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28 .\" @(#)hier.7 8.1 (Berkeley) 6/5/93
36 .Nd layout of file systems
38 A sketch of the file system hierarchy.
39 .Bl -tag -width "/libexec/"
41 root directory of the file system
43 user utilities fundamental to both single-user and multi-user environments
45 programs and configuration files used during operating system bootstrap
47 .Bl -tag -width "defaults/" -compact
49 default bootstrapping configuration files; see
52 Compiled flattened device tree (FDT) files; see
57 loadable kernel modules containing binary firmware for hardware that needs
58 firmware downloaded to it to function
60 pure kernel executable (the operating system loaded into memory
61 at boot time) and kernel modules
63 third-party loadable kernel modules;
67 Compiled flattened device tree (FDT) overlays; see
76 default mount point for CD-ROM drives
84 device special files managed by
87 .Bl -tag -width "defaults/" -compact
89 file descriptor files;
94 system configuration files and scripts
96 .Bl -tag -width "defaults/" -compact
98 default system configuration files;
102 bluetooth configuration files
104 local timezone information;
108 Sendmail control files
110 mtree configuration files;
114 configuration files for the Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM)
117 scripts that are run daily, weekly, and monthly, via
122 system and daemon startup/control scripts;
126 OpenBSM audit configuration files;
130 ppp configuration files;
134 OpenSSH configuration files;
138 OpenSSL configuration files
141 critical system libraries needed for binaries in
146 .Bl -tag -width "defaults/" -compact
150 Capsicum support libraries
152 class-specific libraries for the
156 vendor-specific libraries to extend the
161 critical system utilities needed for binaries in
166 contains subdirectories to be used as mount points
167 for removable media such as CDs, USB drives, and
170 empty directory commonly used by
171 system administrators as a temporary mount point
173 automounted NFS shares;
181 statically linked programs for emergency recovery;
185 root's HOME directory
187 system programs and administration utilities
188 fundamental to both single-user and multi-user environments
190 temporary files that are not guaranteed to persist across system reboots
192 contains the majority of user utilities and applications
194 .Bl -tag -width "defaults/" -compact
196 common utilities, programming tools, and applications
198 files needed to support binary compatibility with other operating systems,
201 standard C include files
203 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
205 C include files for Internet service protocols
207 C include files for the SNMP daemon
211 C include files for the Common Access Methods Layer
212 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
214 SCSI device on top of CAM
217 C include files for programming various
220 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
222 various header files describing driver- and bus-independent
225 Open Firmware support
241 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
243 per-process file descriptors file system
247 C include files for NFS (Network File System) version 2, 3 and 4
261 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
276 C include files for libmilter,
281 machine-specific C include files
283 miscellaneous network C include files
284 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
286 C include files for alternate queueing
289 C include files for 802.11 wireless networking;
293 C include files for Internet standard protocols;
297 C include files for Internet protocol version 6;
301 kernel key-management service;
307 C include files for NFS (Network File System) version 2 and 3 (legacy)
309 OpenSSL (Cryptography/SSL toolkit) headers
311 C include files for Berkeley service protocols
313 remote procedure calls;
317 definition of RPC service structures; see
323 system C include files (kernel data structures)
328 .\" .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
335 C include files for UFS (The U-word File System)
336 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
353 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
355 a.out archive libraries
357 shared libraries for compatibility
358 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
360 a.out backward compatibility libraries
363 standalone debug data for the kernel and base system libraries and binaries
365 DTrace library scripts
367 OpenSSL (Cryptography/SSL toolkit) dynamically loadable engines
371 miscellaneous utility data files
373 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
384 system daemons & system utilities (executed by other programs)
386 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
388 utilities to manipulate a.out executables
390 utilities to manipulate ELF executables
392 utilities and filters for LP print system;
409 local executables, libraries, etc.
410 Also used as the default destination for the
415 the general layout sketched out by
426 .Pa local/share/ Ns Pc ,
429 .Pa share/doc/<port>/ Ns Pc ,
435 architecture-specific target tree produced by building the
444 system daemons & system utilities (executed by users)
446 architecture-independent files
448 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
450 a variety of pre-fab calendar files;
457 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
460 terms, proper names, and jargon
462 words from Webster's 2nd International
465 miscellaneous documentation;
466 source for most of the printed
472 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
474 Frequently Asked Questions
476 implementation notes for IPv6
478 Spanish translations of documents in /usr/share/doc
483 Japanese translations of documents in /usr/share/doc
485 License files for vendor supplied firmware files
487 HTML documents pertaining to ncurses;
491 HTML documents pertaining to the Network Time Protocol
493 Russian translations of documents in /usr/share/doc
498 Chinese translations of documents in /usr/share/doc
501 various examples for users and programmers
503 firmware images loaded by userland programs
505 ASCII text files used by various games
507 known trusted and revoked keys.
508 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
522 miscellaneous system-wide ASCII text files
523 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
527 terminal characteristics database;
536 national language support files;
540 data files for security policies such as
548 (dot) files for new accounts
550 MIBs, example files and tree definitions for the SNMP daemon.
551 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
553 tree definition files for use with
559 files used by syscons;
562 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
570 console keyboard maps;
579 tab description files for a variety of terminals; used in
584 localization support and utilities for
590 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
598 console keyboard maps;
604 .\" console screen maps
607 timezone configuration information;
614 third-party, and/or local source files
616 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
618 source code for files in /bin
620 utilities covered by the Common Development and Distribution License
622 source code for contributed software
624 source code for contributed cryptography software
626 source code for files in
629 utilities covered by the GNU General Public License
631 source code for files in
634 build infrastructure for Kerberos version 5
636 source code for files in
641 source code for files in
644 files required to produce a
648 source code for files in
651 source code for files in
654 build directory for files in
660 boot loader source code
663 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
665 AMD64 architecture support
667 ARM architecture support
669 ARMv8 architecture support
675 CDDL-licensed optional sources, including ZFS
686 i386 (32 bit) architecture support
688 main part of the kernel
690 MIPS architecture support
708 PowerPC/POWER architecture support
710 RISC-V architecture support
716 SPARC64 architecture support
722 code shared by AMD64 and i386 architectures
725 support for experimental DIRDEPS_BUILD
727 source code for files in
730 tools used for maintenance and testing of
733 source code for files in
736 source code for files in
749 multi-purpose log, temporary, transient, and spool files
751 .Bl -tag -width "defaults/" -compact
753 system accounting files
755 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
757 execution accounting file;
763 timed command scheduling files;
767 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
769 directory containing job files
771 directory containing output spool files
775 miscellaneous backup files
777 miscellaneous cached files
779 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
786 default directory to store kernel crash dumps; see
795 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
803 miscellaneous automatically generated system-specific database files
805 empty directory for use by programs that need a specifically empty directory.
808 for privilege separation.
810 miscellaneous game status and score files
812 Kerberos server databases; see
815 miscellaneous system log files
817 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
831 system messages database;
835 temporary home of files preserved after an accidental death
840 file system quota information files
842 system information files describing various info about
843 system since it was booted
845 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
849 group for command connection sockets; see
852 database of current users;
865 miscellaneous printer and mail system spooling directories
867 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
869 undelivered submission mail queue;
873 commonly ~ftp; the anonymous ftp root directory
875 undelivered mail queue;
879 line printer spooling directories
883 temporary files that are kept between system reboots
885 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
887 the directory where recovery files are stored
895 This manual page documents the default
897 file system layout, but
898 the actual hierarchy on a given system is defined at the system
899 administrator's discretion.
900 A well-maintained installation will include a customized version of
917 manual page appeared in