{"id":12834,"date":"2019-03-28T23:07:39","date_gmt":"2019-03-28T23:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.appservgrid.com\/paw92\/?p=12834"},"modified":"2019-03-28T23:07:39","modified_gmt":"2019-03-28T23:07:39","slug":"linux-directory-structure-and-important-files-paths-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.appservgrid.com\/paw92\/index.php\/2019\/03\/28\/linux-directory-structure-and-important-files-paths-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Linux Directory Structure and Important Files Paths Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

For any person, who does not have a sound\u00a0knowledge of\u00a0Linux Operating System<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Linux File System<\/strong>, dealing with the files and their location, their use may be horrible, and a newbie may really mess up.<\/p>\n

This article is aimed to provide the information about\u00a0Linux File System<\/strong>, some of the\u00a0important files<\/strong>, their\u00a0usability<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0location<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Linux Directory Structure Diagram<\/h3>\n

A standard\u00a0Linux<\/strong>\u00a0distribution follows the directory structure as provided below with Diagram and explanation.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Linux<\/a><\/p>\n

Linux Directory Structure<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Each of the above directory (which is a file, at the first place) contains important information, required for booting to device drivers, configuration files, etc. Describing briefly the purpose of each directory, we are starting hierarchically.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \/bin<\/strong>\u00a0: All the executable binary programs (file) required during booting, repairing, files required to run into single-user-mode, and other important, basic commands\u00a0viz.<\/strong>,\u00a0cat<\/a>,\u00a0du<\/a>,\u00a0df<\/a>,\u00a0tar<\/a>,\u00a0rpm<\/a>,\u00a0wc,\u00a0<\/a>history<\/a>, etc.<\/li>\n
  2. \/boot<\/strong>\u00a0: Holds important files during\u00a0boot-up process<\/a>, including\u00a0Linux Kernel<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  3. \/dev<\/strong>\u00a0: Contains device files for all the hardware devices on the machine e.g.,\u00a0cdrom<\/strong>,\u00a0cpu<\/strong>, etc<\/li>\n
  4. \/etc<\/strong>\u00a0: Contains Application\u2019s configuration files,\u00a0startup<\/strong>,\u00a0shutdown<\/strong>,\u00a0start<\/strong>,\u00a0stop<\/strong>\u00a0script for every individual program.<\/li>\n
  5. \/home<\/strong>\u00a0: Home directory of the users. Every time a new user is created, a directory in the name of user is created within home directory which contains other directories like\u00a0Desktop<\/strong>,\u00a0Downloads<\/strong>,\u00a0Documents<\/strong>, etc.<\/li>\n
  6. \/lib<\/strong>\u00a0: The Lib directory contains\u00a0kernel modules<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0shared library<\/strong>\u00a0images required to boot the system and run commands in root file system.<\/li>\n
  7. \/lost+found<\/strong>\u00a0: This Directory is installed during installation of\u00a0Linux<\/strong>, useful for recovering files which may be broken due to unexpected\u00a0shut-down<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  8. \/media<\/strong>\u00a0: Temporary mount directory is created for removable devices viz.,\u00a0media\/cdrom<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  9. \/mnt<\/strong>\u00a0: Temporary mount directory for\u00a0mounting file system<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  10. \/opt<\/strong>\u00a0: Optional is abbreviated as opt. Contains third party application software. Viz.,\u00a0Java<\/a>, etc.<\/li>\n
  11. \/proc<\/strong>\u00a0: A virtual and pseudo file-system which contains information about\u00a0running process<\/strong>\u00a0with a particular\u00a0Process-id<\/strong>\u00a0aka\u00a0pid<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  12. \/root<\/strong>\u00a0: This is the home directory of root user and should never be confused with\u00a0\u2018\/<\/strong>\u2018<\/li>\n
  13. \/run<\/strong>\u00a0: This directory is the only clean solution for\u00a0early-runtime-dir<\/strong>\u00a0problem.<\/li>\n
  14. \/sbin<\/strong>\u00a0: Contains binary executable programs, required by\u00a0System Administrator<\/strong>, for\u00a0Maintenance<\/strong>. Viz.,\u00a0iptables<\/a>,\u00a0fdisk<\/a>,\u00a0ifconfig<\/a>, swapon, reboot, etc.<\/li>\n
  15. \/srv<\/strong>\u00a0: Service is abbreviated as \u2018srv<\/strong>\u2018. This directory contains server specific and service related files.<\/li>\n
  16. \/sys<\/strong>\u00a0: Modern Linux distributions include a\u00a0\/sys<\/strong>\u00a0directory as a\u00a0virtual filesystem<\/strong>, which stores and allows modification of the devices connected to the system.<\/li>\n
  17. \/tmp<\/strong>\u00a0:System\u2019s Temporary Directory, Accessible by users and root. Stores temporary files for\u00a0user<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0system<\/strong>, till next boot.<\/li>\n
  18. \/usr<\/strong>\u00a0: Contains executable\u00a0binaries<\/strong>,\u00a0documentation<\/strong>,\u00a0source code<\/strong>,\u00a0libraries<\/strong>\u00a0for second level program.<\/li>\n
  19. \/var<\/strong>\u00a0: Stands for variable. The contents of this file is expected to grow. This directory contains\u00a0log<\/strong>,\u00a0lock<\/strong>,\u00a0spool<\/strong>,\u00a0mail<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0temp<\/strong>\u00a0files.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Linux<\/strong>\u00a0is a complex system which requires a more complex and efficient way to\u00a0start<\/strong>,\u00a0stop<\/strong>,\u00a0maintain<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0reboot<\/strong>a system unlike\u00a0Windows<\/strong>. There is a well defined configuration\u00a0files<\/strong>,\u00a0binaries<\/strong>,\u00a0man pages<\/strong>,\u00a0info files<\/strong>, etc. for every\u00a0process<\/strong>\u00a0in\u00a0Linux<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \/boot\/vmlinuz<\/strong>\u00a0: The\u00a0Linux Kernel<\/strong>\u00a0file.<\/li>\n
    2. \/dev\/hda<\/strong>\u00a0: Device file for the first\u00a0IDE HDD<\/strong>\u00a0(Hard Disk Drive<\/strong>)<\/li>\n
    3. \/dev\/hdc<\/strong>\u00a0: Device file for the\u00a0IDE Cdrom<\/strong>, commonly<\/li>\n
    4. \/dev\/null<\/strong>\u00a0: A pseudo device, that don\u2019t exist. Sometime garbage output is redirected to\u00a0\/dev\/null<\/strong>, so that it gets lost, forever.<\/li>\n
    5. \/etc\/bashrc<\/strong>\u00a0: Contains system\u00a0defaults<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0aliases<\/strong>\u00a0used by bash shell.<\/li>\n
    6. \/etc\/crontab<\/strong>\u00a0: A\u00a0shell script<\/a>\u00a0to run specified commands on a predefined time Interval.<\/li>\n
    7. \/etc\/exports<\/strong>\u00a0: Information of the file system available on\u00a0network<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    8. \/etc\/fstab<\/strong>\u00a0: Information of\u00a0Disk Drive<\/strong>\u00a0and their mount point.<\/li>\n
    9. \/etc\/group<\/strong>\u00a0: Information of\u00a0Security Group<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    10. \/etc\/grub.conf<\/strong>\u00a0: grub\u00a0bootloader<\/strong>\u00a0configuration file.<\/li>\n
    11. \/etc\/init.d<\/strong>\u00a0: Service\u00a0startup<\/strong>\u00a0Script.<\/li>\n
    12. \/etc\/lilo.conf<\/strong>\u00a0: lilo\u00a0bootloader<\/strong>\u00a0configuration file.<\/li>\n
    13. \/etc\/hosts<\/strong>\u00a0: Information of\u00a0Ip addresses<\/strong>\u00a0and corresponding\u00a0host names<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    14. \/etc\/hosts.allow<\/strong>\u00a0: List of\u00a0hosts allowed<\/strong>\u00a0to access services on the local machine.<\/li>\n
    15. \/etc\/host.deny<\/strong>\u00a0: List of\u00a0hosts denied<\/strong>\u00a0to access services on the local machine.<\/li>\n
    16. \/etc\/inittab<\/strong>\u00a0: INIT process and their interaction at various\u00a0run level<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    17. \/etc\/issue<\/strong>\u00a0: Allows to edit the\u00a0pre-login<\/strong>\u00a0message.<\/li>\n
    18. \/etc\/modules.conf<\/strong>\u00a0: Configuration files for\u00a0system modules<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    19. \/etc\/motd<\/strong>\u00a0:\u00a0motd<\/a>\u00a0stands for\u00a0Message Of The Day<\/strong>, The Message users gets upon login.<\/li>\n
    20. \/etc\/mtab<\/strong>\u00a0: Currently mounted\u00a0blocks<\/strong>\u00a0information.<\/li>\n
    21. \/etc\/passwd<\/strong>\u00a0: Contains\u00a0password<\/strong>\u00a0of system\u00a0users<\/strong>\u00a0in a shadow file, a security implementation.<\/li>\n
    22. \/etc\/printcap<\/strong>\u00a0:\u00a0Printer<\/strong>\u00a0Information<\/li>\n
    23. \/etc\/profile<\/strong>\u00a0: Bash shell\u00a0defaults<\/strong><\/li>\n
    24. \/etc\/profile.d<\/strong>\u00a0: Application script, executed after\u00a0login<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    25. \/etc\/rc.d<\/strong>\u00a0: Information about\u00a0run level<\/strong>\u00a0specific script.<\/li>\n
    26. \/etc\/rc.d\/init.d<\/strong>\u00a0: Run Level\u00a0Initialisation<\/strong>\u00a0Script.<\/li>\n
    27. \/etc\/resolv.conf<\/strong>\u00a0: Domain Name Servers (DNS<\/strong>) being used by System.<\/li>\n
    28. \/etc\/securetty<\/strong>\u00a0: Terminal List, where\u00a0root<\/strong>\u00a0login is possible.<\/li>\n
    29. \/etc\/skel<\/strong>\u00a0: Script that populates new user\u00a0home<\/strong>\u00a0directory.<\/li>\n
    30. \/etc\/termcap<\/strong>\u00a0: An\u00a0ASCII<\/strong>\u00a0file that defines the behaviour of\u00a0Terminal<\/strong>,\u00a0console<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0printers<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    31. \/etc\/X11<\/strong>\u00a0: Configuration files of\u00a0X-window<\/strong>\u00a0System.<\/li>\n
    32. \/usr\/bin<\/strong>\u00a0: Normal user\u00a0executable<\/strong>\u00a0commands.<\/li>\n
    33. \/usr\/bin\/X11<\/strong>\u00a0: Binaries of\u00a0X windows<\/strong>\u00a0System.<\/li>\n
    34. \/usr\/include<\/strong>\u00a0: Contains include files used by \u2018c<\/strong>\u2018 program.<\/li>\n
    35. \/usr\/share<\/strong>\u00a0: Shared directories of\u00a0man files<\/strong>,\u00a0info files<\/strong>, etc.<\/li>\n
    36. \/usr\/lib<\/strong>\u00a0: Library files which are required during program\u00a0compilation<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    37. \/usr\/sbin<\/strong>\u00a0: Commands for\u00a0Super User<\/strong>, for System Administration.<\/li>\n
    38. \/proc\/cpuinfo<\/strong>\u00a0:\u00a0CPU<\/strong>\u00a0Information<\/li>\n
    39. \/proc\/filesystems<\/strong>\u00a0: File-system\u00a0Information<\/strong>\u00a0being used currently.<\/li>\n
    40. \/proc\/interrupts<\/strong>\u00a0: Information about the current\u00a0interrupts<\/strong>\u00a0being utilised currently.<\/li>\n
    41. \/proc\/ioports<\/strong>\u00a0: Contains all the\u00a0Input<\/strong>\/Output<\/strong>\u00a0addresses used by devices on the server.<\/li>\n
    42. \/proc\/meminfo<\/strong>\u00a0:\u00a0Memory Usages<\/strong>\u00a0Information.<\/li>\n
    43. \/proc\/modules<\/strong>\u00a0: Currently using\u00a0kernel<\/strong>\u00a0module.<\/li>\n
    44. \/proc\/mount<\/strong>\u00a0: Mounted\u00a0File-system<\/strong>\u00a0Information.<\/li>\n
    45. \/proc\/stat<\/strong>\u00a0: Detailed\u00a0Statistics<\/strong>\u00a0of the current System.<\/li>\n
    46. \/proc\/swaps<\/strong>\u00a0:\u00a0Swap<\/strong>\u00a0File Information.<\/li>\n
    47. \/version<\/strong>\u00a0: Linux\u00a0Version<\/strong>\u00a0Information.<\/li>\n
    48. \/var\/log\/lastlog<\/strong>\u00a0: log of last\u00a0boot<\/strong>\u00a0process.<\/li>\n
    49. \/var\/log\/messages<\/strong>\u00a0: log of messages produced by\u00a0syslog<\/strong>\u00a0daemon at boot.<\/li>\n
    50. \/var\/log\/wtmp<\/strong>\u00a0: list login\u00a0time<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0duration<\/strong>\u00a0of each user on the system currently.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      That\u2019s all for now.<\/p>\n

      Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      For any person, who does not have a sound\u00a0knowledge of\u00a0Linux Operating System\u00a0and\u00a0Linux File System, dealing with the files and their location, their use may be horrible, and a newbie may really mess up. This article is aimed to provide the information about\u00a0Linux File System, some of the\u00a0important files, their\u00a0usability\u00a0and\u00a0location. Linux Directory Structure Diagram A standard\u00a0Linux\u00a0distribution … <\/p>\n

      Continue reading “Linux Directory Structure and Important Files Paths Explained”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-linux"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.appservgrid.com\/paw92\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.appservgrid.com\/paw92\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.appservgrid.com\/paw92\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.appservgrid.com\/paw92\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.appservgrid.com\/paw92\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12834"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.appservgrid.com\/paw92\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12835,"href":"https:\/\/www.appservgrid.com\/paw92\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12834\/revisions\/12835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.appservgrid.com\/paw92\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.appservgrid.com\/paw92\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.appservgrid.com\/paw92\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}