modules |
|
/lost+found |
Recovered data from bad clusters |
|
/mnt |
Temporarily mounted filesystems |
|
/opt |
Used to store large applications |
|
/proc |
Kernel pseudo-directory that provides access to kernel information and configuration items |
|
/root |
System administrator's home directory |
|
/sbin |
System administration programs and scripts essential to system startup |
|
/tmp |
Temporary files, which are automatically deleted by Red Hat Linux |
|
/usr |
Files needed for system operation but not needed to boot system (can be mounted read-only, except when being changed by root user) |
|
/usr/bin |
Programs and scripts not essential to system startup |
|
/usr/dict |
System dictionaries for spell checking |
|
/usr/etc |
Configuration files |
|
/usr/games |
Game files |
|
/usr/include |
C/C++ header files |
|
/usr/kerberos |
Kerberos files |
|
/usr/lib |
Libraries and kernel modules |
|
/usr/libexec |
Libraries stored in alternate formats |
|
/usr/local |
Locally defined directory tree (structure is similar to that of /usr) |
|
/usr/sbin |
System administration programs and scripts not essential to system start up |
|
/usr/share |
Shared files |
|
/usr/share/doc |
Documentation (formerly residing in /usr/doc) |
|
/usr/share/man |
Manpages |
|
/usr/src |
Source files |
|
/usr/src/linux |
Linux kernel source |
|
/usr/X11R6 |
X-related files |
|
/var |
Dynamic files, such as log files and spool files |
|
/var/arpwatch |
Data used by arpwatch |
|
/var/cache |
Application cache data |
|
/var/ftp |
Data used by the FTP server |
|
/var/gdm |
Data used by the GNOME display manager |
|
/var/kerberos |
Data used by Kerberos |
|
/var/lib |
Variable state information |
|
/var/lib/rpm |
Files related to RPM |
|
/var/local |
Locally defined data |
|
/var/lock |
Lock files |
|
/var/log |
Log files and directories |
|
/var/named |
Data used by BIND (named) |
|
/var/opt |
Data used by applications in /opt |
|
/var/run |
Process IDs of running processes |
|
/var/spool |
Application spool data |
|
/var/spool/anacron |
Anacron's spool data |
|
/var/spool/at |
At's spool data |
|
/var/spool/cron |
Cron's spool data |
|
/var/spool/fax |
Fax's spool data |
|
/var/spool/lpd |
Printer queues |
|
/var/spool/mail |
Mail boxes |
|
/var/spool/mqueue |
Mail queue |
|
/var/spool/news |
USENET News spool data |
|
/var/spool/rwho |
Rwho spool data |
|
/var/spool/samba |
Samba spool data |
|
/var/spool/slrnpull |
Slrnpull spool data |
|
/var/spool/squid |
Squid spool data |
|
/var/spool/uucp |
UUCP spool data |
|
/var/spool/uucpublic |
Public UUCP spool data |
|
/var/spool/up2date |
Files used by Red Hat Update Agent |
|
/var/tmp |
Temporary files preserved between system reboots |
|
/var/tux |
Files used by Tux |
|
/var/www |
Files used by Apache |
|
/var/yp |
Files used by NIS |
For more information on the Linux directory tree, see the current version of the Linux Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (http://www.pathname.com/fhs). Red Hat Linux generally complies with that standard.
