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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
370 system daemons & system utilities (executed by other programs)
371 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
373 utilities to manipulate a.out executables
375 utilities to manipulate ELF executables
377 utilities and filters for LP print system;
394 local executables, libraries, etc.
395 Also used as the default destination for the
400 the general layout sketched out by
411 .Pa local/share/ Ns Pc ,
414 .Pa share/doc/<port>/ Ns Pc ,
420 architecture-specific target tree produced by building the
429 system daemons & system utilities (executed by users)
431 architecture-independent files
433 .Bl -tag -width "calendar/" -compact
435 a variety of pre-fab calendar files;
443 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
446 terms, proper names, and jargon
448 words from Webster's 2nd International
452 miscellaneous documentation;
453 source for most of the printed
459 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
461 Frequently Asked Questions
463 implementation notes for IPv6
465 Spanish translations of documents in /usr/share/doc
470 Japanese translations of documents in /usr/share/doc
472 License files for vendor supplied firmwares
474 HTML documents pertaining to ncurses;
478 HTML documents pertaining to the Network Time Protocol
480 Russian translations of documents in /usr/share/doc
485 Chinese translations of documents in /usr/share/doc
489 various examples for users and programmers
491 firmware images loaded by userland programs
493 ASCII text files used by various games
495 known trusted and revoked keys.
496 .Bl -tag -width "pkg/" -compact
511 miscellaneous system-wide ASCII text files
512 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
516 terminal characteristics database;
525 national language support files;
529 data files for security policies such as
537 (dot) files for new accounts
539 MIBs, example files and tree definitions for the SNMP daemon.
540 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
542 tree definition files for use with
548 files used by syscons;
551 .Bl -tag -width "scrnmaps/" -compact
559 console keyboard maps;
568 tab description files for a variety of terminals; used in
573 localization support and utilities for
579 .Bl -tag -width "scrnmaps/" -compact
587 console keyboard maps;
593 .\" console screen maps
596 timezone configuration information;
602 third-party, and/or local source files
604 .Bl -tag -width "kerberos5/" -compact
606 source code for files in /bin
608 utilities covered by the Common Development and Distribution License
610 source code for contributed software
612 source code for contributed cryptography software
614 source code for files in
617 utilities covered by the GNU General Public License
619 source code for files in
622 build infrastructure for kerberos version 5
624 source code for files in
629 source code for files in
632 files required to produce a
636 source code for files in
639 source code for files in
642 build directory for files in
648 boot loader source code
651 .Bl -tag -width "opencrypto/" -compact
653 AMD64 architecture support
655 ARM architecture support
657 ARMv8 architecture support
665 CDDL-licensed optional sources, including ZFS
676 i386 (32 bit) architecture support
678 main part of the kernel
680 MIPS architecture support
698 PowerPC/POWER architecture support
700 RISC-V architecture support
706 SPARC64 architecture support
712 code shared by AMD64 and i386 architectures
715 support for experimental DIRDEPS_BUILD
717 source code for files in
720 tools used for maintenance and testing of
723 source code for files in
726 source code for files in
739 multi-purpose log, temporary, transient, and spool files
741 .Bl -tag -width "preserve/" -compact
743 system accounting files
745 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
747 execution accounting file;
753 timed command scheduling files;
756 .Bl -tag -width "preserve/" -compact
758 directory containing job files
760 directory containing output spool files
764 miscellaneous backup files
766 miscellaneous cached files
767 .Bl -tag -width "pkg/" -compact
774 default directory to store kernel crash dumps; see
782 .Bl -tag -width "preserve/" -compact
790 miscellaneous automatically generated system-specific database files
792 empty directory for use by programs that need a specifically empty directory.
795 for privilege separation.
797 miscellaneous game status and score files
799 kerberos server databases; see
802 miscellaneous system log files
804 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
818 system messages database;
822 temporary home of files preserved after an accidental death
827 file system quota information files
829 system information files describing various info about
830 system since it was booted
832 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
836 group for command connection sockets; see
839 database of current users;
852 miscellaneous printer and mail system spooling directories
854 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
856 undelivered submission mail queue;
860 commonly ~ftp; the anonymous ftp root directory
862 undelivered mail queue;
866 line printer spooling directories
870 temporary files that are kept between system reboots
871 .Bl -tag -width Fl -compact
873 the directory where recovery files are stored
880 This manual page documents the default
882 file system layout, but
883 the actual hierarchy on a given system is defined at the system
884 administrator's discretion.
885 A well-maintained installation will include a customized version of
902 manual page appeared in