HIER(7)

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(8)

        aliases*
            name alias files
        sendmail.*
            sendmail(8) 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)
    termcap
        terminal type database; see termcap(3)
    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.

/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)
        netiso/
            include files for ISO standard protocols; see iso(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

            <<<<<<< hier.7
            termcap
                =======
                terminfo
                    >>>>>>> 1.101 terminal characteristics database; see <<<<<<< hier.7 termcap(5) ======= terminfo(5)
                terminfo.cdb
                    database form of terminfo file; see tic(1) >>>>>>> 1.101

            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
            tabset/
                tab description files for a variety of terminals, used in the termcap file; see termcap(5)
            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
                hp700/
                    Hewlett-Packard 9000/700 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
                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
            netiso/
                ISO 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(8) 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(8) 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(8)
            news/
                Network news archival and spooling directories
            output/
                printer spooling directories
            postfix/
                postfix mail queue; see postfix(1)
            uucp/
                uucp spool directory
            uucppublic/
                commonly “~uucp”, the uucp public temporary directory; see uucp(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 AT&T UNIX.