Linux File System - Basics

/
Root Directory. Everything is stored under the root directory. Only the root user has write privilege
/bin
User Binaries. Contains binary executables, common linux commands (example: ls, pwd, ping)
/sbin
System Binaries. Same as bin, except the commands stored here are used for system maintenance purposes.
/etc
Configuration files and startup scripts for all programs
/dev
Device Files. Example: USB and any device attached to the system
/proc
Process Information. This directory contains information about processes running on your machine along with information about system resources
/var
Variable Files. This directory contains any files that are constantly being changed. Example: log files, packages, temp files, lock files, emails
/tmp
Temporary Files. This directory contains temporary files created by system and users. The files in this directory are TEMPORARY and will be deleted upon reboot.
/usr
User Programs are stored in this directory. Here you’ll find binaries and libraries for all user programs.
/home
Home directories for the users with accounts on the machines. Only the respective user can write to their home directory.
/boot
Boot Loader FIles. This directory contains kernel related files, grub files and anything else related to booting up the OS
/lib
System Libraries. The binaries under /bin and /sbin are dependent on these library files
/opt
Optional add-on software packages
/mnt
Mount Directory. This is where system administrators can mount filesystems
/media
Removable devices. This is a temporary mount directory where you can mount USB drives, CD-ROM drives, floppy drives and any other removable devices.
/srv
Service Data. Any information about the services performed on a server is stored here.