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HIER(7)			Miscellaneous Information Manual	       HIER(7)

NAME
       hier -- layout of file systems

DESCRIPTION
       A sketch	of the file system hierarchy.

       /	  root directory of the	file system

       /bin/	  user	utilities  fundamental	to both	single-user and	multi-
		  user environments

       /boot/	  programs and configuration files used	during operating  sys-
		  tem bootstrap

		  defaults/  default  bootstrapping  configuration  files; see
			     loader.conf(5)
		  kernel/    pure  kernel  executable  (the  operating	system
			     loaded into memory	at boot	time).
		  modules/   third-party    loadable   kernel	modules;   see
			     kldstat(8)

       /cdrom/	  default  mount  point	 for   CD-ROM	drives	 (created   by
		  sysinstall(8))

       /compat/	  normally   a	 link	to  /usr/compat.   If  not,  then  the
		  /usr/compat comments apply (created by sysinstall(8))

       /dev/	  device special files managed by devfs(5)

		  fd/	file descriptor	files; see fd(4)
		  net/	network	devices

       /dist/	  mount	point used by sysinstall(8)

       /etc/	  system configuration files and scripts

		  defaults/   default system configuration files; see rc(8)
		  bluetooth/  bluetooth	configuration files
		  gnats/      gnats configuration files; see send-pr(1)
		  localtime   local timezone information; see ctime(3)
		  mail/	      Sendmail control files
		  mtree/      mtree configuration files; see mtree(8)
		  namedb/     named configuration files; see named(8)
		  pam.d/      configuration files for the Pluggable  Authenti-
			      cation Modules (PAM) library
		  periodic/   scripts that are run daily, weekly, and monthly,
			      via cron(8); see periodic(8)
		  rc.d/	      System  and  daemon startup/control scripts; see
			      rc(8)
		  security/   OpenBSM audit configuration files; see audit(8)
		  ppp/	      ppp configuration	files; see ppp(8)
		  ssh/	      OpenSSH configuration files; see ssh(1)
		  ssl/	      OpenSSL configuration files

       /lib/	  critical system libraries needed for binaries	 in  /bin  and
		  /sbin

		  geom/	 class-specific	libraries for the geom(8) utility

       /libexec/  critical  system  utilities  needed for binaries in /bin and
		  /sbin

       /media/	  contains subdirectories to be	used as	mount points  for  re-
		  movable media	such as	CDs, USB drives, and floppy disks

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

       /proc/	  process file system; see procfs(5)

       /rescue/	  statically  linked  programs	for  emergency	recovery;  see
		  rescue(8)

       /root/	  root's HOME directory

       /sbin/	  system  programs and administration utilities	fundamental to
		  both single-user and multi-user environments

       /tmp/	  temporary files that are not guaranteed  to  persist	across
		  system reboots

       /usr/	  contains the majority	of user	utilities and applications

		  bin/	    common  utilities, programming tools, and applica-
			    tions
		  compat/   files needed to support binary compatibility  with
			    other operating systems, such as Linux (created by
			    sysinstall(8))
		  games/    useful and semi-frivolous programs
		  include/  standard C include files

			    altq/	C include files	for alternate queueing
			    arpa/	C  include  files for Internet service
					protocols
			    bsnmp/	C include files	for the	SNMP daemon
			    c++/	C++ include files
			    cam/	C include files	for the	Common	Access
					Methods	Layer
					scsi/	    The	 SCSI device on	top of
						    CAM
			    dev/	C include files	for programming	 vari-
					ous FreeBSD devices
					ic/	    Various  header  files de-
						    scribing driver- and  bus-
						    independent	 hardware cir-
						    cuits
					ofw/	    Open Firmware support
					pbio/	    8255   PPI	 cards;	   see
						    pbio(4)
					ppbus/	    The	parallel port bus; see
						    ppbus(4)
					usb/	    The	USB subsystem
					utopia/	    Physical  chip  driver for
						    ATM	   interfaces;	   see
						    utopia(4)
					wi/	    The	wi(4) WaveLAN driver
			    fs/
					fdescfs/    per-process	 file descrip-
						    tors file system
					fifofs/	    IEEE      Std	1003.1
						    ("POSIX.1")	  FIFOs	  file
						    system
					msdosfs/    MS-DOS file	system
					nfs/	    C include  files  for  NFS
						    (Network File System) ver-
						    sion 2, 3 and 4
					ntfs/	    NTFS file system
					nullfs/	    loopback file system
					nwfs/	    NetWare file system
					portalfs/   portal file	system
					procfs/	    process file system
					smbfs/	    SMB/CIFS file system
					udf/	    UDF	file system
					unionfs	    union file system
			    geom/	GEOM framework
					concat/	    CONCAT GEOM	class
					gate/	    GATE GEOM class
					mirror/	    MIRROR GEOM	class
					nop/	    NOP	GEOM class
					raid3/	    RAID3 GEOM class
					stripe/	    STRIPE GEOM	class

			    isc/	ISC  utility  library  libisc  include
					files
			    isofs/
					cd9660/	    iso9660 file system
			    libmilter/	C include  files  for  libmilter,  the
					sendmail(8) mail filter	API
			    machine/	machine-specific C include files
			    net/	miscellaneous network C	include	files
			    netatalk/	Appletalk protocol
			    netinet/	C  include files for Internet standard
					protocols; see inet(4)
			    netinet6/	C include files	for Internet  protocol
					version	6; see inet6(4)
			    netipsec/	kernel	 key-management	 service;  see
					ipsec(4)
			    netipx/	IPX/SPX	protocol stacks
			    netnatm/	NATM include files; see	natm(4)
					api/	    include files for the sig-
						    nalling API
					msg/	    include  files  that   de-
						    scribe signalling messages
						    and	  declare   associated
						    functions
					saal/	    include files for the sig-
						    nalling AAL	layer
					sig/	    include files for the  UNI
						    signalling protocol
			    netsmb/	SMB/CIFS requester
			    nfs/	C  include files for NFS (Network File
					System)	version	2 and 3	(legacy)
			    objc/	Objective C include files
			    openssl/	OpenSSL	  (Cryptography/SSL   toolkit)
					headers
			    pccard/	PC-CARD	controllers
			    protocols/	C  include  files for Berkeley service
					protocols
			    readline/	get a line from	a user,	with  editing;
					see readline(3)
			    rpc/	remote procedure calls;	see rpc(3)
			    rpcsvc/	definition  of RPC service structures;
					see rpc(3)
			    security/	PAM; see pam(8)
			    sys/	system C include  files	 (kernel  data
					structures)
			    ufs/	C  include  files  for UFS (The	U-word
					File System)
					ffs/	    Fast file system
					ufs/	    UFS	file system
			    vm/		virtual	memory;	see vmstat(8)

		  lib/	    shared and archive ar(1)-type libraries
			    aout/	a.out archive libraries
			    compat/	shared libraries for compatibility
					aout/	    a.out backward compatibil-
						    ity	libraries
			    dtrace/	DTrace library scripts
			    engines/	OpenSSL	(Cryptography/SSL toolkit) dy-
					namically loadable engines

		  libdata/  miscellaneous utility data files
			    gcc/	gcc(1) configuration data
			    ldscripts/	linker scripts;	see ld(1)
			    lint/	various	prebuilt lint  libraries;  see
					lint(1)

		  libexec/  system  daemons  &	system	utilities (executed by
			    other programs)
			    aout/	utilities to manipulate	a.out executa-
					bles
			    elf/	utilities to manipulate	 ELF  executa-
					bles
			    lpr/	utilities  and	filters	 for  LP print
					system;	see lpr(1)
			    sendmail/	the    sendmail(8)     binary;	   see
					mailwrapper(8)
			    sm.bin/	restricted  shell for sendmail(8); see
					smrsh(8)

		  local/    local executables, libraries, etc.	Also  used  as
			    the	 default  destination  for  the	 FreeBSD ports
			    framework.	 Within	 local/,  the  general	layout
			    sketched out by hier for /usr should be used.  Ex-
			    ceptions are the man directory (directly under lo-
			    cal/  rather than under local/share/), ports docu-
			    mentation  (in  share/doc/<port>/),	 and  /usr/lo-
			    cal/etc (mimics /etc).
		  obj/	    architecture-specific   target  tree  produced  by
			    building the /usr/src tree
		  ports/    The	FreeBSD	ports collection (optional).
		  sbin/	    system daemons &  system  utilities	 (executed  by
			    users)
		  share/    architecture-independent files

			    calendar/  a  variety  of  pre-fab calendar	files;
				       see calendar(1)
			    dict/      word lists; see look(1)

				       freebsd	   FreeBSD-specific	terms,
						   proper names, and jargon
				       words	   common words
				       web2	   words  from	Webster's  2nd
						   International
				       papers/	   reference  databases;   see
						   refer(1)

			    doc/       miscellaneous documentation; source for
				       most of the printed BSD manuals (avail-
				       able from the USENIX association)
				       FAQ/	   Frequently Asked Questions
				       IPv6/	   implementation   notes  for
						   IPv6
				       bind/	   documents   pertaining   to
						   BIND	(the Berkeley Internet
						   Name	Domain)
				       es/	   Spanish   translations   of
						   documents in	/usr/share/doc
				       handbook/   FreeBSD Handbook
				       ja/	   Japanese  translations   of
						   documents in	/usr/share/doc
				       legal/	   License  files  for	vendor
						   supplied firmwares
				       ncurses/	   HTML	 documents  pertaining
						   to ncurses; see ncurses(3)
				       ntp/	   HTML	 documents  pertaining
						   to the Network Time	Proto-
						   col
				       papers/	   UNIX	Papers
				       psd/	   UNIX	 Programmer's  Supple-
						   mentary Documents
				       ru/	   Russian   translations   of
						   documents in	/usr/share/doc
				       smm/	   UNIX	 System	Manager's Man-
						   ual
				       tutorials/  FreeBSD tutorials
				       usd/	   UNIX	 User's	 Supplementary
						   Documents
				       zh/	   Chinese   translations   of
						   documents in	/usr/share/doc

			    examples/  various examples	for users and program-
				       mers
			    games/     ASCII text files	used by	various	games
			    groff_font/
				       device description file for device name
			    info/      GNU Info	hypertext system
			    locale/    localization files; see setlocale(3)
			    man/       manual pages
			    me/	       macros for use with the me macro	 pack-
				       age; see	me(7)
			    misc/      miscellaneous  system-wide  ASCII  text
				       files
				       fonts/	   ???
				       termcap	   terminal    characteristics
						   database; see termcap(5)
			    mk/	       templates for make; see make(1)
			    nls/       national	 language  support  files; see
				       mklocale(1)
			    security/  data files for security	policies  such
				       as mac_lomac(4)
			    sendmail/  sendmail(8) configuration files
			    skel/      example . (dot) files for new accounts
			    snmp/      MIBs,  example  files  and tree defini-
				       tions for the SNMP daemon.
				       defs/	   Tree	definition  files  for
						   use with gensnmptree(1)
				       mibs/	   MIB files
			    syscons/   files used by syscons; see syscons(4)
				       fonts/	  console      fonts;	   see
						  vidcontrol(1)	and vidfont(1)
				       keymaps/	  console keyboard  maps;  see
						  kbdcontrol(1)	and kbdmap(1)
				       scrnmaps/  console screen maps
			    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)
			    vi/	       localization support and	utilities  for
				       vi(1)
			    zoneinfo/  timezone	configuration information; see
				       tzfile(5)
		  src/	    BSD, third-party, and/or local source files

			    bin/	source code for	files in /bin
			    contrib/	source code for	contributed software
			    crypto/	source code for	contributed cryptogra-
					phy software
			    etc/	source code for	files in /etc
			    games/	source code for	files in /usr/games
			    gnu/	Utilities  covered  by the GNU General
					Public License
			    include/	source code for	files in /usr/include
			    kerberos5/	build infrastructure for kerberos ver-
					sion 5
			    lib/	source code for	files in /usr/lib
			    libexec/	source code for	files in /usr/libexec
			    release/	files required to  produce  a  FreeBSD
					release
			    sbin/	source code for	files in /sbin
			    secure/	build	 directory    for   files   in
					/usr/src/crypto
			    share/	source for files in /usr/share
			    sys/	kernel source code
			    tools/	tools used for maintenance and testing
					of FreeBSD
			    usr.bin/	source code for	files in /usr/bin
			    usr.sbin/	source code for	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)
			     jobs/	directory containing job files
			     spool/	directory   containing	 output	 spool
					files

		  backups/   miscellaneous backup files
		  crash/     default directory to store	 kernel	 crash	dumps;
			     see crash(8) and savecore(8)
		  cron/	     files used	by cron; see cron(8)
			     tabs/	crontab	files; see crontab(5)

		  db/	     miscellaneous automatically generated system-spe-
			     cific database files
		  empty/     empty  directory  for use by programs that	need a
			     specifically empty	directory.  Used for  instance
			     by	sshd(8)	for privilege separation.
		  games/     miscellaneous game	status and score files
		  heimdal/   kerberos server databases;	see kdc(8)
		  log/	     miscellaneous system log files

			     wtmp	 login/logout log; see wtmp(5)

		  mail/	     user mailbox files
		  msgs/	     system messages database; see msgs(1)
		  preserve/  temporary	home of	files preserved	after an acci-
			     dental death of an	editor;	see ex(1)
		  quotas/    file system quota information files
		  run/	     system information	files describing various  info
			     about system since	it was booted

			     named/	 writable  by  the  "bind"  user;  see
					 named(8)
			     ppp/	 writable by the "network"  group  for
					 command   connection	sockets;   see
					 ppp(8)
			     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

			     clientmqueue/
					 undelivered  submission  mail	queue;
					 see sendmail(8)
			     ftp/	 commonly ~ftp;	the anonymous ftp root
					 directory
			     mqueue/	 undelivered	mail	queue;	   see
					 sendmail(8)
			     output/	 line printer spooling directories

		  tmp/	     temporary	files that are kept between system re-
			     boots
			     vi.recover/
					 the directory	where  recovery	 files
					 are stored
		  yp/	     the NIS maps

NOTES
       This  manual page documents the default FreeBSD file system layout, but
       the actual hierarchy on a given system is defined at the	system	admin-
       istrator's  discretion.	 A well-maintained installation	will include a
       customized version of this document.

SEE ALSO
       apropos(1), find(1), finger(1), grep(1),	ls(1), whatis(1),  whereis(1),
       which(1), fd(4),	devfs(5), fsck(8)

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

FreeBSD	8.2			 May 25, 2008			       HIER(7)

Want to link to this manual page? Use this URL:
<https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=hier&manpath=FreeBSD+8.2-RELEASE>

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