What Is Linux File System | Linux File System Structure Explained | Linux Tutorial | Simplilearn

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If you've ever opened a computer's file manager, you have probably seen something familiar on Windows. It's that trusty C drive with neat folders like program files and documents. On Mac, you get applications folder, your desktop and few others. Easy, right? But then you step into Linux and suddenly you're staring at bin, etc. proc lib and you're thinking what alien planet have I just landed on now the truth is Linux organizes its file in a completely different way no C drive no fancy icon everything starts from a single slash and every folder hanging from it has a very specific job and here's the thing it's not as scary as it looks in fact once you understand it it's beautifully logical so in this video I'm going to walk you through the Linux file system structure step by step in plain simple English. No tech jargon overloaded. And by the end, you'll know exactly what each folder does, where to find your stuff, and how it's different from Windows and Mac. So, in this video, we'll be covering what the Linux file system is, and how it's different from Windows and Mac. Starting in the root directory and exploring key folders like home, bin, dev, lip, temp, and many others. We'll also cover simple Linux commands to navigate and explore the structure and a few quiz questions to make sure you're following along. Now, before we get started, here's a quick quiz question for you. When you first boot up your computer, which part of the Linux file system do you think is responsible for starting the system? Home directory, boot directory, etc. directory. You can drop your guesses in the comment section below. Also guys, if you're interested in stepping into one of the most in- demand fields, then the advanced executive program in cyber security by simply learn is the perfect opportunity. 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Now before we get started, let's first understand what exactly the Linux file system is. You can think of it as the organization system for your computer. Now, every file, program, and setting on your system is stored somewhere. And the Linux system is responsible for organizing all of that into neat directories and files. It's just like the blueprint for your computer's data storage, telling you where to find things and how they are connected. Just like a library has shelf, labels, and categories to keep all the books organized. in the same way the Linux file system works but with files and directories instead of books. So why do we need this structure? Well, in Linux the file system is a hierarchal structure which means everything is organized in layers starting from the root at the top just like a tree and the branches off into different directories each serving a specific purpose. It help manage data efficiently, ensuring security and allows the system to run smoothly and quickly. So why are we diving into the Linux file system today? So whether you're new to Linux or a seasoned user, understanding where files are stored and how everything is organized is very important for troubleshooting and system efficiency. Knowing the purpose of each directory will help you to navigate and manage files easily. This video will give you a solid foundation so you can confidently handle task and feel in control of your Linux system. Let's have a quick comparison between Windows and Linux. So when you're using Windows, everything feels familiar. You've got your C drive, maybe a D or E drive, and all your files and programs are neatly stored there. file parts uses backslashes like users Alex document and Windows doesn't care about capital letters. So you can see here in the screen you can see most of the apps are installed and it's end up with C back slashprogram files right and also talking about the capital letters now files.txt txt and files are treated the same. Most apps you install end up with C program files. So it's pretty straightforward. But here in case of Linux, it's pretty different. The rules are a little different. There are no drive letters. Everything starts with a single root directory and from there all your folders and files branch out. File paths uses forward slashes like home Chris downloads and it's also case sensitive. So file.txt and file.txt takes here completely different files here. Now another big difference is in Linux everything your hard drive your USB sticks even your keyboard appears somewhere under this slash. You can think of it like this. Now Linux is a giant tree and this slash is the trunk and every folder is a branch out here. The bin etc home opt and everything. Now once you see the pattern it actually becomes easier for you to navigate than in Windows. All right. Now, let's talk about the Linux file hierarchy structure or simply how Linux arranges the folders and files. Well, in Linux, there's something called the file system hierarchy standard or FHS for short. You can think of it as a rule book that tells the system where different types of files should go. Now, this standard is managed by the Linux Foundation. And here's the interesting part. No matter where a file is stored on your computer's hard drive or external drive or even a virtual device in Linux, all of it appears under one main folder which is the root directory. Now this root directory is just under a single forward slash. Some folders you'll see only if certain features are installed like the X window system for graphic but most of these folders are present in all Unix based system and they generally work in a very similar way. What we'll be focusing on here is how Linux uses them specifically. So let's dive into the structure and break it down step by step. Let's begin at the top the very first directory in Linux which is the root directory. Now what is a root directory in Linux? Well the root directory is like the main entry point in Linux. It's represented by a single forward slash and everything else in the system connects to it. You can think of the root directory like the trunk of a tree and all the other directories like branches grow out from it. This is the highest point in the Linux file system and there is nothing above it. It's the starting point for everything. Now how does the root directory even work? Well, every file folder device or even a network shared in the system is connected with slash. Let's say for example your documents, music files or even your external devices like USB drives. Everything will appear under the folder slash. But only the root user that is the administrator can make changes directly to the slash directory. Normal users won't have the permission to modify things out there without special access. Here's an important clarification to make the root versus this slash. The slashroot versus the normal slash. So this is the main root directory and the root is a special directory is the personal home directory to the root user and it's very similar to how the home username in a home directory is used for other people. You can think of root as the roots user personal workspace within the system. Now in Windows we use different letters like C drive, D drive to represent different parts of a system like your hard drive, external storage etc. But in the case of Linux, there's no such thing as drive letters. Instead, everything connects to a root directory. Even if it's an external devices like a USB drive. This structure makes Linux more unified and flexible as all the files no matter where they are stored are part of one system which is starting from slash. All right, we are at the trunk of the tree. Let's grab the essential tools we'll need and they are all in the bin folder. Now the second directory we're talking about is the bin which is essential user command. Now the bin directory in Linux it stands for binary and it contains essential commands that every user can use. So whether they are an administrator or a normal user. These commands are the core tools which are required for running the system and doing everyday task for the terminal which is the command line. But why is bin even important? Well, the commands in bin are vital for working with files and managing your system. Let's say for here ls which stands for list the files in a directory. The cp stands for copies file or directories. MV means move or renaming files. RM is removing files or directories. Pink means checking network connectivity. GP searches for specific pattern in files and cat will display the contents of a file. You can see these commands are so fundamental that they are available even in single user mode which is a minimal state where the system can run in often used for maintenance or troubleshooting. So what happens if you don't have bin? If you don't have bin you wouldn't be able to perform basic file operations like copying, deleting or listing the files from the terminal. Now these actions would be impossible making the system unusable for normal task. If you're familiar with Windows, bin in Linux is similar same as in Windows like how we write this in C drive, Windows system 32 folder. System 32 in Windows holds essential tools like command.exe and other system utilities which are similar to how bin stores essential Linux command. So bin is critical directory in Linux because it's hold the basic commands that are necessary to interact with the system and manage file. Without these commands, the system wouldn't function properly. But before you can even use bin, Linux needs to actually start up. And that's where boot comes in. Let's make sure you're following along. So, I have another quiz question for you. Now, which of these folders in Linux holds the command that help you manage files like copying and moving them? Your options are home, bin, boot. You can think your answer and you can drop it in the comment section below. Now we'll be talking about the boot directory which is often called the boot loader and kernel files. Now this is where Linux keep everything it needs to start from the system. It contains the Linux kernel the core of the operating system. It holds the grub which is the bootloadader files the menu you might see when starting the computer. Now it also includes initial RAM disk file which is the initrid or init to help the kernel load drivers before the main system even starts. Now without boot your PC won't even start Linux. Talking about Windows, window has boot files like boot mgr and the boot configuration. Okay, the engine is running now. Linux needs to talk to hardware as well, keyboards, disk and printers. Now this happens when they are stored in the dev directory. Now dev is for the device files in Linux. So in Linux hardware is treated just like a file. So in hard drives you have folders like dev SD1 dev NDVM then you have USB drive, microphone, speakers, keyboards all have entries over here. Now talking about the two main components. So there are basically two main type of uh device files here. First we've got the block devices which store and transfer data in blocks for example hard drives. Then second we have the character devices which can send data one character at a time. For example, serial ports and keyboards. In Windows, devices appear as E, F, etc. And in Linux, they appear as special files in dev. Now, how does Linux knows how to behave? Now, that's decided in the ATC directory. This stands for system configuration files. The configuration files, this folder contains all the systemwide settings in plain text. You have your network settings here, the DNS servers, then you have the user accounts as well. startup services like etc etc. You can also open these files with any text editor because Linux stores configurations as readable text unlike Windows registry which is stored in special database. Now we have seen system settings. Now where do you keep your personal files? That's where we have our home directory which is for personal user directories. Now every user in Linux gets a personal folder under this home. So if your username is John, your folder would be home John and you can store documents, pictures, downloads and even your personal configurations over here. You cannot just modify other users folder without any permission. It's just like the Windows C drive where users join in Windows like how we use it. Now we have seen how this home directory works. Now to run applications, Linux needs shared code and this is where the lib directory comes in which is for shared libraries. So lib basically contains dots so shared object files which are similar to DL files in Windows. Now these are used by programs in bin and spin to work properly. Let's say for example if bin ls needs to print colored output it might use a library in this lib directory to handle colors. Next we look at the Linux puts removable devices USB drives CDs and that's where media directory comes in. This is also called the automounted devices. So when you plug in a USB or you insert a CD Linux automatically it creates a folder inside media and it mounts it there. For example, we have media John my USB. Now, Windows will just give you the device a new drive letter. Whereas in case of Linux, it will treat it as a part of the single directory tree. Let's move on to next directory. Now, sometimes you don't want Linux to automount devices, right? And that's where the mount comes into play. This is also called the temporary mount point uh directory which is used by system admins to manually mount devices or network drives. Also it's great for temporary use and it also doesn't even affect the media directory from here. Talking about the next directory on our list which is the opt optional software. We all know that some software doesn't come with Linux by default. We keep it that in this optional software directory. Third party software and its files are stored here. Let's say for example installing Google Chrome manually might put it in this opt Google Chrome directory. So this was for this directory out here. The next one we've got the s bin which stands for system administration command. Now for system maintenance admins use special commands. These live in this folder. It contains commands like IP tables firewall fisk disk parting and reboot. So if you want to access the directory, you want to first initially start up and access the root. Next one we've got on the list is srv the service data root directory. So what it does is it basically stores files for services like websites srv www or ftp servers srvtp. Now you must have heard about this uh directory which is the temporary files tmp. This is used by application to store short-term data and also it clears automatically after a reboot. Then we've got this uh user directory user programs and data. So the first one we have is the user local. These programs are installed manually from the source. Second uh user program data directory. We've got a user bin. The user commands which are not in the bin folder. Then we've got the user sbin where the admin commands not in the sbin. And then we have the user lib which are related to libraries. The next up we've got this process information directory. So this is a virtual file system showing live uh system data. So this particularly will show your CPU details, your memory starts and information about a specific running process. So now that we have covered all the important file directories, I'll show you a quick Linux command cheat sheet. So here first up we've got this ls which stands for list directory content. Second we've got this cd directory which is the change directory. We have pwd which stands for print working directory. CP source desk it stands for copy files or directories. Then we've got MV source desk which is move rename files. RM is for move files or directory. Stop is for displaying system processes. PS Ox is for showing process status. Chod permission file is for changing file permissions. Chow user group file is for changing file ownership. Grep pattern file is for searching text patterns. CAT file is for displaying file content. Ping host is to test network connection. SSH is for securing shell connection. And at last you've got WGA URL to download the files. And that's the full Linux system tool. Now you know exactly where Linux keep your files settings and even hardware. Once you get comfortable with these navigating Linux just feel as natural as browsing folders in Windows, maybe even better. Now that's a wrap on this video. If you like this video, do hit the notification bell and subscribe for more such video by simply learn. Until then, thank you and keep learning. Hi there. If you like this video, subscribe to the SimplyLearn YouTube channel and click here to watch similar videos. To nerd up and get certified, click here.