Filesystem Layout

A basic overview of the modern linux filesystem is given below.

System-specific hierarchy

• /boot or /efi is where the bootloader is stored.
• /home/<username>/ (aliased to ~) is your user’s home directory. (equivalent to C:\Users\<username>\)
• /etc is where the system-wide configuration files are stored.
• /usr is where most of the OS files are stored. (equivalent to C:\Windows\)
  Note: Everything here (except /usr/local/) is managed by your package manager.
  • /usr/bin/ - Contains executable files or symlinks to executables.
  • /usr/sbin/ - Usually either symlinked to /usr/bin/ or contains extra executables.
  • /usr/lib*/ - Contains library files .so (equivalent to .dll)
  • /usr/share/ - Contains non-executable resources for apps (pictures, config files etc)
    • /usr/share/applications/ - Contains .desktop desktop entry files for applications installed using your package manager.
    • /usr/share/icons/ - Contains icons for applications to use.
  • /usr/local/ - A directory for users to install their own apps not managed by the package manager. (system-wide)
• On modern distros, /bin, /sbin, and /lib* directories are usually symlinks which point to their equivalents inside /usr, this is called the /usr merge.
• /opt is where third-party apps like Google Chrome, Brave Software or DaVinci Resolve usually install their files.

User-specific hierarchy

A basic overview of some crucial files and directories inside an user’s home directory.

• ~/.local/ is where apps store their user-specific data.
• ~/.config/ is where apps store their config files.
• ~/.cache/ is where apps store their cache files.
• ~/.var/app/ is where Flatpak apps store their user-specific data.

NOTE: Most information in this section only applied to applications abiding by the XDG Base Directory Specification.
Some applications, like bash, zsh, Visual Studio Code, Google Chrome and DaVinci Resolve either don’t fully abide by the specification or don’t follow the specification at all.