Top Level Directories in the Linux File System

Top Level Directories in the Linux

Directory        Contains

/                       Base of the files system.
/bin                  Executable programs that are part of the Linux Operating System.
/boot                Linux Kernel and other files that the LILO and GRUB needed.
/dev                 Special files that represent devices attached to the system.
/etc                  System configuration files and the initialization scripts.
/home              Home directories of all users.
/lib                   Library files stored in /sbin and /bin needed to start Linux.
/lost+found     Lost files. Every disk partition has a lost+found directory.
/media             Mounting file systems on removable media.
/mnt                 Temporarily mounted file systems.
/opt                  Storage for large application software packages.
/proc                Information about the process running in the Linux system.
/root                 Home directory for the root user.
/sbin                 Executable commands for administration tasks.
/srv                  Data for services offered by this system.
/sys                  Information about the devices as seen by the Linux kernel.
/tmp                 Temporary directory that any user can use.
/usr                  Subdirectories for many important programs.
/var                  Various system files.

Important /usr Subdirectories

 Subdirectory  Description

/usr/bin            Executable files including utility programs

/usr/games       Some old Linux games.
/usr/include      Header files for the C, C++,  X11 and Linux kernel.
/usr/lib             Libraries for C, C++, other database libraries and graphical toolkit.
/usr/local          Local files.
/usr/sbin           Administrative commands, such as for email and networking.
/usr/share         Shared data.
/usr/share/man Online manual.
/usr/src             Source code for the Linux kernel.

 Important /var subdirectories

Subdirectory  Description.

/var/cache        Storage area for cached data for applications.
/var/lib             Information relating to the current state of applications.
/var/lock          Locked files ensures that a resource is used by only one application.
/var/log            Log files organized into subdirectories.
/var/mail          User mailbox files.
/var/opt            Variable data for packages stored in the /opt directory
/var/run            Data describing the system since the time it was booted.
/var/spool         Data that's waiting for some kind of processing.
/var/tmp           Temporary files preserved between system reboots.
/var/yp             Network Information Services (NIS) database files.