The Tree Structure in Linux

The main part of the below image is a tree diagram showing the top-level directories (folders) in a typical Linux system. The root of this tree is the / (root) directory.

Beneath the / directory, you can see these subdirectories:

 * /bin: Contains essential user commands and executable files (binaries) that are needed for the system to boot up and for basic system operations. Examples include ls, cp, mv, and bash.

 * /boot: Holds files required to boot the system, such as the Linux kernel (vmlinuz) and initial RAM disk (initrd).

 * /dev: This is a special directory containing "device files" that represent physical and virtual hardware devices (e.g., hard drives, USB drives, terminals).

 * /etc: Stores system-wide configuration files. This is a very important directory for system administrators.

 * /home: This is where users' personal directories are located. Each user typically has their own subdirectory here (e.g., /home/alice, /home/bob, /home/eve).

 * /lib: Contains essential shared libraries needed by the executables in /bin and /sbin.

 * /media: A mount point for removable media like USB drives, CDs, and DVDs.

 * /proc: A virtual filesystem that provides information about running processes and the kernel. It's not a real directory on the disk; its contents are generated on the fly.

 * /root: This is the home directory for the root user (the superuser or administrator). It's separate from /home to keep the administrator's files isolated from regular users.

 * /run: A temporary filesystem for applications to store transient runtime data, like process IDs (.pid files).

 * /sbin: Contains essential system binaries for system administration. These commands are typically used by the root user for system maintenance tasks (e.g., reboot, fdisk, ifconfig).

 * /srv: Stores data for services provided by the system. For example, if you run a web server, its files might be located in /srv/www.

 * /sys: A virtual filesystem that provides a way to interact with the kernel. Similar to /proc, it's not a real directory on the disk.

 * /tmp: A directory for temporary files that can be deleted at any time. It's often cleared out on reboot.

 * /usr: The "User System Resources" directory. It contains a huge amount of secondary read-only data, including user commands, libraries, and documentation. Many subdirectories here mirror the top-level ones (e.g., /usr/bin, /usr/lib, /usr/sbin).

 * /var: The "variable" directory. It stores data that changes frequently, such as log files (/var/log), mail queues (/var/mail), and temporary files.