NAME
hier
- layout of filesystems
DESCRIPTION
An outline of the filesystem hierarchy.
Naming is very important.
The
UNIX
System relies on filename conventions for much of its power as a system.
The following file system layout describes generally where things are
and what they are, with references to other man pages for more detailed
documentation.
Not all files will be in every system.
- /
-
root directory of the system
- /COPYRIGHT
-
system copyright notice, most often put on
CD-ROM
distributions.
- /[a-z]/
-
user filesystems
- /altroot/
-
alternate root filesystem, in case of disaster
- /bin/
-
utilities used in both single and multi-user environments
- /boot*
-
second-stage boot loader(s) for some platforms; see
installboot(8)
- /dev/
-
block, character and other special device files
- MAKEDEV
-
script for creating device files;
see
makedev(8)
- console
-
the computer's console device
- drum
-
system swap space; see
drum(4)
- fd/
-
file descriptor files;
see
fd(4)
- klog
-
kernel logging device; see
syslog(3)
- kmem
-
kernel virtual memory device; see
mem(4)
- log
-
UNIX
domain datagram log socket; see
syslogd(8)
- mem
-
kernel physical memory device; see
mem(4)
- null
-
the null device; see
null(4)
- stderr
-
- stdin
-
- stdout
-
file descriptor files;
see
fd(4)
- tty
-
process' controlling terminal device; see
tty(4)
- zero
-
the zero device; see
zero(4)
- /etc/
-
system configuration files and scripts
- amd*
-
configuration files for
amd(8)
- changelist
-
files backed up by the security script
- crontab
-
schedule used by the
cron(8)
daemon
- csh.cshrc
-
- csh.login
-
- csh.logout
-
system-wide scripts for
csh(1)
- daily
-
script run each day by
cron(8)
- daily.conf
-
configuration file for
daily;
see
daily.conf(5)
- defaults/
-
default configuration files read by various
/etc/*.conf
files
- disktab
-
disk description file, see
disktab(5)
- dm.conf
-
dungeon master configuration; see
dm.conf(5)
- dumpdates
-
dump history; see
dump(8)
- exports
-
filesystem export information; see
mountd(8)
- fstab
-
filesystem information; see
fstab(5)
and
mount(8)
- ftpusers
-
users denied
ftp(1)
access; see
ftpd(8)
- ftpwelcome
-
ftp(1)
initial message; see
ftpd(8)
- gettytab
-
terminal configuration database; see
gettytab(5)
- group
-
group permissions file; see
group(5)
- hosts
-
host name database backup for
named(8);
see
hosts(5)
- hosts.equiv
-
trusted machines with equivalent user ID's
- hosts.lpd
-
trusted machines with printing privileges
- inetd.conf
-
Internet server configuration file; see
inetd(8)
- kerberosV/
-
configuration files for the kerberos version V;
see
kerberos(8)
- localtime
-
local timezone information;
see
ctime(3)
- mail/
-
configuration files for
sendmail(8)
- aliases*
-
name alias files
- sendmail.*
-
sendmail(8)
configuration information
- mail.rc
-
system-wide initialization script for
mail(1)
- man.conf
-
configuration file for
man(1);
see
man.conf(5)
- master.passwd
-
Main password file, readable only by root; see
passwd(5)
- mk.conf
-
optional file containing
make(1)
variables, read by pkgsrc and the system sources.
- monthly
-
script run each month by
cron(8)
- monthly.conf
-
configuration file for
monthly;
see
monthly.conf(5)
- motd
-
system message of the day
- mtree/
-
mtree configuration files;
see
mtree(8)
- named.*
-
- namedb/
-
named configuration files and databases;
see
named(8)
- netgroup
-
network groups; see
netgroup(5)
- netstart
-
network startup script
- networks
-
network name data base; see
networks(5)
- passwd
-
World readable password file generated from master.passwd; see
passwd(5),
pwd_mkdb(8)
- phones
-
remote host phone number data base; see
phones(5)
- printcap
-
system printer configuration; see
printcap(5)
- protocols
-
protocol name database; see
protocols(5)
- pwd.db
-
database form of passwd file; see
pwd_mkdb(8)
- rc
-
master system startup script invoked by
init(8);
see
rc(8)
- rc.conf
-
configuration file for system startup and shutdown scripts; see
rc.conf(5)
- rc.d/
-
directory containing per-subsystem startup and shutdown scripts; see
rc(8)
- rc.local
-
locally editable system startup script
- rc.shutdown
-
master system shutdown script invoked by
shutdown(8);
see
rc(8)
- remote
-
remote host description file; see
remote(5)
- security
-
daily (in)security script run by
cron(8)
- security.conf
-
configuration file for
security;
see
security.conf(5)
- services
-
service name data base; see
services(5)
- shells
-
list of permitted shells; see
shells(5)
- sliphome/
-
SLIP
login/logout scripts; see
sliplogin(8)
- spwd.db
-
database form of master.passwd file; see
pwd_mkdb(8)
- syslog.conf
-
syslogd(8)
configuration file; see
syslog.conf(5)
- termcap
-
terminal type database; see
termcap(3)
- ttys
-
terminal initialization information; see
ttys(5)
- uucp/
-
UUCP configuration files; see
uucp(1)
and
uucico(8).
- weekly
-
script run each week by
cron(8)
- weekly.conf
-
configuration file for
weekly;
see
weekly.conf(5)
- /home/
-
mount point for the automounter; see
amd(8)
- /lib/
-
dynamic linked libraries used by dynamic linked programs
(such as those in
/bin/
and
/sbin/
)
that cannot rely upon
/usr/lib/
being available.
- /libexec/
-
system utilities (such as the dynamic linker) required by programs
and libraries that cannot rely upon
/usr/libexec/
being available.
- /mnt/
-
empty directory commonly used by
system administrators as a temporary mount point
- /netbsd
-
pure kernel executable (the operating system loaded into memory
at boot time).
- /rescue/
-
statically linked rescue tools, for use in system recovery
- /root/
-
home directory for the super-user
- .cshrc
-
super-user start-up file
- .login
-
super-user start-up file
- .profile
-
super-user start-up file
- .rhosts
-
super-user id mapping between machines
- /sbin/
-
system programs and administration utilities
used in both single-user and multi-user environments
- /stand/
-
programs used in a standalone environment
- /tmp/
-
temporary files, usually a
mfs(8)
memory-based filesystem (the contents of
/tmp
are usually
not
preserved across a system reboot)
- /usr/
-
contains the majority of the system utilities and files
- X11R6/
-
X11 files
- bin/
-
X11 binaries
- include/
-
X11 include files
- lib/
-
X11 libraries
- bin/
-
common utilities, programming tools, and applications
- games/
-
the important stuff
- include/
-
standard C include files
- arpa/
-
include files for Internet service protocols
- atf/
-
include files for the Automated Testing Framework; see
atf(1)
- g++/
-
include files for the C++ compiler
- machine/
-
machine specific include files
- net/
-
- netatalk/
-
C include files for AppleTalk protocols
miscellaneous network include files;
see
atalk(4)
- netinet/
-
include files for Internet standard protocols; see
inet(4)
- netinet6/
-
include files for Internet protocol version 6; see
inet6(4)
- netiso/
-
include files for ISO standard protocols; see
iso(4)
- netkey/
-
include files for secret key management, used for security protocols; see
ipsec(4)
- netnatm/
-
C include files for native mode ATM
- nfs/
-
C include files for NFS (Network File System)
- protocols/
-
C include files for Berkeley service protocols
- sys/
-
system C include files (kernel data structures)
- ufs/
-
C include files for UFS (The U-word File System)
- lib/
-
archive, profiled, position independent archive, and shared libraries
- libdata/
-
miscellaneous utility data files
- libexec/
-
system daemons & system utilities (executed by other programs)
- uucp/
-
UUCP binaries and scripts (historically placed; to be moved)
- lkm/
-
loadable kernel modules
- mdec/
-
boot blocks, etc.
- obj/
-
architecture-specific target tree produced by building the
/usr/src
tree; normally a symbolic link or mounted filesystem
- pkg/
-
packages maintained by groups other than the
NetBSD
Project.
- bin/
-
contributed binaries
- include/
-
contributed include files
- lib/
-
contributed libraries
- libdata/
-
contributed data files
- libexec/
-
contributed daemons
- sbin/
-
contributed system utilities
- pkgsrc/
-
build descriptions ("packages") for the
NetBSD
packages system.
- distfiles/
-
Where unchanged source archives are fetched to/stored
- packages/
-
Where compiled binary packages are stored
There are also several other subdirectories which contain packages of
a certain category, e.g., archivers, graphics, ...
- sbin/
-
system daemons and system utilities (normally executed by the super-user)
- share/
-
architecture-independent text files
- calendar/
-
a variety of calendar files; see
calendar(1)
- dict/
-
word lists;
see
look(1)
and
spell(1)
- words
-
common words
- web2
-
words of Webster's 2nd International
- papers/
-
reference databases;
see
refer(1)
- special/
-
custom word lists;
see
spell(1)
- doc/
-
miscellaneous documentation; source for most of the printed
4.3BSD
manuals (available
from the
USENIX
association)
- games/
-
text files used by various games
- i18n/
-
internationalization databases; see
iconv(3)
- lkm/
-
documentation on the loadable kernel modules interface
- locale/
-
locale databases and gettext message catalogs; see
setlocale(3)
and
gettext(3)
- man/
-
formatted manual pages
- me/
-
macros for use with the
me(7)
macro package
- misc/
-
miscellaneous system-wide text files
- termcap
-
terminal characteristics database;
see
termcap(5)
- mk/
-
include files for
make(1)
- ms/
-
macros for use with the
ms(7)
macro package
- nls/
-
message catalogs; see
catgets(3)
- skel/
-
sample initialization files for new user accounts
- tabset/
-
tab description files for a variety of terminals, used in
the termcap file;
see
termcap(5)
- tmac/
-
text processing macros;
see
nroff(1)
and
troff(1)
- zoneinfo/
-
timezone configuration information;
see
tzfile(5)
- tests/
-
test programs; see
atf-run(1)
for information on how to run them
- /usr/src/
-
NetBSD
and local source files
- bin/
-
source for utilities/files in
/bin
- common/
-
sources shared between kernel and userland
- crypto/
-
cryptographic source, which may have import or export restrictions
- dist/
-
third-party
`virgin'
source code, referenced by other parts of the source tree
- distrib/
-
tools and data-files for making distributions
- doc/
-
documentation about the source tree (i.e., about the tree, not about
how to use the built software.)
- etc/
-
source (usually example files) for files in
/etc
- external/
-
source for programs from external third parties
(where
NetBSD
is the not the primary maintainer),
grouped by license, and then products per license
- bsd/
-
BSD (or equivalent) licensed software,
possibly with the
``advertising clause''
- games/
-
source for utilities/files in
/usr/games
- gnu/
-
source for programs covered by the
GNU
license (or similar)
- include/
-
source for files in
/usr/include
- lib/
-
source for libraries in
/usr/lib
- libexec/
-
source for utilities/files in
/usr/libexec
- regress/
-
various regression tests
- rescue/
-
source/makefiles for /rescue
- sbin/
-
source for utilities/files in
/sbin
- share/
-
source for files in
/usr/share
- doc/
-
- papers/
-
source for various Berkeley technical papers
- psd/
-
source for Programmer's Supplementary Documents
- smm/
-
source for System Manager's Manual
- usd/
-
source for User's Supplementary Documents
- sys/
-
kernel source files
- arch/
-
architecture-specific support
- acorn26/
-
Acorn Archimedes, A-series and R-series systems
- acorn32/
-
Acorn RiscPC/A7000 and VLSI RC7500
- algor/
-
Algorithmics Ltd. MIPS evaluations boards
- alpha/
-
Digital/Compaq Alpha
- amd64/
-
Computers with x86_64 capable CPUs
- amiga/
-
Commodore Amiga and MacroSystem DraCo
- amigappc/
-
PowerPC based Amiga boards
- arc/
-
MIPS-based machines following the Advanced RISC Computing spec
- arm/
-
ARM processor general support
- atari/
-
Atari TT030, Falcon and Hades
- bebox/
-
Be Inc. BeBox
- cats/
-
Chalice Technology's CATS and Intel's EBSA-285 evaluation boards
- cesfic/
-
CES FIC8234 VME processor board
- cobalt/
-
Cobalt Networks' MIPS-based Microserver
- dreamcast/
-
Sega Dreamcast game console
- evbarm/
-
ARM based evaluation boards
- evbmips/
-
MIPS based evaluation boards
- evbppc/
-
PowerPC based evaluation boards and appliances
- evbsh3/
-
SH3/SH4 based evaluation boards
- ews4800mips/
-
NEC's MIPS based EWS4800 workstations
- hp300/
-
Hewlett-Packard 9000/300 and 400 680x0-based workstations
- hp700/
-
Hewlett-Packard 9000/700 HPPA based workstations
- hpcarm/
-
StrongARM based WinCE PDA machines
- hpcmips/
-
MIPS based WinCE PDA machines
- hpcsh/
-
Hitachi SH3/4 based WinCE PDA machines
- hppa/
-
HPPA processor general support
- i386/
-
80x86-based IBM PCs and clones
- ibmnws/
-
IBM Network Station 1000
- iyonix/
-
Castle Technology's Iyonix ARM based PCs
- luna68k/
-
Omron Tateishi Electric's 680x0-based LUNA workstations
- m68k/
-
680x0 processor general support
- mac68k/
-
Apple Macintosh with 68k CPU
- macppc/
-
Apple Power Macintosh and clones
- mips/
-
MIPS processor general support
- mipsco/
-
MIPS Computer Systems Inc. family of workstations and servers
- mmeye/
-
Brains Inc. SH3 based mmEye multimedia server
- mvme68k/
-
Motorola MVME 680x0-based SBCs
- mvmeppc/
-
Motorola PowerPC VME SBCs
- netwinder/
-
StrongARM based NetWinder machines
- news68k/
-
Sony's 680x0-based NEWS workstations
- newsmips/
-
Sony's MIPS-based NEWS workstations
- next68k/
-
NeXT 68k "black" hardware
- ofppc/
-
Open Firmware PowerPC workstations
- playstation2/
-
SONY PlayStation 2
- pmax/
-
Digital MIPS-based DECstations and DECsystems
- powerpc/
-
PowerPC processor support
- prep/
-
PReP (PowerPC Reference Platform) and CHRP machines
- sandpoint/
-
Motorola Sandpoint reference platform
- sbmips/
-
Broadcom/SiByte evaluation boards
- sgimips/
-
Silicon Graphics' MIPS-based workstations
- sh3/
-
SH3/SH4 processor general support
- shark/
-
Digital DNARD ("Shark")
- sparc/
-
Sun Microsystems SPARC (32-bit) and UltraSPARC (in 32-bit mode)
- sparc64/
-
Sun Microsystems UltraSPARC (in native 64-bit mode)
- sun2/
-
Sun Microsystems 68010-based Sun 2 architecture
- sun3/
-
Sun Microsystems 68020/68030-based Sun 3/3x architecture
- sun68k/
-
680x0-based Sun architecture general support
- vax/
-
Digital VAX
- x68k/
-
Sharp X680x0 680x0-based workstations
- x86/
-
General support for PC/AT compatibles with ia32 or x86_64 CPUs
- xen/
-
The Xen virtual machine monitor
- zaurus/
-
Sharp C3x00 Arm based PDA
- compat/
-
kernel compatibility modules directory
- common/
-
common compatibility routines, old
4BSD
and
NetBSD
routines.
- freebsd/
-
support for
FreeBSD
binaries; see
compat_freebsd(8)
- hpux/
-
support for 68000 HP-UX binaries
- ibcs2/
-
support for Intel Binary binaries
- linux/
-
support for Linux binaries; see
compat_linux(8)
- m68k4k/
-
support for 4KB page 68000 binaries
- netbsd32/
-
support for
NetBSD
32-bit binaries on 64 bit platforms with compatible CPU families
- osf1/
-
support for
Digital
UNIX
(formerly OSF/1)
binaries
- ossaudio/
-
support for OSS audio
- pecoff/
-
support for
Win32
binaries; see
compat_pecoff(8)
- sunos/
-
support for
SunOS 4.x
binaries; see
compat_sunos(8)
- svr4/
-
support for System V Release 4 binaries; see
compat_svr4(8)
- ultrix/
-
support for
ULTRIX
binaries
- vax1k/
-
support for older VAX binaries that started on a 1 KB boundary
- conf/
-
architecture independent configuration directory
- crypto/
-
cryptographic kernel source, which may have import or export restrictions
- ddb/
-
in kernel debugger
- dev/
-
architecture independent device support
- fs/
-
miscellaneous file systems
- adosfs/
-
AmigaDOS file-system support; see
mount_ados(8)
- cd9660/
-
support for the ISO-9660 filesystem; see
mount_cd9660(8)
- filecorefs/
-
support for the Acorn RISC OS filecore filesystem; see
mount_filecore(8)
- msdosfs/
-
MS-DOS
file system; see
mount_msdos(8)
- ntfs/
-
NTFS filesystem support; see
mount_ntfs(8)
- ptyfs/
-
pseudo-terminal device filesystem; see
mount_ptyfs(8)
- smbfs/
-
SMB/CIFS filesystem support; see
mount_smbfs(8)
- union/
-
union file system; see
mount_union(8)
- gdbscripts/
-
support for accessing kernel structures from within the debugger
gdb(1).
- ipkdb/
-
support for kernel debugging over the network
- kern/
-
support for the high kernel (system calls)
- lib/
-
kernel libraries
- libkern/
-
C library routines used in the kernel
- libsa/
-
machine independent stand alone kernel library
- libz/
-
compression library
- lkm/
-
loadable kernel modules
- compat/
-
LKM support compatibility modules; currently unsupported.
- netinet/
-
LKM support networking modules
- if_ipl/
-
LKM for IP-Filter
- vfs/
-
LKM support for file systems.
- miscfs/
-
miscellaneous file systems
- deadfs/
-
kernel only dead file system
- fdesc/
-
file descriptor file system; see
mount_fdesc(8)
- fifofs/
-
POSIX FIFO support
- genfs/
-
kernel only generic file system
- kernfs/
-
kernel namespace file system; see
mount_kernfs(8)
- nullfs/
-
loop back file system; see
mount_null(8)
- overlay/
-
overlay file system; see
mount_overlay(8)
- portal/
-
portal file system; see
mount_portal(8)
- procfs/
-
process file system; see
mount_procfs(8)
- specfs/
-
kernel only special file system
- syncfs/
-
kernel trickle sync algorithm
- umapfs/
-
user and group re-mapping file system; see
mount_umap(8)
- net/
-
miscellaneous networking support
- netatalk/
-
AppleTalk networking support
- netinet/
-
IP networking support
- netinet6/
-
IPv6 networking support
- netiso/
-
ISO networking support
- netkey/
-
Key database for IPsec networking support
- netnatm/
-
ATM networking support
- nfs/
-
NFS support
- stand/
-
kernel standalone support
- sys/
-
kernel (and system) include files
- ufs/
-
local filesystem support
- ffs/
-
the Berkeley Fast File System
- lfs/
-
the log-structured file system
- mfs/
-
the in-memory file system
- ufs/
-
shared
UNIX
file system support
- uvm/
-
UVM virtual memory system
- tests/
-
source for test programs in
/usr/tests
- usr.bin/
-
source for utilities/files in
/usr/bin
- usr.sbin/
-
source for utilities/files in
/usr/sbin
- /var/
-
multi-purpose log, temporary, transient, and spool files
- account/
-
system accounting files
- acct
-
execution accounting file;
see
acct(5)
- at/
-
timed command scheduling files;
see
at(1)
- backups/
-
miscellaneous backup files, largely of files found in
/etc
- chroot/
-
home directories of applications which are run in a
chroot(8)
``cage''.
- crash/
-
system crash dumps; see
savecore(8)
- cron/
-
scheduled commands configuration files; see
cron(8)
- db/
-
miscellaneous automatically generated system-specific database files,
and persistent files used in the maintenance of third party software.
- pkg
-
default location for metadata related to third party software
packages.
See
pkg_install(1)
for more details of the
NetBSD
Packages Collection, or pkgsrc.
- games/
-
miscellaneous game status and log files
- heimdal/
-
Kerberos 5 KDC database; see
kdc(8)
- log/
-
miscellaneous system log files
- amd.*
-
amd(8)
logs
- daily.out
-
output of the last run of the
/etc/daily
script
- ftp.*
-
ftp(1)
logs
- kerberos.*
-
kerberos(8)
logs
- lastlog
-
system last time logged in log; see
utmp(5)
- lpd-errs.*
-
printer daemon error logs; see
lpd(8)
- maillog.*
-
sendmail(8)
log files
- messages.*
-
general system information log
- monthly.out
-
output of the last run of the
/etc/monthly
script
- secure
-
sensitive security information log
- sendmail.st
-
sendmail(8)
statistics
- timed.*
-
timed(8)
logs
- weekly.out
-
output of the last run of the
/etc/weekly
script
- wtmp
-
login/logout log;
see
utmp(5)
- mail/
-
user system mailboxes
- msgs/
-
system messages; see
msgs(1)
- preserve/
-
temporary home of files preserved after an accidental death of
ex(1)
or
vi(1)
- quotas/
-
filesystem quota information
- run/
-
system information files, rebuilt after each reboot
- utmp
-
database of current users; see
utmp(5)
- rwho/
-
rwho data files; see
rwhod(8),
rwho(1),
and
ruptime(1)
- spool/
-
miscellaneous printer and mail system spooling directories
- ftp/
-
commonly
``~ftp'',
the anonymous ftp root directory; see
ftpd(8)
- mqueue/
-
sendmail mail queue;
see
sendmail(8)
- news/
-
Network news archival and spooling directories
- output/
-
printer spooling directories
- postfix/
-
postfix mail queue;
see
postfix(1)
- uucp/
-
uucp spool directory
- uucppublic/
-
commonly
``~uucp'',
the uucp public temporary directory; see
uucp(1)
- tmp/
-
temporary files that are not discarded between system reboots
- vi.recover/
-
recovery directory for new
vi(1)
- yp/
-
Databases and configuration for the NIS (YP) system; see
nis(8).
SEE ALSO
apropos(1),
ls(1),
whatis(1),
whereis(1),
which(1)
HISTORY
A
hier
manual page appeared in
Version 7 AT&T UNIX
.