A Linux machine has typical locations for the storage of most common things a system needs to run. Their contents:

/

the filesystem root where all of the "directory tree" grows out of

/boot

the kernel. This is usually a separate Partition at the beginning of the hard drive.

/bin

system executable files for use by all users

/dev

device nodes, ie files that represent your computer's periphery

/etc

configuration files for programs

/home

one subdirectory for each user to store all their personal files in. Commonly abbreviated as ____ (though this must be explicitly support by the program in question, as all shells do).

/lib

libraries needed to run the programs in /bin and /sbin

/mnt

'mount points' for temporary filesystems (eg CDROM, floppy disk)

/opt

add on software. Usually StaticallyLinked? programs provided in binary form. Some people install TarBalls in here too, expecially beta software.

/proc

a virtual FileSystem containing pseudo files with information about the hardware and kernel configuration and the running processes

/root

home directory of the root SuperUser

/sbin

executable files only of interest to the root SuperUser

/usr

files that can be shared across a whole site among multiple users

/usr/local

anything shared across the system but not supplied by the system vendor traditionally goes here - most commonly, packages compiled from TarBalls

/var

variable data files, such as logs, mail and printer spools

/tmp

temporary files - that is literally temporary files. On some systems, this directory is frequently purged.

More information can be found at the filesystem hierarchy standard, and in hier(7)

CategoryBeginners