HIER(7)

NAME
hier - file system hierarchy

DESCRIPTION

The following outline gives a quick tour through a typical SunOS file system hierarchy:

/   root directory of the file system
/dev/
    devices (Section 4)
    MAKEDEV
        shell script to create special files
    MAKEDEV.local
        site specific part of MAKEDEV
    console
        main system console, console(4S)
    drum
        paging device, drum(4)
    *mem
        memory special files, mem(4S)
    null
        null file or data sink, null(4)
    pty[p-z]*
        pseudo terminal controllers, pty(4)
    tty[ab]
        CPU serial ports, zs(4S)
    tty[0123][0-f]
        MTI serial ports mti(4S)
    tty[hijk][0-f]
        ALM-2 serial ports mcp(4S)
    tty[p-z]*
        pseudo terminals, pty(4)
    vme*
        VME bus special files, mem(4S)
    win window system special files, win(4S)
    xy* disks, xy(4S)
    rxy*
        raw disk interfaces, xy(4S)
    ...
/etc/
    system-specific maintenance and data files
    dumpdates
        dump history, dump(8)
    exports
        table of file systems exportable with NFS, exports(5)
    fstab
        file system configuration table, fstab(5)
    group
        group file, group(5)
    hosts
        host name to network address mapping file, hosts(5)
    hosts.equiv
        list of trusted systems, hosts.equiv(5)
    motd
        message of the day, login(1)
    mtab
        mounted file table, mtab(5)
    networks
        network name to network number mapping file, networks(5)
    passwd
        password file, passwd(5)
    phones
        private phone numbers for remote hosts, as described in phones(5)
    printcap
        table of printers and capabilities, printcap(5)
    protocols
        protocol name to protocol number mapping file, protocols(5)
    rc  shell program to bring the system up multiuser
    rc.boot
        startup file run at boot time
    rc.local
        site dependent portion of rc
    remote
        names and description of remote hosts for tip(1C), remote(5)
    services
        network services definition file, services(5)
    ttytab
        database of terminal information used by getty(8)
    ...
/export/
    directory of exported files and file systems for clients, including swap files, root, and /usr file systems
/home/
    directory of mount points for remote-mounted home directories and shared file systems
    user
        home (initial working) directory for user
        .profile
            set environment for sh(1), environ(5V)
        .project
            what you are doing (used by (finger(1))
        .cshrc
            startup file for csh(1)
        .exrc
            startup file for ex(1)
        .plan
            what your short-term plans are (used by finger(1))
        .rhosts
            host equivalence file for rlogin(1C)
        .mailrc
            startup file for mail(1)
        calendar
            user's datebook for calendar(1)
        ...
/lost+found
    directory for connecting detached files for fsck(8)
/mnt/
    mount point for file systems mounted temporarily
/sbin/
    executable programs needed to mount /usr/
    hostname
    ifconfig
    init
    mount
    sh
/tmp/
    temporary files, usually on a fast device, see also /var/tmp/
    ctm*
        used by cc(1V)
    e*  used by ed(1)
    ...
/var/
    directory of files that tend to grow or vary in size
    adm/
        administrative log files
        lastlog
            record of recent logins, utmp(5V)
        lpacct
            line printer accounting lpr(1)
        messages
            system messages
        tracct
            phototypesetter accounting, troff(1)
        utmp
            table of currently logged in users, utmp(5V)
        vaacct, vpacct
            varian and versatec accounting vtroff(1), pac(8)
        wtmp
            login history, utmp(5V)
        ...
    preserve/
        editor temporaries preserved here after crashes/hangups
    spool/
        delayed execution files
        cron/
            used by cron(8)
        lpd/
            used by lpr(1)
            lock
                present when line printer is active
            cf* copy of file to be printed, if necessary
            df* control file for print job
            tf* transient control file, while lpr is working
        mail/
            mailboxes for mail(1)
            name
                mail file for user name
            name.lock
                lock file while name is receiving mail
        mqueue/
            mail queue for sendmail(8)
        secretmail/
            like mail/, but used by xsend(1)
        uucp/
            work files and staging area for uucp(1C)
            LOGFILE
                summary log
            LOG.*
                log file for one transaction
        ...
    tmp/
        temporary files, to keep /tmp/ small
        raster
            used by plot(1G)
        stm*
            used by sort(1V)
        ...
    yp/ Network Information Service (NIS) database files, ypfiles(5)
/usr/
    general-purpose directory, usually a mounted file system
    bin/
        utility programs
        as  assembler, as(1)
        cc  C compiler executive, c.f. /usr/lib/ccom, /usr/lib/cpp, /usr/lib/c2
        csh the C-shell, csh(1)
        sh  the Bourne shell, sh(1)
        ...
    demo/
        demonstration programs
    diag/
        system tests and diagnostics
    dict/
        word lists, etc.
        spellhist
            history file for spell(1)
        words
            principal word list, used by look(1)
        ...
    etc/
        system administration programs; c.f. section 8
        catman
            update preformatted man pages, catman(8)
        cron
            the clock daemon, cron(8)
        dump
            file system backup program dump(8)
        getty
            part of login(1), getty(8)
        in.comsat
            biff server (incoming mail daemon), comsat(8C)
        init
            the parent of all processes, init(8)
        mount
            mount(8)
        yp/ NIS programs
            ypinit
                build and install NIS database, ypinit(8)
            yppush
                force propagation of a changed NIS map, yppush(8)
            ypset
                point ypbind at a particular server, ypset(8)
            ...
        ...
    games/
        backgammon
        lib/
            library directory for game scores, etc.
            quiz.k/
                what quiz(6) knows
                africa
                    countries and capitals
                index
                    category index
                ...
            ...
        ...
    hosts/
        symbolic links to rsh(1C) for commonly accessed remote hosts
    include/
        standard #include files
        a.out.h
            object file layout, a.out(5)
        images/
            icon images
        machine/
            header files from /usr/share/sys/sys/machine; may be a symbolic link
        math.h
            intro(3M)
        net/
            header files from /usr/share/sys/sys/net; may be a symbolic link
        nfs/
            header files used in the Network File System (NFS)
        stdio.h
            standard I/O, intro(3)
        sys/
            kernel header files, c.f. /usr/share/sys/sys
        ...
    lib/
        object libraries, compiler program binaries, and other data
        ccom
            C compiler proper
        cpp C preprocessor
        c2  C code improver
        eign
            list of English words to be ignored by ptx(1)
        font/
            fonts for troff(1)
            ftR Times Roman
            ftB Times Bold
            ...
        libc.a
            system calls, standard I/O, etc. (2,3,3S)
        libm.a
            math library, intro(3M)
        lint/
            utility files for lint
            lint[12]
                subprocesses for lint(1V)
            llib-lc
                dummy declarations for /usr/lib/libc.a, used by lint(1V)
            llib-lm
                dummy declarations for /usr/lib/libm.a
            ...
        units
            conversion tables for units(1)
        uucp/
            programs and data for uucp(1C)
            L.sys
                remote system names and numbers
            uucico
                the real copy program
            ...
        ...
    local/
        locally maintained software
    old/
        obsolete and unsupported programs
    pub/
        publicly readable data files
    sccs/
        binaries of programs that compose the source code control system (SCCS)
    src/
        system source code tree
    stand/
        standalone programs (not run under the Sun Operating System)
    share/
        architecture independent files
        lib/
            architecture independent data files
            termcap
                description of terminal capabilities, termcap(5)
            tmac/
                macros for troff(1)
                tmac.an
                    macros for man(7)
                tmac.s
                    macros for ms(7)
                ...
            ...
        man/
            on-line reference manual pages, man(1)
            man?/
                source files (nroff(1)) for sections 1 through 8 of the manual
                as.1
                ...
            cat?/
                preformatted pages for sections 1 through 8 of the manual
            ...
        sys/
            SunOS kernel source and object modules
    ucb/
        binaries of programs developed at the University of California, Berkeley
        ex  line-oriented editor for experienced users, ex(1)
        vi  screen-oriented editor, vi(1)
        ...
/vmunix
    the SunOS kernel binary

SEE ALSO
filesystem(7), find(1), finger(1), grep(1V), ls(1V), rlogin(1C), whatis(1), whereis(1), which(1), ncheck(8)

BUGS

The locations of files are subject to change without notice; the organization of your file system may vary.

This list is incomplete.

The Network Information Service (NIS) was formerly known as Sun Yellow Pages (YP). The functionality of the two remains the same; only the name has changed.