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CentOS 7 Filesystem Hierarchy

CentOS 7 Filesystem Hierarchy - Understand the directory structure of Linux CentOS 7

/

The system root directory(Not to be confused with /root folder which is the home folder of root user). This the top level directory of a any Linux filesystem. All other files and folders resides inside the / directory in the CentOS 7 filesystem hierarchy.

/boot

Contain the file needed to boot the system. Linux boot loader contain inside the /boot directory.

/etc

In CentOS 7 file system /etc directory contains the system configuration files. Most of the time theses files are cannot be accessed by the normal Linux users.

/proc

proc file system, also called as the virtual filesystem contains the detailed information about system hardware and any running processes in CentOS 7.  Inside the /proc you will see a directory for every running Linux process, named after the PID of that process. And unlike other directories, the proc file system does not exist on the hard disk, but in the system memory (RAM), This is why it is also called as the pseudo-filesystem.

/dev

Contains the device file used by by system to access the hardware. in Linux CentOS 7 all devices are represented by a file. these device files are can be found inside the /dev directory. When you plugged a hardware device on to the computer, you can find the file related to that hardware inside the /dev directory. Example hard disk drive, USB, CD Rom and etc…

/home

Users personal data and configuration file contains inside the /home directory. By default every Linux user has a home folder by their name inside the /home directory.

/root

This is the home directory of the root super user. /root directory cannot be accessed by other users without superuser privileges.

/var

Dynamic files including databases,cache directories and log files can be found inside /var directory. Files inside /var directory changes dynamically while the system is running.

/usr

Contained install softwares and programmes and shared libraries.

/usr/bin

Contains the Common programs and commands that are accessible by all users of the CentOS 7 system. For example, basic Linux commands like ls, cd, pwd, etc.. contains inside the /usr/bin directory. These programs are executable by both administrators and regular Linux users.

/usr/sbin

Contains the programs and commands use by the system administrators. Commands in /usr/sbin directory in CentOS 7 cannot be executed without administrative privileges.

/run

Inside the /run directory contains the runtime data for processes started since the last boot.

/tmp

/tmp directory use to store temporary files. files inside /tmp directory will be automatically deleted after certain days(Normally after 10 days)

/mnt

Use as a mount point when mounting devices manually.

/opt

Additional software and programs can be installed inside the /opt directory.