NAME

hier — layout of filesystems

DESCRIPTION

An outline of the filesystem hierarchy.

Naming is very important. The UNIX System relies on filename conventions for much of its power as a system. The following file system layout describes generally where things are and what they are, with references to other man pages for more detailed documentation.

Not all files will be in every system.

/

root directory of the system

/COPYRIGHT

system copyright notice, most often put on CD-ROM distributions.

/[a-z]/

user filesystems

/altroot/

alternate root filesystem, in case of disaster

/bin/

utilities used in both single and multi-user environments

/boot*

second-stage boot loader(s) for some platforms; see installboot(8)

/cdrom/

empty directory commonly used by system administrators as a temporary mount point for CD devices for ISO-9660 file systems

/dev/

block, character and other special device files

MAKEDEV

script for creating device files; see makedev(8)

console

the computer's console device

drum

system swap space; see drum(4)

fd/

file descriptor files; see fd(4)

klog

kernel logging device; see syslog(3)

kmem

kernel virtual memory device; see mem(4)

log

UNIX domain datagram log socket; see syslogd(8)

mem

kernel physical memory device; see mem(4)

null

the null device; see null(4)

pts/

mount point for the pseudo-terminal device file system; see mount_ptyfs(8)

stderr

stdin

stdout

file descriptor files; see fd(4)

tty

process' controlling terminal device; see tty(4)

zero

the zero device; see zero(4)

/etc/

system configuration files and scripts

amd*

configuration files for amd(8)

changelist

files backed up by the security script

crontab

schedule used by the cron(8) daemon

csh.cshrc

csh.login

csh.logout

system-wide scripts for csh(1)

daily

script run each day by cron(8)

daily.conf

configuration file for daily; see daily.conf(5)

defaults/

default configuration files read by various /etc/*.conf files

disktab

disk description file, see disktab(5)

dm.conf

dungeon master configuration; see dm.conf(5)

dumpdates

dump history; see dump(8)

exports

filesystem export information; see mountd(8)

fstab

filesystem information; see fstab(5) and mount(8)

ftpusers

users denied ftp(1) access; see ftpd(8)

ftpwelcome

ftp(1) initial message; see ftpd(8)

gettytab

terminal configuration database; see gettytab(5)

group

group permissions file; see group(5)

hosts

host name database backup for named(8); see hosts(5)

hosts.equiv

trusted machines with equivalent user ID's

hosts.lpd

trusted machines with printing privileges

inetd.conf

Internet server configuration file; see inetd(8)

kerberosV/

configuration files for the kerberos version V; see kerberos(8)

localtime

local timezone information; see ctime(3)

mail/

configuration files for sendmail(1)

aliases*

name alias files

sendmail.*

sendmail(1) configuration information

mail.rc

system-wide initialization script for mail(1)

man.conf

configuration file for man(1); see man.conf(5)

master.passwd

Main password file, readable only by root; see passwd(5)

mk.conf

optional file containing make(1) variables, read by pkgsrc and the system sources.

monthly

script run each month by cron(8)

monthly.conf

configuration file for monthly; see monthly.conf(5)

motd

system message of the day

mtree/

mtree configuration files; see mtree(8)

named.*

namedb/

named configuration files and databases; see named(8)

netgroup

network groups; see netgroup(5)

netstart

network startup script

networks

network name data base; see networks(5)

passwd

World readable password file generated from master.passwd; see passwd(5), pwd_mkdb(8)

phones

remote host phone number data base; see phones(5)

printcap

system printer configuration; see printcap(5)

protocols

protocol name database; see protocols(5)

pwd.db

database form of passwd file; see pwd_mkdb(8)

rc

master system startup script invoked by init(8); see rc(8)

rc.conf

configuration file for system startup and shutdown scripts; see rc.conf(5)

rc.d/

directory containing per-subsystem startup and shutdown scripts; see rc(8)

rc.local

locally editable system startup script

rc.shutdown

master system shutdown script invoked by shutdown(8); see rc(8)

remote

remote host description file; see remote(5)

security

daily (in)security script run by cron(8)

security.conf

configuration file for security; see security.conf(5)

services

service name data base; see services(5)

shells

list of permitted shells; see shells(5)

sliphome/

SLIP login/logout scripts; see sliplogin(8)

spwd.db

database form of master.passwd file; see pwd_mkdb(8)

syslog.conf

syslogd(8) configuration file; see syslog.conf(5)

ttys

terminal initialization information; see ttys(5)

weekly

script run each week by cron(8)

weekly.conf

configuration file for weekly; see weekly.conf(5)

/home/

mount point for the automounter; see amd(8)

/kern/

mount point for the kern file system; see mount_kernfs(8)

/lib/

dynamic linked libraries used by dynamic linked programs (such as those in /bin/ and /sbin/) that cannot rely upon /usr/lib/ being available.

/libdata/

non-executable files (such as device firmware) required at boot time, when /usr/libdata may not be available.

/libexec/

system utilities (such as the dynamic linker) required by programs and libraries that cannot rely upon /usr/libexec/ being available.

/mnt/

empty directory commonly used by system administrators as a temporary mount point

/netbsd

pure kernel executable (the operating system loaded into memory at boot time).

/proc/

mount point for the process file system; see mount_procfs(8)

/rescue/

statically linked rescue tools, for use in system recovery

/root/

home directory for the super-user

.cshrc

super-user start-up file

.login

super-user start-up file

.profile

super-user start-up file

.rhosts

super-user id mapping between machines

/sbin/

system programs and administration utilities used in both single-user and multi-user environments

/stand/

programs used in a standalone environment

/tmp/

temporary files, usually a mfs(8) memory-based filesystem (the contents of /tmp are usually not preserved across a system reboot)

/usr/

contains the majority of the system utilities and files

X11R6/

X11 files

X11R7/

X11 files

bin/

X11 binaries

include/

X11 include files

lib/

X11 libraries

bin/

common utilities, programming tools, and applications

games/

the important stuff

include/

standard C include files

arpa/

include files for Internet service protocols

atf/

include files for the Automated Testing Framework; see atf(7)

g++/

include files for the C++ compiler

machine/

machine specific include files

net/

netatalk/

C include files for AppleTalk protocols miscellaneous network include files; see atalk(4)

netinet/

include files for Internet standard protocols; see inet(4)

netinet6/

include files for Internet protocol version 6; see inet6(4)

netkey/

include files for secret key management, used for security protocols; see ipsec(4)

netnatm/

C include files for native mode ATM

nfs/

C include files for NFS (Network File System)

protocols/

C include files for Berkeley service protocols

sys/

system C include files (kernel data structures)

ufs/

C include files for UFS (The U-word File System)

lib/

archive, profiled, position independent archive, and shared libraries

lua/

5.1/

Lua 5.1 modules

libdata/

miscellaneous utility data files

libexec/

system daemons & system utilities (executed by other programs)

mdec/

boot blocks, etc.

obj/

architecture-specific target tree produced by building the /usr/src tree; normally a symbolic link or mounted filesystem

pkg/

packages maintained by groups other than the NetBSD Project.

bin/

contributed binaries

include/

contributed include files

lib/

contributed libraries

libdata/

contributed data files

libexec/

contributed daemons

sbin/

contributed system utilities

pkgsrc/

build descriptions ("packages") for the NetBSD packages system.

distfiles/

Where unchanged source archives are fetched to/stored

packages/

Where compiled binary packages are stored

There are also several other subdirectories which contain packages of a certain category, e.g., archivers, graphics, ...

sbin/

system daemons and system utilities (normally executed by the super-user)

share/

architecture-independent text files

calendar/

a variety of calendar files; see calendar(1)

dict/

word lists; see look(1) and spell(1)

words

common words

web2

words of Webster's 2nd International

papers/

reference databases; see refer(1)

special/

custom word lists; see spell(1)

doc/

miscellaneous documentation; source for most of the printed 4.3BSD manuals (available from the USENIX association)

games/

text files used by various games

i18n/

internationalization databases; see iconv(3)

locale/

locale databases and gettext message catalogs; see setlocale(3) and gettext(3)

man/

formatted manual pages

me/

macros for use with the me(7) macro package

misc/

miscellaneous system-wide text files

terminfo

terminal characteristics database; see terminfo(5)

terminfo.cdb

database form of terminfo file; see tic(1)

mk/

include files for make(1)

ms/

macros for use with the ms(7) macro package

nls/

message catalogs; see catgets(3)

skel/

sample initialization files for new user accounts

tmac/

text processing macros; see nroff(1) and troff(1)

zoneinfo/

timezone configuration information; see tzfile(5)

tests/

test programs; see atf-run(1) for information on how to run them

/usr/src/

NetBSD and local source files

bin/

source for utilities/files in /bin

common/

sources shared between kernel and userland

crypto/

cryptographic source, which may have import or export restrictions

dist/

third-party ‘virgin’ source code, referenced by other parts of the source tree (deprecated, use external/ instead)

distrib/

tools and data-files for making distributions

doc/

documentation about the source tree (i.e., about the tree, not about how to use the built software.)

etc/

source (usually example files) for files in /etc

external/

source for programs from external third parties (where NetBSD is the not the primary maintainer), grouped by license, and then products per license

apache2/

Apache 2.0 license.

bsd/

BSD (or equivalent) licensed software, possibly with the “advertising clause”.

cddl/

Common Development and Distribution License (the Sun license which is based on the Mozilla Public License version 1.1).

gpl2/

GNU Public License, version 2 (or earlier).

gpl3/

GNU Public License, version 3.

historical/

Lucent's old license.

ibm-public/

IBM's public license.

intel-fw-eula/

Intel firmware license with redistribution restricted to OEM.

intel-fw-public/

Intel firmware license permitting redistribution with terms similar to BSD licensed software.

intel-public/

Intel license permitting redistribution with terms similar to BSD licensed software.

mit/

MIT (X11) style license.

zlib/

BSD-like zlib license.

games/

source for utilities/files in /usr/games

gnu/

source for programs covered by the GNU license (or similar) (deprecated; use external/gpl2/ or external/gpl3/ as appropriate)

include/

source for files in /usr/include

lib/

source for libraries in /usr/lib

libexec/

source for utilities/files in /usr/libexec

regress/

various regression tests

rescue/

source/makefiles for /rescue

sbin/

source for utilities/files in /sbin

share/

source for files in /usr/share

doc/

papers/

source for various Berkeley technical papers

psd/

source for Programmer's Supplementary Documents

smm/

source for System Manager's Manual

usd/

source for User's Supplementary Documents

sys/

kernel source files

arch/

architecture-specific support

acorn26/

Acorn Archimedes, A-series and R-series systems

acorn32/

Acorn RiscPC/A7000 and VLSI RC7500

algor/

Algorithmics Ltd. MIPS evaluations boards

alpha/

Digital/Compaq Alpha

amd64/

Computers with x86_64 capable CPUs

amiga/

Commodore Amiga and MacroSystem DraCo

amigappc/

PowerPC based Amiga boards

arc/

MIPS-based machines following the Advanced RISC Computing spec

arm/

ARM processor general support

atari/

Atari TT030, Falcon and Hades

bebox/

Be Inc. BeBox

cats/

Chalice Technology's CATS and Intel's EBSA-285 evaluation boards

cesfic/

CES FIC8234 VME processor board

cobalt/

Cobalt Networks' MIPS-based Microserver

dreamcast/

Sega Dreamcast game console

emips/

Machines based on Extensible MIPS

evbarm/

ARM based evaluation boards

evbmips/

MIPS based evaluation boards

evbppc/

PowerPC based evaluation boards and appliances

evbsh3/

SH3/SH4 based evaluation boards

ews4800mips/

NEC's MIPS based EWS4800 workstations

hp300/

Hewlett-Packard 9000/300 and 400 680x0-based workstations

hppa/

Hewlett-Packard 9000/700 and 9000/800 HPPA based workstations

hpcarm/

StrongARM based WinCE PDA machines

hpcmips/

MIPS based WinCE PDA machines

hpcsh/

Hitachi SH3/4 based WinCE PDA machines

hppa/

HPPA processor general support

i386/

80x86-based IBM PCs and clones

ibmnws/

IBM Network Station 1000

iyonix/

Castle Technology's Iyonix ARM based PCs

luna68k/

Omron Tateishi Electric's 680x0-based LUNA workstations

m68k/

680x0 processor general support

mac68k/

Apple Macintosh with 68k CPU

macppc/

Apple Power Macintosh and clones

mips/

MIPS processor general support

mipsco/

MIPS Computer Systems Inc. family of workstations and servers

mmeye/

Brains Inc. SH3 based mmEye multimedia server

mvme68k/

Motorola MVME 680x0-based SBCs

mvmeppc/

Motorola PowerPC VME SBCs

netwinder/

StrongARM based NetWinder machines

news68k/

Sony's 680x0-based NEWS workstations

newsmips/

Sony's MIPS-based NEWS workstations

next68k/

NeXT 68k "black" hardware

ofppc/

Open Firmware PowerPC workstations

playstation2/

SONY PlayStation 2

pmax/

Digital MIPS-based DECstations and DECsystems

powerpc/

PowerPC processor support

prep/

PReP (PowerPC Reference Platform) and CHRP machines

sandpoint/

Motorola Sandpoint reference platform

sbmips/

Broadcom/SiByte evaluation boards

sgimips/

Silicon Graphics' MIPS-based workstations

sh3/

SH3/SH4 processor general support

shark/

Digital DNARD ("Shark")

sparc/

Sun Microsystems SPARC (32-bit) and UltraSPARC (in 32-bit mode)

sparc64/

Sun Microsystems UltraSPARC (in native 64-bit mode)

sun2/

Sun Microsystems 68010-based Sun 2 architecture

sun3/

Sun Microsystems 68020/68030-based Sun 3/3x architecture

sun68k/

680x0-based Sun architecture general support

vax/

Digital VAX

x68k/

Sharp X680x0 680x0-based workstations

x86/

General support for PC/AT compatibles with ia32 or x86_64 CPUs

xen/

The Xen virtual machine monitor

zaurus/

Sharp C3x00 Arm based PDA

compat/

kernel compatibility modules directory

common/

common compatibility routines, old 4BSD and NetBSD routines.

freebsd/

support for FreeBSD binaries; see compat_freebsd(8)

hpux/

support for 68000 HP-UX binaries

ibcs2/

support for Intel Binary binaries

linux/

support for Linux binaries; see compat_linux(8)

m68k4k/

support for 4KB page 68000 binaries

netbsd32/

support for NetBSD 32-bit binaries on 64 bit platforms with compatible CPU families

osf1/

support for Digital UNIX (formerly OSF/1) binaries

ossaudio/

support for OSS audio

sunos/

support for SunOS 4.x binaries; see compat_sunos(8)

svr4/

support for System V Release 4 binaries; see compat_svr4(8)

ultrix/

support for ULTRIX binaries

vax1k/

support for older VAX binaries that started on a 1 KB boundary

conf/

architecture independent configuration directory

crypto/

cryptographic kernel source, which may have import or export restrictions

ddb/

in kernel debugger

dev/

architecture independent device support

fs/

miscellaneous file systems

adosfs/

AmigaDOS file-system support; see mount_ados(8)

cd9660/

support for the ISO-9660 filesystem; see mount_cd9660(8)

filecorefs/

support for the Acorn RISC OS filecore filesystem; see mount_filecore(8)

msdosfs/

MS-DOS file system; see mount_msdos(8)

ntfs/

NTFS filesystem support; see mount_ntfs(8)

ptyfs/

pseudo-terminal device filesystem; see mount_ptyfs(8)

smbfs/

SMB/CIFS filesystem support; see mount_smbfs(8)

union/

union file system; see mount_union(8)

gdbscripts/

support for accessing kernel structures from within the debugger gdb(1).

ipkdb/

support for kernel debugging over the network

kern/

support for the high kernel (system calls)

lib/

kernel libraries

libkern/

C library routines used in the kernel

libsa/

machine independent stand alone kernel library

libz/

compression library

miscfs/

miscellaneous file systems

deadfs/

kernel only dead file system

fdesc/

file descriptor file system; see mount_fdesc(8)

fifofs/

POSIX FIFO support

genfs/

kernel only generic file system

kernfs/

kernel namespace file system; see mount_kernfs(8)

nullfs/

loop back file system; see mount_null(8)

overlay/

overlay file system; see mount_overlay(8)

procfs/

process file system; see mount_procfs(8)

specfs/

kernel only special file system

syncfs/

kernel trickle sync algorithm

umapfs/

user and group re-mapping file system; see mount_umap(8)

net/

miscellaneous networking support

netatalk/

AppleTalk networking support

netinet/

IP networking support

netinet6/

IPv6 networking support

netkey/

Key database for IPsec networking support

netnatm/

ATM networking support

nfs/

NFS support

stand/

kernel standalone support

sys/

kernel (and system) include files

ufs/

local filesystem support

ffs/

the Berkeley Fast File System

lfs/

the log-structured file system

mfs/

the in-memory file system

ufs/

shared UNIX file system support

uvm/

UVM virtual memory system

tests/

source for test programs in /usr/tests

usr.bin/

source for utilities/files in /usr/bin

usr.sbin/

source for utilities/files in /usr/sbin

/var/

multi-purpose log, temporary, transient, and spool files

account/

system accounting files

acct

execution accounting file; see acct(5)

at/

timed command scheduling files; see at(1)

backups/

miscellaneous backup files, largely of files found in /etc

chroot/

home directories of applications which are run in a chroot(8) “cage”.

crash/

system crash dumps; see savecore(8)

cron/

scheduled commands configuration files; see cron(8)

db/

miscellaneous automatically generated system-specific database files, and persistent files used in the maintenance of third party software.

pkg

default location for metadata related to third party software packages. See pkg_add(1) for more details of the NetBSD Packages Collection, or pkgsrc.

games/

miscellaneous game status and log files

heimdal/

Kerberos 5 KDC database; see kdc(8)

log/

miscellaneous system log files

amd.*

amd(8) logs

daily.out

output of the last run of the /etc/daily script

ftp.*

ftp(1) logs

kerberos.*

kerberos(8) logs

lastlog

system last time logged in log; see utmp(5)

lpd-errs.*

printer daemon error logs; see lpd(8)

maillog.*

sendmail(1) log files

messages.*

general system information log

monthly.out

output of the last run of the /etc/monthly script

secure

sensitive security information log

sendmail.st

sendmail(1) statistics

timed.*

timed(8) logs

weekly.out

output of the last run of the /etc/weekly script

wtmp

login/logout log; see utmp(5)

mail/

user system mailboxes

msgs/

system messages; see msgs(1)

preserve/

temporary home of files preserved after an accidental death of ex(1) or vi(1)

quotas/

filesystem quota information

run/

system information files, rebuilt after each reboot

utmp

database of current users; see utmp(5)

rwho/

rwho data files; see rwhod(8), rwho(1), and ruptime(1)

spool/

miscellaneous printer and mail system spooling directories

ftp/

commonly “~ftp”, the anonymous ftp root directory; see ftpd(8)

mqueue/

sendmail mail queue; see sendmail(1)

news/

Network news archival and spooling directories

output/

printer spooling directories

postfix/

postfix mail queue; see postfix(1)

tmp/

temporary files that are not discarded between system reboots

vi.recover/

recovery directory for new vi(1)

yp/

Databases and configuration for the NIS (YP) system; see nis(8).

SEE ALSO

apropos(1), ls(1), whatis(1), whereis(1), which(1), paths(3)

HISTORY

A hier manual page appeared in Version 7 AT&T UNIX.