Linux Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) is the standard for file management in most Unix/Linux systems. It is updated and maintained by the Linux corporation. The most recent version is FHS 3.0 released in June 2015. It describes the permissions and locations for various file types.

The FHS is a very detailed, highly documented standard. Below is the table explaining the FHS:

Directory

Description

/

Root directory. Only the root user can manipulate this directory

/bin

Contains important binary files for all users.

/boot

Contains boot loader files.

/dev

Contains device files attached to the system.

/etc

Contains essential configuration files such as start-up/shutdown scripts for applications.

/home

Contains users’ files such as Downloads,Images,Videos,etc.

/lib

Contains libraries required for binaries in /bin and /sbin directories.

/media

Contains files for mounted devices such as CD-ROM.

/mnt

Contains files for temporarily mounted file systems.

/opt

Contains files for optional software.

/sbin

Contains essential system binary files.

/srv

Contains server files.

/tmp

Contains temporary files which may be erased after reboot.

/usr

Contains files that are read-only in nature.

/var

Contains variable files. The contents of these files are expected to change during normal system operation.

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