Lesson 3.1: The Linux filesystem hierarchy
One tree that starts at /: what lives in /etc, /home, /root, /var, /tmp, /usr, /bin, /dev, /proc and /boot (the FHS), and how disks, partitions and mounting fit into that tree.
16 min
You will learn to
- Explain the single directory tree and the root directory /
- Name what the main FHS directories hold
- Explain device files, partitions and mounting
- Read df -h and ls -l output for directories and devices
Key terms
- Filesystem
- The way an operating system organises files on a disk; also the whole tree of directories you see.
- Directory
- A container that holds files and other directories. 'Folder' is the same thing in graphical interfaces.
- Root directory (/)
- The top of the tree. Every path starts from it.
- Home directory
- Each user's personal directory, /home/NAME; shown as ~ in the prompt.
- FHS
- The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard: the agreed list of which directory is for what, so all distributions look alike.
- Device file
- A file in /dev that stands for a piece of hardware or a kernel service. Reading or writing it talks to the device.
- Partition
- A separate section of a disk that holds its own filesystem. The first disk is /dev/sda; its partitions are /dev/sda1, /dev/sda2…
- Mount
- Attaching a filesystem from a partition, USB stick or network share to a directory in the tree, so its files appear there.
- Mount point
- The directory where a filesystem is attached. / itself is the mount point of the main partition.
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