3.Linux File System

Path

Description

/

The top-level directory is the root filesystem. It contains all the files required to boot the operating system before other filesystems are mounted, and the necessary files to boot the other filesystems.

/bin

Contains essential command binaries.

/boot

Consists of the static bootloader, kernel executable, and files required to boot the Linux OS.

/dev

Contains device files to facilitate access to every hardware device attached to the system.

/etc

Local system configuration files. These configuration files for the installed applications may also be saved in this directory.

/home

Each user on the system has a subdirectory here for storage.

/lib

Shared library files that are required for system boot.

/media

External removable media devices such as USB drives are mounted here.

/mnt

Temporary mount point for regular filesystems.

/opt

Optional files such as third-party tools can be saved here.

/root

The home directory for the root user.

/sbin

This directory contains executables used for system administration (binary system files).

/tmp

The operating system and many programs use this directory to store temporary files. This directory is generally cleared upon system boot and may be deleted at other times without warning.

/usr

Contains executables, libraries, man files, etc.

/var

This directory contains variable data files such as log files, email in-boxes, web application-related files, cron files, and more.

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