The Linux File System
It is helpful to have an idea of the Linux file system structure to navigate the terminal effectively. The Linux file system is a hierarchical structure that starts from the root directory /
. Here are some key directories in the Linux file system:
/
: The root directory of the file system./bin
: Contains essential binaries (programs) that are required for the system to boot and run./boot
: Contains the Linux kernel and boot loader configuration files./dev
: Contains device files that represent hardware devices connected to the system./etc
: Contains system-wide configuration files./home
: Contains user home directories./lib
: Contains shared libraries that are required for programs to run./media
: Contains mount points for removable media such as USB drives./mnt
: Contains mount points for temporary file systems./opt
: Contains optional software packages./proc
: Contains information about system processes./root
: The home directory for the root user./run
: Contains system runtime data./sbin
: Contains essential system binaries./srv
: Contains data for services provided by the system./sys
: Contains information about the system hardware./tmp
: Contains temporary files./usr
: Contains user binaries, libraries, and documentation./var
: Contains variable data such as logs and spool files.
The most commonly used directories are /home
, /usr
, and /var
.
When building containers, it is common to use the /app
directory to store application code and assets. This directory is not a standard Linux directory but is often used in containerized applications for consistency.