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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 "net/" -compact
89 file descriptor files;
94 system configuration files and scripts
96 .Bl -tag -width "bluetooth/" -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 "geom/" -compact
148 class-specific libraries for the
153 critical system utilities needed for binaries in
158 contains subdirectories to be used as mount points
159 for removable media such as CDs, USB drives, and
162 empty directory commonly used by
163 system administrators as a temporary mount point
165 automounted NFS shares;
173 statically linked programs for emergency recovery;
177 root's HOME directory
179 system programs and administration utilities
180 fundamental to both single-user and multi-user environments
182 temporary files that are not guaranteed to persist across system reboots
184 contains the majority of user utilities and applications
186 .Bl -tag -width "libdata/" -compact
188 common utilities, programming tools, and applications
190 files needed to support binary compatibility with other operating systems,
193 standard C include files
195 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
197 C include files for Internet service protocols
199 C include files for the SNMP daemon
203 C include files for the Common Access Methods Layer
204 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
206 SCSI device on top of CAM
209 C include files for programming various
212 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
214 various header files describing driver- and bus-independent
217 Open Firmware support
233 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
235 per-process file descriptors file system
239 C include files for NFS (Network File System) version 2, 3 and 4
253 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
269 C include files for libmilter,
274 machine-specific C include files
276 miscellaneous network C include files
277 .Bl -tag -width "altq/" -compact
279 C include files for alternate queueing
282 C include files for 802.11 wireless networking;
286 C include files for Internet standard protocols;
290 C include files for Internet protocol version 6;
294 kernel key-management service;
300 C include files for NFS (Network File System) version 2 and 3 (legacy)
302 OpenSSL (Cryptography/SSL toolkit) headers
304 C include files for Berkeley service protocols
306 remote procedure calls;
310 definition of RPC service structures; see
316 system C include files (kernel data structures)
321 .\" .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
328 C include files for UFS (The U-word File System)
329 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
345 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
347 a.out archive libraries
349 shared libraries for compatibility
350 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
352 a.out backward compatibility libraries
355 standalone debug data for the kernel and base system libraries and binaries
357 DTrace library scripts
359 OpenSSL (Cryptography/SSL toolkit) dynamically loadable engines
363 miscellaneous utility data files
364 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
375 system daemons & system utilities (executed by other programs)
376 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
378 utilities to manipulate a.out executables
380 utilities to manipulate ELF executables
382 utilities and filters for LP print system;
399 local executables, libraries, etc.
400 Also used as the default destination for the
405 the general layout sketched out by
416 .Pa local/share/ Ns Pc ,
419 .Pa share/doc/<port>/ Ns Pc ,
425 architecture-specific target tree produced by building the
434 system daemons & system utilities (executed by users)
436 architecture-independent files
438 .Bl -tag -width "calendar/" -compact
440 a variety of pre-fab calendar files;
448 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
451 terms, proper names, and jargon
453 words from Webster's 2nd International
457 miscellaneous documentation;
458 source for most of the printed
464 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
466 Frequently Asked Questions
468 implementation notes for IPv6
470 Spanish translations of documents in /usr/share/doc
475 Japanese translations of documents in /usr/share/doc
477 License files for vendor supplied firmwares
479 HTML documents pertaining to ncurses;
483 HTML documents pertaining to the Network Time Protocol
485 Russian translations of documents in /usr/share/doc
490 Chinese translations of documents in /usr/share/doc
494 various examples for users and programmers
496 firmware images loaded by userland programs
498 ASCII text files used by various games
500 known trusted and revoked keys.
501 .Bl -tag -width "pkg/" -compact
516 miscellaneous system-wide ASCII text files
517 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
521 terminal characteristics database;
530 national language support files;
534 data files for security policies such as
542 (dot) files for new accounts
544 MIBs, example files and tree definitions for the SNMP daemon.
545 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
547 tree definition files for use with
553 files used by syscons;
556 .Bl -tag -width "scrnmaps/" -compact
564 console keyboard maps;
573 tab description files for a variety of terminals; used in
578 localization support and utilities for
584 .Bl -tag -width "scrnmaps/" -compact
592 console keyboard maps;
598 .\" console screen maps
601 timezone configuration information;
607 third-party, and/or local source files
609 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
611 source code for files in /bin
613 utilities covered by the Common Development and Distribution License
615 source code for contributed software
617 source code for contributed cryptography software
619 source code for files in
622 utilities covered by the GNU General Public License
624 source code for files in
627 build infrastructure for kerberos version 5
629 source code for files in
634 source code for files in
637 files required to produce a
641 source code for files in
644 source code for files in
647 build directory for files in
653 boot loader source code
656 .Bl -tag -width "opencrypto/" -compact
658 AMD64 architecture support
660 ARM architecture support
662 ARMv8 architecture support
668 CDDL-licensed optional sources, including ZFS
679 i386 (32 bit) architecture support
681 main part of the kernel
683 MIPS architecture support
701 PowerPC/POWER architecture support
703 RISC-V architecture support
709 SPARC64 architecture support
715 code shared by AMD64 and i386 architectures
718 support for experimental DIRDEPS_BUILD
720 source code for files in
723 tools used for maintenance and testing of
726 source code for files in
729 source code for files in
742 multi-purpose log, temporary, transient, and spool files
744 .Bl -tag -width "preserve/" -compact
746 system accounting files
748 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
750 execution accounting file;
756 timed command scheduling files;
759 .Bl -tag -width "preserve/" -compact
761 directory containing job files
763 directory containing output spool files
767 miscellaneous backup files
769 miscellaneous cached files
770 .Bl -tag -width "pkg/" -compact
777 default directory to store kernel crash dumps; see
785 .Bl -tag -width "preserve/" -compact
793 miscellaneous automatically generated system-specific database files
795 empty directory for use by programs that need a specifically empty directory.
798 for privilege separation.
800 miscellaneous game status and score files
802 kerberos server databases; see
805 miscellaneous system log files
807 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
821 system messages database;
825 temporary home of files preserved after an accidental death
830 file system quota information files
832 system information files describing various info about
833 system since it was booted
835 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
839 group for command connection sockets; see
842 database of current users;
855 miscellaneous printer and mail system spooling directories
857 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
859 undelivered submission mail queue;
863 commonly ~ftp; the anonymous ftp root directory
865 undelivered mail queue;
869 line printer spooling directories
873 temporary files that are kept between system reboots
874 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
876 the directory where recovery files are stored
883 This manual page documents the default
885 file system layout, but
886 the actual hierarchy on a given system is defined at the system
887 administrator's discretion.
888 A well-maintained installation will include a customized version of
905 manual page appeared in