Differences between current version and predecessor to the previous major change of hier(7).
Other diffs: Previous Revision, Previous Author, or view the Annotated Edit History
| Newer page: | version 8 | Last edited on Sunday, May 18, 2003 1:11:10 pm | by WikiAdmin | |
| Older page: | version 2 | Last edited on Sunday, May 18, 2003 12:55:37 pm | by WikiAdmin | Revert |
@@ -1,421 +1,219 @@
- HIER
-!!!HIER NAME DESCRIPTION CONFORMS TO BUGS SEE ALSO ----
!!NAME
-
hier - Description of the file system hierarchy
!!DESCRIPTION
A typical Linux system has, among others, the following directories:
-''/''
+;
''/'': This is the root directory. This is where the whole tree starts.
-This is the root
directory. This is where
the whole tree starts
.
+;''/bin'':
This directory contains executable programs which are needed in single user mode and to bring
the system up or repair it
.
-''/bin
''
+;
''/boot
'': Contains static files for the boot loader. This directory only holds the files which are needed during the boot process. The map installer and configuration files should go to ''/sbin'' and ''/etc''.
-This directory contains executable programs
which are needed in single user mode and
to bring the system up or repair it
.
+;''/dev'': Special or device files,
which refer
to physical devices. See mknod(1)
.
-''/boot
''
+;
''/dos
'': If both MS-DOS and Linux are run on one computer, this is a typical place to mount a DOS file system.
-Contains static files for the boot loader. This directory only holds the
files which are needed during
the boot process
. The map installer and
configuration files should go to
''/sbin
'' and ''/etc''.
+;''/etc'':
Contains configuration
files which are local to
the machine
. Some larger software packages, like X11, can have their own subdirectories below ''/etc''. Site-wide
configuration files may be placed here or in ''/usr/etc''. Nevertheless, programs
should always look for these files in
''/etc
'' and you may have links for these files to
''/usr
/etc''.
-''/dev
''
+;
''/etc/opt'': Host-specific configuration files for add-on applications installed in ''/opt
''.
-Special or device
files, which refer to physical devices. See mknod
(1
).
+;''/etc/sgml'': This directory contains the configuration
files for SGML and XML
(optional
).
-''/dos
''
+;
''/etc/skel'
': When a new user account is created, files from this directory are usually copied into the user
's home directory.
-If both MS-DOS and Linux are run on one computer, this is a typical place to mount a DOS file
system.
+;''/etc/X11'': Configuration files for the X11 window
system (optional)
.
-''/etc
''
+;
''/home
'': On machines with home directories for users, these are usually beneath this directory, directly or not. The structure of this directory depends on local administration decisions.
-Contains configuration files which are local to the machine. Some larger software packages, like X11, can have their own subdirectories below
''/etc
''. Site-wide configuration files may be placed here or in ''/usr/etc''. Nevertheless, programs
should always look for these files in ''/etc''
and you may have links for these files
to ''/usr/etc''
.
+;
''/lib
'': This directory
should hold those shared libraries that are necessary to boot the system
and to run the commands in the root filesystem
.
-''/etc/opt
''
+;
''/mnt
'': This directory contains mount points for temporarily mounted filesystems
-Host-specific configuration files for add-on applications installed in
''/opt''.
+;
''/opt'': This directory should contain add-on packages that contain static files
.
-''/etc/sgml
''
+;
''/proc'': This is a mount point for the ''proc
'' filesystem, which provides information about running processes and the kernel. This pseudo-file system is described in more detail in proc(5).
-This directory contains
the configuration files
for SGML and XML
(optional).
+;''/root'':
This directory is usually
the home directory
for the root user
(optional).
-''/etc
/skel
''
+;
''/sbin'': Like ''
/bin
'', this directory holds commands needed to boot the system, but which are usually not executed by normal users.
-When a new user account is created, files from this directory are usually copied into the user
's home
directory.
+;
''/tmp'': This
directory contains temporary files which may be deleted with no notice, such as by a regular job or at system boot up
.
-''/etc/X11
''
+;
''/usr
'': This directory is usually mounted from a separate partition. It should hold only sharable, read-only data, so that it can be mounted by various machines running Linux.
-Configuration files for the X11 window
system (optional).
+;''/usr/X11R6'': The X-Window
system, version 11 release 6
(optional).
-''/home
''
+;
''/usr/X11R6/bin'': Binaries which belong to the X-Windows system; often, there is a symbolic link from the more traditional ''/usr/bin/X11
'' to here.
-On machines
with home directories for users, these are usually beneath this directory, directly or not. The structure of this directory depends on local administration decisions
.
+;''/usr/X11R6/lib'': Data files associated
with the X-Windows system
.
-''/lib''
+;
''/usr/X11R6
/lib/X11'': These contain miscellaneous files needed to run X; Often, there is a symbolic link from ''/usr/lib/X11
'' to this directory.
-This directory should hold those shared libraries that are necessary to boot
the system and
to run the commands in the root filesystem
.
+;''/usr/X11R6/include/X11'': Contains include files needed for compiling programs using
the X11 window
system. Often, there is a symbolic link from ''/usr/inlcude/X11''
to this directory
.
-''/mnt
''
+;
''/usr/bin
'': This is the primary directory for executable programs. Most programs executed by normal users which are not needed for booting or for repairing the system and which are not installed locally should be placed in this directory.
-This directory contains mount points
for temporarily mounted filesystems
+;''/usr/bin/X11'': is the traditional place to look
for X11 executables; on Linux, it usually is a symbolic link to ''/usr/X11R6/bin''.
-''/opt
''
+;
''/usr/dict'': Replaced by ''/usr/share/dict
''.
-This directory should contain add-on packages that contain static files
.
+;''/usr/doc'': Replaced by ''/usr/share/doc''
.
-''/proc
''
+;
''/usr/games
'': Binaries for games and educational programs (optional).
-This is a mount point for the
''proc
'' filesystem, which provides information about running processes and
the kernel. This pseudo-file system is described in more detail in __proc__(5)
.
+;
''/usr/include
'': Include files for
the C compiler
.
-''/root
''
+;
''/usr/include/X11'': Include files for the C compiler and the X-Windows system. This is usually a symbolic link to ''/usr/X11R6/include/X11.
''
-This directory is usually the home directory for the root user (optional)
.
+;''/usr/include/asm'': Include files which declare some assembler functions.
This used to be a symbolic link to ''/usr/src/linux/include/asm''
.
-''/sbin
''
+;
''/usr/include/linux'': This contains information which may change from system release to system release and used to be a symbolic link to ''/usr/src/linux/include/linux
'' to get at operating system specific information.
-Like
''/bin
'',
this directory holds commands needed to boot the system
, but which are usually not executed by normal users
.
+;:(Note that one should have include files there that work correctly with the current libc and in user space. However, Linux kernel source is not designed to be used with user programs and does not know anything about the libc you are using. It is very likely that things will break if you let
''/usr/include/asm
'' and ''/usr/include/linux'' point at a random kernel tree. Debian systems don't do
this and use headers from a known good kernel version
, provided in the libc*-dev package
.)
-''/tmp
''
+;
''/usr/include/g++
'': Include files to use with the GNU C++ compiler.
-This directory contains temporary files
which may be deleted with no notice, such as by a regular job or at system boot up
.
+;''/usr/lib'': Object libraries, including dynamic libraries, plus some executables
which usually are not invoked directly. More complicated programs
may have whole subdirectories there
.
-''/usr''
+;
''/usr/lib/X11'': The usual place for data files associated with X programs, and configuration files for the X system itself. On Linux, it usually is a symbolic link to ''/usr/X11R6/lib/X11
''.
-This directory is usually mounted from a separate partition. It should hold only sharable, read
-only data
, so that it can be mounted by various machines running Linux
.
+;''/usr/lib/gcc
-lib'': contains executables and include files for the GNU C compiler
, gcc(1)
.
-''/usr/X11R6
''
+;
''/usr/lib/groff
'': Files for the GNU groff document formatting system.
-The X-Window system, version 11 release 6
(optional
).
+;''/usr/lib/uucp'': Files for uucp
(1
).
-''/usr/X11R6/bin
''
+;
''/usr/local
'': This is where programs which are local to the site typically go.
-Binaries which belong to the X-Windows system
; often, there is a symbolic link from the more traditional
''/usr/bin/X11
'' to here
.
+;''/usr/local
/bin'': Binaries for programs local
to the site
.
-''/usr/X11R6
/lib
''
+;
''/usr/local
/doc
'': Local documentation.
-Data
files associated with the X-Windows system
.
+;''/usr/local/etc'': Configuration
files associated with locally installed programs
.
-''/usr/X11R6
/lib/X11
''
+;
''/usr/local
/games
'': Binaries for locally installed games.
-These contain miscellaneous files needed to run X
; Often, there is a symbolic link from
''/usr/lib
/X11
'' to this directory
.
+;''/usr/local
/lib
'': Files associated with locally installed programs
.
-''/usr/X11R6
/include/X11
''
+;
''/usr/local
/include'': Header files for the local C compiler.
-Contains include files needed for compiling programs using the X11 window system. Often, there is a symbolic link from
''/usr/inlcude
/X11
'' to this directory
.
+;
''/usr/local
/info
'': Info pages associated with locally installed programs
.
-''/usr/bin
''
+;
''/usr/local/man
'': Man pages associated with locally installed programs.
-This is the primary directory for executable
programs. Most programs executed by normal users which are not needed
for booting or for repairing the
system and which are not installed locally should be placed in this directory
.
+;''/usr/local/sbin'': Locally installed
programs for system administration
.
-''/usr/bin
/X11
''
+;
''/usr/local
/share
'': Local application data that can be shared among different architectures of the same OS.
-is the traditional place to look for X11 executables
; on Linux, it usually is a symbolic link to
''/usr/X11R6
/bin
''.
+;''/usr/local
/src
'': Source code for locally installed software
.
-''/usr/dict
''
+;
''/usr/man
'': Replaced by ''/usr/share/man''.
-Replaced by
''/usr/share
/dict
''.
+;
''/usr/sbin'': This directory contains program binaries for system administration which are not essential for the boot process, for mounting ''
/usr
'', or for system repair
.
-''/usr/doc''
+;''/usr/share'': This directory contains subdirectories with specific application data, that can be shared among different architectures of the same OS. Often one finds stuff here that used to live in
''/usr/doc'' or ''/usr/lib'' or ''/usr/man''.
-Replaced by
''/usr/share/doc
''.
+;
''/usr/share/dict
'': Contains the word lists used by spell checkers
.
-''/usr/games
''
+;
''/usr/share/doc
'': Documentation about installed programs.
-Binaries
for games and educational programs (optional)
.
+;''/usr/share/games'': Static data files
for games in ''/usr/games''
.
-''/usr/include
''
+;
''/usr/share/info
'': Info pages go here.
-Include files for the C compiler
.
+;''/usr/share/locale'': Locale information goes here
.
-''/usr/include
/X11
''
+;
''/usr/share
/man
'': Manpages go here in subdirectories according to the man page sections.
-Include files for the C compiler and the X-Windows system. This is usually a symbolic link to
''/usr/X11R6
/include
/X11.
''
+;
''/usr/share
/man
/<locale>/man[[1-9]
'': These directories contain manual pages for the specific locale in source code form. Systems which use a unique language and code set for all manual pages may omit the <locale> substring.
-''/usr/include
/asm
''
+;
''/usr/share
/misc
'': Miscellaneous data that can be shared among different architectures of the same OS.
-Include files which declare some assembler functions. This used to be a symbolic link to
''/usr/src
/linux/include/asm
''.
+;
''/usr/share
/nls
'': The message catalogs for native language support go here
.
-''/usr/include
/linux
''
+;
''/usr/share
/sgml
'': Files for SGML and XML.
-This contains information which may change from system release to system release and used to be a symbolic link to
''/usr/src
/linux/include/linux
'' to get at operating system specific information
.
+;
''/usr/share
/terminfo
'': The datebase for terminfo
.
-(Note that one should have include files there that work correctly with the current libc and in user space. However, Linux kernel source is not designed to be used with user programs and does not know anything about the libc you are using. It is very likely that things will break if you let
''/usr/include
/asm
'' and ''/usr/include/linux'' point at a random kernel tree. Debian systems don't do this and use headers from a known good kernel version, provided in the libc*-dev package
.)
+;
''/usr/share
/tmac
'': Troff macros that are not distributed with groff
.
-''/usr/include
/g++
''
+;
''/usr/share
/zoneinfo
'': Files for timezone information.
-Include files to use with the GNU C++ compiler.
+;''/usr/share/doc'':
-''/usr/lib
''
+;
''/usr/share/man
'': Manpages go in there, into their subdirectories.
-Object libraries, including dynamic libraries, plus some executables
which usually
are not invoked directly
. More complicated programs
may have whole subdirectories there
.
+;''/usr/share/man/<locale>/man[[1-9]'': These directories contain manual pages
which are in source code form
. Systems which use a unique language and code set for all manual pages
may omit the ''<locale>'' substring
.
-''/usr/lib/X11
''
+;
''/usr/src
'': Source files for different parts of the system, included with some packages for reference purposes. Don't work here with your own projects, as files below /usr should be read-only except when installing software.
-The usual place for data files associated with X programs, and configuration files for the X system itself. On Linux, it usually is a symbolic link to
''/usr/X11R6
/lib/X11
''.
+;
''/usr/src
/linux
'': This was the traditional place for the kernel source. Some distributions put here the source for the default kernel they ship. You should probably use another directory when building your own kernel
.
-''/usr/lib
/gcc-lib
''
+;
''/usr/tmp'': Obsolete. This should be a link to ''
/var/tmp'
'. This link is present only for compatibility reasons and shouldn
't be used.
-contains executables and include
files for the GNU C compiler
, __gcc__(1)
.
+;''/var'': This directory
contains files which may change in size
, such as spool and log files
.
-''/usr
/lib
/groff
''
+;
''/var
/adm'': This directory is superseded by ''/var/log'' and should be a symbolic link to ''/var
/log
''.
-Files
for the GNU groff document formatting system
.
+;''/var/backups'': Reserved
for historical reasons
.
-''/usr
/lib/uucp
''
+;
''/var
/cache
'': Data cached for programs.
-Files for __uucp__(
1)
.
+;''/var/cache/man/cat[[
1-9]'': These directories contain preformatted manual pages according to their man page section
. (The use of preformatted manual pages is deprecated.)
-''/usr
/local
''
+;
''/var
/cron
'': Reserved for historical reasons.
-This is where
programs which are local to the site typically go
.
+;''/var/lib'': Variable state information for
programs.
-''/usr
/local/bin
''
+;
''/var
/local'': Variable data for ''
/usr/local
''.
-Binaries
for programs local to
the site
.
+;''/var/lock'': Lock files are placed in this directory. The naming convention
for device lock files is ''LCK..<device>'' where ''<device>'' is
the device's name in the filesystem. The format used is that of HDU UUCP lock files, i.e. lock files contain a PID as a 10-byte ASCII decimal number, followed by a newline character
.
-''/usr
/local/doc
''
+;
''/var
/log
'': Miscellaneous log files.
-Local documentation
.
+;''/var/opt'': Variable data for ''/opt''
.
-''/usr
/local
/etc
''
+;
''/var
/mail'': Users' mailboxes. Replaces ''/var/spool
/mail
''.
-Configuration files associated with locally installed programs
.
+;''/var/msgs'': Reserved for historical reasons
.
-''/usr
/local/games
''
+;
''/var
/preserve
'': Reserved for historical reasons.
-Binaries for locally installed games
.
+;''/var/run'': Run-time variable files, like files holding process identifiers (PIDs) and logged user information ''(utmp)''. Files in this directory are usually cleared when the system boots
.
-''/usr
/local/lib
''
+;
''/var
/spool
'': Spooled (or queued) files for various programs.
-Files associated with locally installed programs
.
+;''/var/spool/at'': Spooled jobs for at(1)
.
-''/usr
/local
/include
''
+;
''/var
/spool
/cron
'': Spooled jobs for cron(8).
-Header
files for the local C compiler
.
+;''/var/spool/lpd'': Spooled
files for printing
.
-''/usr
/local
/info
''
+;
''/var
/spool
/mail
'': Replaced by ''/var/mail''.
-Info pages associated with locally installed programs
.
+;''/var/spool/mqueue'': Queued outgoing mail
.
-''/usr
/local
/man
''
+;
''/var
/spool
/news
'': Spool directory for news.
-Man pages associated with locally installed programs
.
+;''/var/spool/rwho'': Spooled files for rwhod(8)
.
-''/usr
/local
/sbin
''
+;
''/var
/spool
/smail
'': Spooled files for the smail(1) mail delivery program.
+;''/var/spool/news'': Spool directory for the news subsystem.
-Locally installed programs
for system administration
.
+;''/var/spool/uucp'': Spooled files
for uucp(1)
.
-''/usr
/local/share
''
+;
''/var
/tmp
'': The /var/tmp directory is made available for programs that require temporary files or directories that are preserved between system reboots. Therefore, data stored in /var/tmp is more persistent than data in /tmp.
-Local application data that can
be shared among different architectures of
the same OS
.
+;:Files and directories located in /var/tmp must not
be deleted when
the system is booted. Although data stored in /var/tmp is typically deleted in a site-specific manner, it is recommended that deletions occur at a less frequent interval than /tmp
.
-''/usr
/local/src
''
+;
''/var
/yp
'': Database files for NIS.
-Source code for locally installed software.
-
-''/usr/man''
-
-Replaced by ''/usr/share/man''.
-
-''/usr/sbin''
-
-This directory contains program binaries for system administration which are not essential for the boot process, for mounting ''/usr'', or for system repair.
-
-''/usr/share''
-
-This directory contains subdirectories with specific application data, that can be shared among different architectures of the same OS. Often one finds stuff here that used to live in ''/usr/doc'' or ''/usr/lib'' or ''/usr/man''.
-
-''/usr/share/dict''
-
-Contains the word lists used by spell checkers.
-
-''/usr/share/doc''
-
-Documentation about installed programs.
-
-''/usr/share/games''
-
-Static data files for games in ''/usr/games''.
-
-''/usr/share/info''
-
-Info pages go here.
-
-''/usr/share/locale''
-
-Locale information goes here.
-
-''/usr/share/man''
-
-Manpages go here in subdirectories according to the man page sections.
-
-''/usr/share/man/<locale>/man[[1-9]''
-
-These directories contain manual pages for the specific locale in source code form. Systems which use a unique language and code set for all manual pages may omit the <locale> substring.
-
-''/usr/share/misc''
-
-Miscellaneous data that can be shared among different architectures of the same OS.
-
-''/usr/share/nls''
-
-The message catalogs for native language support go here.
-
-''/usr/share/sgml''
-
-Files for SGML and XML.
-
-''/usr/share/terminfo''
-
-The datebase for terminfo.
-
-''/usr/share/tmac''
-
-Troff macros that are not distributed with groff.
-
-''/usr/share/zoneinfo''
-
-Files for timezone information.
-
-''/usr/share/doc''
-
-''/usr/share/man''
-
-Manpages go in there, into their subdirectories.
-
-''/usr/share/man/<locale>/man[[1-9]''
-
-These directories contain manual pages which are in source code form. Systems which use a unique language and code set for all manual pages may omit the ''<locale>'' substring.
-
-''/usr/src''
-
-Source files for different parts of the system, included with some packages for reference purposes. Don't work here with your own projects, as files below /usr should be read-only except when installing software.
-
-''/usr/src/linux''
-
-This was the traditional place for the kernel source. Some distributions put here the source for the default kernel they ship. You should probably use another directory when building your own kernel.
-
-''/usr/tmp''
-
-Obsolete. This should be a link to ''/var/tmp''. This link is present only for compatibility reasons and shouldn't be used.
-
-''/var''
-
-This directory contains files which may change in size, such as spool and log files.
-
-''/var/adm''
-
-This directory is superseded by ''/var/log'' and should be a symbolic link to ''/var/log''.
-
-''/var/backups''
-
-Reserved for historical reasons.
-
-''/var/cache''
-
-Data cached for programs.
-
-''/var/cache/man/cat[[1-9]''
-
-These directories contain preformatted manual pages according to their man page section. (The use of preformatted manual pages is deprecated.)
-
-''/var/cron''
-
-Reserved for historical reasons.
-
-''/var/lib''
-
-Variable state information for programs.
-
-''/var/local''
-
-Variable data for ''/usr/local''.
-
-''/var/lock''
-
-Lock files are placed in this directory. The naming convention for device lock files is ''LCK..<device>'' where ''<device>'' is the device's name in the filesystem. The format used is that of HDU UUCP lock files, i.e. lock files contain a PID as a 10-byte ASCII decimal number, followed by a newline character.
-
-''/var/log''
-
-Miscellaneous log files.
-
-''/var/opt''
-
-Variable data for ''/opt''.
-
-''/var/mail''
-
-Users' mailboxes. Replaces ''/var/spool/mail''.
-
-''/var/msgs''
-
-Reserved for historical reasons.
-
-''/var/preserve''
-
-Reserved for historical reasons.
-
-''/var/run''
-
-Run-time variable files, like files holding process identifiers (PIDs) and logged user information ''(utmp)''. Files in this directory are usually cleared when the system boots.
-
-''/var/spool''
-
-Spooled (or queued) files for various programs.
-
-''/var/spool/at''
-
-Spooled jobs for __at__(1).
-
-''/var/spool/cron''
-
-Spooled jobs for __cron__(1).
-
-''/var/spool/lpd''
-
-Spooled files for printing.
-
-''/var/spool/mail''
-
-Replaced by ''/var/mail''.
-
-''/var/spool/mqueue''
-
-Queued outgoing mail.
-
-''/var/spool/news''
-
-Spool directory for news.
-
-''/var/spool/rwho''
-
-Spooled files for __rwhod__(8).
-
-''/var/spool/smail''
-
-Spooled files for the __smail__(1) mail delivery program.
-
-''/var/spool/news''
-
-Spool directory for the news subsystem.
-
-''/var/spool/uucp''
-
-Spooled files for __uucp__(1).
-
-''/var/tmp''
-
-Like ''/tmp'', this directory holds temporary files stored for an unspecified duration.
-
-''/var/yp''
-
-Database files for NIS.
!!CONFORMS TO
The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, Version 2.2 <http://www.pathname.com/fhs/>
-!!BUGS
-
This list is not exhaustive; different systems may be configured differently.
!!SEE ALSO
-__
find__
(1), __
ln__
(1), __
mount__
(1
), __
proc__
(5), The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard
----
+find(1), ln(1), mount(8
), proc(5), The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard
+
----
