Linux File System

Linux File System

One of the joys of working with Linux/Unix is the regularity of the file system between machines. This has evolved alongside Unix and is now formalized in Linux as the Fileisystem Hierarchy Standard. It is maintained by the Linux Foundation and most distro's follow it, though they tend not to follow it completely. It is derived from the File System.

Standard Directories

/

The root or base directory, not to be confused with /root. This sits at the top of the tree and contains all the other folders --- Hence why /root begins with a /.

/bin

This contains the essential user binaries needed for single user mode (a.k.a Recovery mode). i.e. The programs you needed to get a broken system fixed. As well as the basic command line features such as ls and cp</code, it contains shells such as Bash, file, text and system manipulation utilities like kill,grep, " chmod, compression programs like gzip and some basic network utilities .

/boot ; boot loader files

contains the kernel etc. Very important but there is not much to do here except change grub settings and occasionally clean up old kernel versions – sometimes, especially on older systems, it is on separate partition that can fill up and overflow, which can cause of a lot of problems, that can appear seemingly unexplicable until you track them down.