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Directories.md

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Useful commands

  • to print the current working directory (absolute path): pwd
  • to create a directory in the working directory: mkdir dirname
  • to create a directory in another directory: mkdir path/dirname
  • to get into this new directory: cd dirname or cd path/dirname
  • to go back to your home directory: cd or cd ~

Tip

your home directory is represented with a tilde ~ in the cmd prompt

  • to go one level up (parent directory): cd ..
  • to go to the root of the file system: cd /
  • to remove an empty directory: rmdir dirname or rm -d dirname
  • to remove a non-empty directory: rm -rf dirname (-r = recursive, -f = force)
  • To be prompted before deletion: rm -rfi dirname (type y for yes, default is no)

Caution

be very careful when using rm -rf, as this cmd can destroy your entire system!

Linux Directory structure

  • The start of any file system is a directory called root.
  • This root directory is represented with a slash /.
  • Only the superuser, a special user also called root, can write to the / directory
  • /root is the home directory of the root user
  • The /bin directory, short for binaries, contains files that are essential to the operating system.
  • /bin does not contain subdirectories, only commands or symbolic links to commands.
  • Another executable location is /sbin, which stores executables for system administration.
  • The /opt folder is used for installing optional or add-on software packages that are not part of the core operating system
  • The /boot folder contains files required for the boot process except for configuration files not needed at boot time
  • The /dev directory consists of files that represent devices that are attached to the local system
  • The /etc directory contains configuration related information for our system

Tip

/etc contains crontab, a utility that allows us to schedule tasks

  • The /srv folder contains data for services provided by the system (like ftp or http)
  • The /home folder is the home directory for all users except the root user
  • Everything that is in the /tmp directory gets deleted when you reboot your system
  • The /lib folder contains libraries that support the binaries located in /bin and /sbin
  • These library files contain explanations for the OS on how to handle the binary files
  • The /usr folder contains binaries, libraries and documentation for second-level programs
  • if you don't find a command under /bin or /sbin, you can find it under usr/bin or /usr/sbin

Important

second-level programs are programs that are not essential for the operating system to work properly

  • /media & /mnt are directories where you may mount a physical device such as a CD-ROM or a USB stick
  • The /var directory contains files that are expected to grow over time (in particular the cache and log subfolders)

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