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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;
71 default mount point for CD-ROM drives
79 device special files managed by
82 .Bl -tag -width "net/" -compact
84 file descriptor files;
89 system configuration files and scripts
91 .Bl -tag -width "bluetooth/" -compact
93 default system configuration files;
97 bluetooth configuration files
99 local timezone information;
103 Sendmail control files
105 mtree configuration files;
109 configuration files for the Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM)
112 scripts that are run daily, weekly, and monthly, via
117 system and daemon startup/control scripts;
121 OpenBSM audit configuration files;
125 ppp configuration files;
129 OpenSSH configuration files;
133 OpenSSL configuration files
136 critical system libraries needed for binaries in
141 .Bl -tag -width "geom/" -compact
143 class-specific libraries for the
148 critical system utilities needed for binaries in
153 contains subdirectories to be used as mount points
154 for removable media such as CDs, USB drives, and
157 empty directory commonly used by
158 system administrators as a temporary mount point
160 automounted NFS shares;
168 statically linked programs for emergency recovery;
172 root's HOME directory
174 system programs and administration utilities
175 fundamental to both single-user and multi-user environments
177 temporary files that are not guaranteed to persist across system reboots
179 contains the majority of user utilities and applications
181 .Bl -tag -width "libdata/" -compact
183 common utilities, programming tools, and applications
185 files needed to support binary compatibility with other operating systems,
188 standard C include files
190 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
192 C include files for Internet service protocols
194 C include files for the SNMP daemon
198 C include files for the Common Access Methods Layer
199 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
201 SCSI device on top of CAM
204 C include files for programming various
207 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
209 various header files describing driver- and bus-independent
212 Open Firmware support
228 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
230 per-process file descriptors file system
234 C include files for NFS (Network File System) version 2, 3 and 4
248 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
264 C include files for libmilter,
269 machine-specific C include files
271 miscellaneous network C include files
272 .Bl -tag -width "altq/" -compact
274 C include files for alternate queueing
277 C include files for 802.11 wireless networking;
281 C include files for Internet standard protocols;
285 C include files for Internet protocol version 6;
289 kernel key-management service;
295 C include files for NFS (Network File System) version 2 and 3 (legacy)
297 OpenSSL (Cryptography/SSL toolkit) headers
299 C include files for Berkeley service protocols
301 remote procedure calls;
305 definition of RPC service structures; see
311 system C include files (kernel data structures)
316 .\" .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
323 C include files for UFS (The U-word File System)
324 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
340 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
342 a.out archive libraries
344 shared libraries for compatibility
345 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
347 a.out backward compatibility libraries
350 standalone debug data for the kernel and base system libraries and binaries
352 DTrace library scripts
354 OpenSSL (Cryptography/SSL toolkit) dynamically loadable engines
358 miscellaneous utility data files
359 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
368 various prebuilt lint libraries;
374 system daemons & system utilities (executed by other programs)
375 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
377 utilities to manipulate a.out executables
379 utilities to manipulate ELF executables
381 utilities and filters for LP print system;
398 local executables, libraries, etc.
399 Also used as the default destination for the
404 the general layout sketched out by
415 .Pa local/share/ Ns Pc ,
418 .Pa share/doc/<port>/ Ns Pc ,
424 architecture-specific target tree produced by building the
433 system daemons & system utilities (executed by users)
435 architecture-independent files
437 .Bl -tag -width "calendar/" -compact
439 a variety of pre-fab calendar files;
447 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
450 terms, proper names, and jargon
452 words from Webster's 2nd International
456 miscellaneous documentation;
457 source for most of the printed
463 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
465 Frequently Asked Questions
467 implementation notes for IPv6
469 Spanish translations of documents in /usr/share/doc
474 Japanese translations of documents in /usr/share/doc
476 License files for vendor supplied firmwares
478 HTML documents pertaining to ncurses;
482 HTML documents pertaining to the Network Time Protocol
484 Russian translations of documents in /usr/share/doc
489 Chinese translations of documents in /usr/share/doc
493 various examples for users and programmers
495 firmware images loaded by userland programs
497 ASCII text files used by various games
499 known trusted and revoked keys.
500 .Bl -tag -width "pkg/" -compact
515 miscellaneous system-wide ASCII text files
516 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
520 terminal characteristics database;
529 national language support files;
533 data files for security policies such as
541 (dot) files for new accounts
543 MIBs, example files and tree definitions for the SNMP daemon.
544 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
546 tree definition files for use with
552 files used by syscons;
555 .Bl -tag -width "scrnmaps/" -compact
563 console keyboard maps;
572 tab description files for a variety of terminals; used in
577 localization support and utilities for
583 .Bl -tag -width "scrnmaps/" -compact
591 console keyboard maps;
597 .\" console screen maps
600 timezone configuration information;
606 third-party, and/or local source files
608 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
610 source code for files in /bin
612 utilities covered by the Common Development and Distribution License
614 source code for contributed software
616 source code for contributed cryptography software
618 source code for files in
621 utilities covered by the GNU General Public License
623 source code for files in
626 build infrastructure for kerberos version 5
628 source code for files in
633 source code for files in
636 files required to produce a
640 source code for files in
643 source code for files in
646 build directory for files in
653 .Bl -tag -width "opencrypto/" -compact
655 AMD64 architecture support
657 ARM architecture support
659 ARMv8 architecture support
667 CDDL-licensed optional sources, including ZFS
678 i386 (32 bit) architecture support
680 main part of the kernel
682 MIPS architecture support
700 PowerPC/POWER architecture support
702 RISC-V architecture support
708 SPARC64 architecture support
714 code shared by AMD64 and i386 architectures
717 support for experimental DIRDEPS_BUILD
719 source code for files in
722 tools used for maintenance and testing of
725 source code for files in
728 source code for files in
741 multi-purpose log, temporary, transient, and spool files
743 .Bl -tag -width "preserve/" -compact
745 system accounting files
747 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
749 execution accounting file;
755 timed command scheduling files;
758 .Bl -tag -width "preserve/" -compact
760 directory containing job files
762 directory containing output spool files
766 miscellaneous backup files
768 miscellaneous cached files
769 .Bl -tag -width "pkg/" -compact
776 default directory to store kernel crash dumps; see
784 .Bl -tag -width "preserve/" -compact
792 miscellaneous automatically generated system-specific database files
794 empty directory for use by programs that need a specifically empty directory.
797 for privilege separation.
799 miscellaneous game status and score files
801 kerberos server databases; see
804 miscellaneous system log files
806 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
820 system messages database;
824 temporary home of files preserved after an accidental death
829 file system quota information files
831 system information files describing various info about
832 system since it was booted
834 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
838 group for command connection sockets; see
841 database of current users;
854 miscellaneous printer and mail system spooling directories
856 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
858 undelivered submission mail queue;
862 commonly ~ftp; the anonymous ftp root directory
864 undelivered mail queue;
868 line printer spooling directories
872 temporary files that are kept between system reboots
873 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
875 the directory where recovery files are stored
882 This manual page documents the default
884 file system layout, but
885 the actual hierarchy on a given system is defined at the system
886 administrator's discretion.
887 A well-maintained installation will include a customized version of
904 manual page appeared in