Ubuntu Directories Cheatsheet

User’s Stuff

/home : Folder containing the workspaces of non-system users. TODO
/opt : Installation directory for software not managed by package managers. That’s where rebelious software goes, that doesn’t like to play by the conventions. It’s for “self-contained” programs. This folder you should be managing manually. Prefer using /home/your_name/opt instead.
/home/your_name/opt: User-specific /opt equivalent. Good place for “compile it yourself and install” type of software. Manage manually.
/usr : Read-only stuff, that’s where most software is installed. Used by package managers. Usually for packages provided by the OS. Don’t mess with it directly, go through the package manager instead.
/usr/local : Read-only stuff, that’s where polite software installs itself. Can be used by package managers or not. Again use the package manager to edit this directory if you can. Otherwise use it for installing conventionally separated software (bin, lib, share) Protected from being overwritten upon OS update.

/etc : Location of system-wide config files, for all users. That’s where “environment” file is located, where PATH is defined. Don’t mess with unless you know what you do.

/bin : Executables of system terminal commands like ls . Don’t mess with it.
/sbin : Executables of the system terminal used by the superuser. Don’t mess with it.
/lib : Location of system-specific dynamic libs, not for user installed software. Don’t mess with it.

/dev : Internal devices the OS has access to, like your hard drives or GPU. Don’t mess with it.
/media : Mounting point for external devices, like USB drives or CD’s. Don’t mess with it.
/mnt : Same as above, but for network stuff? Don’t mess with it.
/sys : Virtual filesystem, used to see what the kernel sees. Don’t mess with it.
/proc : Virtual filesystem, used by the OS to communicate with processes? Don’t mess with it.