Scribd
Upload
88 views

Linux File System: Operating Systems CSC322

The Linux file system uses a hierarchical directory structure with the root directory "/" at the base. Key directories include /bin for essential binaries, /dev for device files, /boot for boot files, /etc for configuration files, /home for user home directories, /lib for libraries, /opt for optional software, /proc for process information, and /var for variable files like logs. Directories like /tmp hold temporary files and /usr contains shared files, libraries, and administrative commands.

Uploaded by

Ashfaq Ahmed
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
88 views

Linux File System: Operating Systems CSC322

The Linux file system uses a hierarchical directory structure with the root directory "/" at the base. Key directories include /bin for essential binaries, /dev for device files, /boot for boot files, /etc for configuration files, /home for user home directories, /lib for libraries, /opt for optional software, /proc for process information, and /var for variable files like logs. Directories like /tmp hold temporary files and /usr contains shared files, libraries, and administrative commands.

Uploaded by

Ashfaq Ahmed
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Operating Systems CSC322

Linux File System


A file system is a logical collection of files on a partition or disk. A partition is a container for information and
can span an entire hard drive if desired.
Directory Structure
Unix uses a hierarchical file system structure, much like an upside-down tree, with root (/) at the base of the
file system and all other directories spreading from there.
/ This is the root directory which should contain only the directories needed at the top level of the
file structure
Everything on your Linux system is located under the / directory, known as the root directory.
You can think of the / directory as being similar to the C:\ directory on Windows – but this isn’t
strictly true, as Linux doesn’t have drive letters.

/bin This is where the executable files are located. These files are available to all users.
The /bin directory contains the essential user binaries (programs) that must be present when
the system is mounted in single-user mode. Applications such as Firefox are stored in /usr/bin,
while important system programs and utilities such as the bash shell are located in /bin.

/dev These are device drivers


Linux exposes devices as files, and the /dev directory contains a number of special files that
represent devices. These are not actual files as we know them, but they appear as files – for
example, /dev/sda represents the first SATA drive in the system. If you wanted to partition it,
you could start a partition editor and tell it to edit /dev/sda.

/boot The /boot directory contains the files needed to boot the system – for example, the GRUB boot
loader’s files and your Linux kernels are stored here. The boot loader’s configuration files aren’t
located here, though – they’re in /etc with the other configuration files.

/etc The /etc directory contains configuration files, which can generally be edited by hand in a text
editor. Note that the /etc/ directory contains system-wide configuration files – user-specific
configuration files are located in each user’s home directory.
/home The /home directory contains a home folder for each user. For example, if your user name is
bob, you have a home folder located at /home/bob. This home folder contains the user’s data
files and user-specific configuration files. Each user only has write access to their own home
folder and must obtain elevated permissions (become the root user) to modify other files on the
system.

/lib The /lib directory contains libraries needed by the essential binaries in the /bin and /sbin folder.
Libraries needed by the binaries in the /usr/bin folder are located in /usr/lib.

/lost+found Each Linux file system has a lost+found directory. If the file system crashes, a file system check
will be performed at next boot. Any corrupted files found will be placed in the lost+found
directory, so you can attempt to recover as much data as possible.

/media The /media directory contains subdirectories where removable media devices inserted into the
computer are mounted. For example, when you insert a CD into your Linux system, a directory
will automatically be created inside the /media directory. You can access the contents of the
CD inside this directory.

/mnt Used to mount other temporary file systems, such as cdrom and floppy for the CD-ROM drive
and floppy diskette drive, respectively

/opt he /opt directory contains subdirectories for optional software packages. It’s commonly used by
proprietary software that doesn’t obey the standard file system hierarchy – for example, a
proprietary program might dump its files in /opt/application when you install it.

/proc The /proc directory similar to the /dev directory because it doesn’t contain standard files. It
contains special files that represent system and process information.

COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus 1


Operating Systems CSC322
/root The /root directory is the home directory of the root user. Instead of being located at
/home/root, it’s located at /root. This is distinct from /, which is the system root directory.

/tmp Holds temporary files used between system boots

/usr Used for miscellaneous purposes, and can be used by many users. Includes administrative
commands, shared files, library files, and others

/var Typically contains variable-length files such as log and print files and any other type of file
that may contain a variable amount of data

/sbin Contains binary (executable) files, usually for system administration. For example, fdisk and
ifconfig utlities

COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus 2

You might also like