Unix directory structure: Difference between revisions

From Citizendium
Jump to navigation Jump to search
imported>Nick Johnson
No edit summary
imported>Nick Johnson
No edit summary
Line 3: Line 3:


* / -- "root"
* / -- "root"
* /bin
* /bin -- short for [[computer program|binaries]].  Contains some fundamental utilities needed by a system administrator.  As a failsafe, these were placed in a separate directory so that they could be placed on a separate [[disk]] or [[disk partition]] in case the main drive failed.
* /etc
* /etc -- Contains configuration and some system databases.
* /dev
* /dev -- short for devices.  Contains file representations of every peripheral device attached to the system.
* /home
* /home -- contains the home directories for the users.  On some Unices, this is under /usr/home
* /include
* /include
* /lib
* /lib
* /root -- the home directory for the [[superuser]] root.
* /tmp
* /tmp
* /usr
* /usr

Revision as of 12:57, 16 April 2007

In computer science, and particularly in Unix-like operating systems, the Unix directory structure is a convention of organization.


  • / -- "root"
  • /bin -- short for binaries. Contains some fundamental utilities needed by a system administrator. As a failsafe, these were placed in a separate directory so that they could be placed on a separate disk or disk partition in case the main drive failed.
  • /etc -- Contains configuration and some system databases.
  • /dev -- short for devices. Contains file representations of every peripheral device attached to the system.
  • /home -- contains the home directories for the users. On some Unices, this is under /usr/home
  • /include
  • /lib
  • /root -- the home directory for the superuser root.
  • /tmp
  • /usr
    • /usr/bin
    • /usr/include
    • /usr/lib
  • /var