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1<?xml version='1.0'?> <!--*-nxml-*-->
2<!DOCTYPE refentry PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.2//EN"
798d3a52 3 "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.2/docbookx.dtd">
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8 Copyright 2014 Lennart Poettering
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23
24<refentry id="file-hierarchy">
25
798d3a52
ZJS
26 <refentryinfo>
27 <title>file-hierarchy</title>
28 <productname>systemd</productname>
29
30 <authorgroup>
31 <author>
32 <contrib>Developer</contrib>
33 <firstname>Lennart</firstname>
34 <surname>Poettering</surname>
35 <email>lennart@poettering.net</email>
36 </author>
37 </authorgroup>
38 </refentryinfo>
39
40 <refmeta>
41 <refentrytitle>file-hierarchy</refentrytitle>
42 <manvolnum>7</manvolnum>
43 </refmeta>
44
45 <refnamediv>
46 <refname>file-hierarchy</refname>
47 <refpurpose>File system hierarchy overview</refpurpose>
48 </refnamediv>
49
50 <refsect1>
51 <title>Description</title>
52
53 <para>Operating systems using the
54 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>
55 system and service manager are organized based on a file system
56 hierarchy inspired by UNIX, more specifically the hierarchy
57 described in the <ulink
58 url="http://refspecs.linuxfoundation.org/FHS_2.3/fhs-2.3.html">File
59 System Hierarchy</ulink> specification and
60 <citerefentry project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>hier</refentrytitle><manvolnum>7</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
61 This manual page describes a more minimal, modernized subset of
62 these specifications that defines more strictly the suggestions
63 and restrictions systemd makes on the file system
64 hierarchy.</para>
65
66 <para>Many of the paths described here are queriable
67 with the
68 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-path</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>
69 tool.</para>
70 </refsect1>
71
72 <refsect1>
73 <title>General Structure</title>
74
75 <variablelist>
76 <varlistentry>
77 <term><filename>/</filename></term>
78 <listitem><para>The file system root. Usually writable, but
79 this is not required. Possibly a temporary file system
80 (<literal>tmpfs</literal>). Not shared with other hosts
81 (unless read-only). </para></listitem>
82 </varlistentry>
83
84 <varlistentry>
85 <term><filename>/boot</filename></term>
86 <listitem><para>The boot partition used for bringing up the
87 system. On EFI systems this is possibly the EFI System
88 Partition, also see
89 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-efi-boot-generator</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
90 This directory is usually strictly local to the host, and
91 should be considered read-only, except when a new kernel or
92 boot loader is installed. This directory only exists on
93 systems that run on physical or emulated hardware that
94 requires boot loaders.</para></listitem>
95 </varlistentry>
96
97 <varlistentry>
98 <term><filename>/etc</filename></term>
99 <listitem><para>System-specific configuration. This directory
100 may or may not be read-only. Frequently, this directory is
101 pre-populated with vendor-supplied configuration files, but
102 applications should not make assumptions about this directory
103 being fully populated or populated at all, and should fall
104 back to defaults if configuration is
105 missing.</para></listitem>
106 </varlistentry>
107
108 <varlistentry>
109 <term><filename>/home</filename></term>
110 <listitem><para>The location for normal user's home
111 directories. Possibly shared with other systems, and never
112 read-only. This directory should only be used for normal
113 users, never for system users. This directory and possibly the
114 directories contained within it might only become available or
115 writable in late boot or even only after user authentication.
116 This directory might be placed on limited-functionality
117 network file systems, hence applications should not assume the
118 full set of file API is available on this directory.
119 Applications should generally not reference this directory
120 directly, but via the per-user <varname>$HOME</varname>
121 environment variable, or via the home directory field of the
122 user database.</para></listitem>
123 </varlistentry>
124
125 <varlistentry>
126 <term><filename>/root</filename></term>
127 <listitem><para>The home directory of the root user. The root
128 user's home directory is located outside of
129 <filename>/home</filename> in order to make sure the root user
130 may log in even without <filename>/home</filename> being
131 available and mounted.</para></listitem>
132 </varlistentry>
133
134 <varlistentry>
135 <term><filename>/srv</filename></term>
136 <listitem><para>The place to store general server payload,
137 managed by the administrator. No restrictions are made how
138 this directory is organized internally. Generally writable,
139 and possibly shared among systems. This directory might become
140 available or writable only very late during
141 boot.</para></listitem>
142 </varlistentry>
143
144 <varlistentry>
145 <term><filename>/tmp</filename></term>
146 <listitem><para>The place for small temporary files. This
147 directory is usually mounted as a <literal>tmpfs</literal>
148 instance, and should hence not be used for larger files. (Use
149 <filename>/var/tmp</filename> for larger files.) Since the
150 directory is accessible to other users of the system it is
151 essential that this directory is only written to with the
152 <citerefentry project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>mkstemp</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
153 <citerefentry project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>mkdtemp</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>
154 and related calls. This directory is usually flushed at
155 boot-up. Also, files that are not accessed within a certain
156 time are usually automatically deleted. If applications find
157 the environment variable <varname>$TMPDIR</varname> set they
158 should prefer using the directory specified in it over
159 directly referencing <filename>/tmp</filename> (see
160 <citerefentry project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>environ</refentrytitle><manvolnum>7</manvolnum></citerefentry>
161 and
162 <ulink url="http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/basedefs/V1_chap08.html#tag_08_03">IEEE
163 Std 1003.1</ulink> for details).</para></listitem>
164 </varlistentry>
165
166 </variablelist>
167 </refsect1>
168
169 <refsect1>
170 <title>Runtime Data</title>
171
172 <variablelist>
173 <varlistentry>
174 <term><filename>/run</filename></term>
175 <listitem><para>A <literal>tmpfs</literal> file system for
176 system packages to place runtime data in. This directory is
177 flushed on boot, and generally writable for privileged
178 programs only. Always writable.</para></listitem>
179 </varlistentry>
180
181 <varlistentry>
182 <term><filename>/run/log</filename></term>
183 <listitem><para>Runtime system logs. System components may
184 place private logs in this directory. Always writable, even
185 when <filename>/var/log</filename> might not be accessible
186 yet.</para></listitem>
187 </varlistentry>
188
189 <varlistentry>
190 <term><filename>/run/user</filename></term>
191 <listitem><para>Contains per-user runtime directories, each
192 usually individually mounted <literal>tmpfs</literal>
193 instances. Always writable, flushed at each reboot and when
194 the user logs out. User code should not reference this
195 directory directly, but via the
196 <varname>$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR</varname> environment variable, as
197 documented in the <ulink
198 url="http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html">XDG
199 Base Directory Specification</ulink>.</para></listitem>
200 </varlistentry>
201 </variablelist>
202 </refsect1>
203
204 <refsect1>
205 <title>Vendor-supplied Operating System Resources</title>
206
207 <variablelist>
208
209 <varlistentry>
210 <term><filename>/usr</filename></term>
211 <listitem><para>Vendor-supplied operating system resources.
212 Usually read-only, but this is not required. Possibly shared
213 between multiple hosts. This directory should not be modified
214 by the administrator, except when installing or removing
215 vendor-supplied packages.</para></listitem>
216 </varlistentry>
217
218 <varlistentry>
219 <term><filename>/usr/bin</filename></term>
220 <listitem><para>Binaries and executables for user commands,
221 that shall appear in the <varname>$PATH</varname> search path.
222 It is recommended not to place binaries in this directory that
223 are not useful for invocation from a shell (such as daemon
224 binaries); these should be placed in a subdirectory of
225 <filename>/usr/lib</filename> instead.</para></listitem>
226 </varlistentry>
227
228 <varlistentry>
229 <term><filename>/usr/include</filename></term>
230 <listitem><para>C and C++ API header files of system
231 libraries.</para></listitem>
232 </varlistentry>
233
234 <varlistentry>
235 <term><filename>/usr/lib</filename></term>
236 <listitem><para>Static, private vendor data that is compatible
237 with all architectures (though not necessarily
238 architecture-independent). Note that this includes internal
239 executables or other binaries that are not regularly invoked
240 from a shell. Such binaries may be for any architecture
241 supported by the system. Do not place public libraries in this
242 directory, use <varname>$libdir</varname> (see below),
243 instead.</para></listitem>
244 </varlistentry>
245
246 <varlistentry>
247 <term><filename>/usr/lib/<replaceable>arch-id</replaceable></filename></term>
248 <listitem><para>Location for placing dynamic libraries, also
249 called <varname>$libdir</varname>. The architecture identifier
250 to use is defined on <ulink
251 url="https://wiki.debian.org/Multiarch/Tuples">Multiarch
252 Architecture Specifiers (Tuples)</ulink> list. Legacy
253 locations of <varname>$libdir</varname> are
254 <filename>/usr/lib</filename>,
255 <filename>/usr/lib64</filename>. This directory should not be
256 used for package-specific data, unless this data is
257 architecture-dependent, too. To query
258 <varname>$libdir</varname> for the primary architecture of the
259 system, invoke: <programlisting># pkg-config --variable=libdir
260 systemd</programlisting> or <programlisting># systemd-path
261 system-library-arch</programlisting> </para></listitem>
262
263 </varlistentry>
264
265 <varlistentry>
266 <term><filename>/usr/share</filename></term>
267 <listitem><para>Resources shared between multiple packages,
268 such as documentation, man pages, time zone information, fonts
269 and other resources. Usually, the precise location and format
270 of files stored below this directory is subject to
271 specifications that ensure interoperability.</para></listitem>
272 </varlistentry>
273
274 <varlistentry>
275 <term><filename>/usr/share/doc</filename></term>
276 <listitem><para>Documentation for the operating system or
277 system packages.</para></listitem>
278 </varlistentry>
279
280 <varlistentry>
281 <term><filename>/usr/share/factory/etc</filename></term>
282 <listitem><para>Repository for vendor-supplied default
283 configuration files. This directory should be populated with
284 pristine vendor versions of all configuration files that may
285 be placed in <filename>/etc</filename>. This is useful to
286 compare the local configuration of a system with vendor
287 defaults and to populate the local configuration with
288 defaults.</para></listitem>
289 </varlistentry>
290
291 <varlistentry>
292 <term><filename>/usr/share/factory/var</filename></term>
293
294 <listitem><para>Similar to
295 <filename>/usr/share/factory/etc</filename> but for vendor
296 versions of files in the variable, persistent data directory
297 <filename>/var</filename>.</para></listitem>
298
299 </varlistentry>
300 </variablelist>
301 </refsect1>
302
303 <refsect1>
304 <title>Persistent Variable System Data</title>
305
306 <variablelist>
307 <varlistentry>
308 <term><filename>/var</filename></term>
309 <listitem><para>Persistent, variable system data. Must be
310 writable. This directory might be pre-populated with
311 vendor-supplied data, but applications should be able to
312 reconstruct necessary files and directories in this
313 subhierarchy should they be missing, as the system might start
314 up without this directory being populated. Persistency is
315 recommended, but optional, to support ephemeral systems. This
316 directory might become available or writable only very late
317 during boot. Components that are required to operate during
318 early boot hence shall not unconditionally rely on this
319 directory.</para></listitem>
320 </varlistentry>
321
322 <varlistentry>
323 <term><filename>/var/cache</filename></term>
324 <listitem><para>Persistent system cache data. System
325 components may place non-essential data in this directory.
326 Flushing this directory should have no effect on operation of
327 programs, except for increased runtimes necessary to rebuild
328 these caches.</para></listitem>
329 </varlistentry>
330
331 <varlistentry>
332 <term><filename>/var/lib</filename></term>
333 <listitem><para>Persistent system data. System components may
334 place private data in this directory.</para></listitem>
335 </varlistentry>
336
337 <varlistentry>
338 <term><filename>/var/log</filename></term>
339 <listitem><para>Persistent system logs. System components may
340 place private logs in this directory, though it is recommended
341 to do most logging via the
342 <citerefentry project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>syslog</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>
343 and
344 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sd_journal_print</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>
345 calls.</para></listitem>
346 </varlistentry>
347
348 <varlistentry>
349 <term><filename>/var/spool</filename></term>
350 <listitem><para>Persistent system spool data, such as printer
351 or mail queues.</para></listitem>
352 </varlistentry>
353
354 <varlistentry>
355 <term><filename>/var/tmp</filename></term>
356 <listitem><para>The place for larger and persistent temporary
357 files. In contrast to <filename>/tmp</filename> this directory
358 is usually mounted from a persistent physical file system and
359 can thus accept larger files. (Use <filename>/tmp</filename>
360 for smaller files.) This directory is generally not flushed at
361 boot-up, but time-based cleanup of files that have not been
362 accessed for a certain time is applied. The same security
363 restrictions as with <filename>/tmp</filename> apply, and
364 hence only
365 <citerefentry project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>mkstemp</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
366 <citerefentry project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>mkdtemp</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>
367 or similar calls should be used to make use of this directory.
368 If applications find the environment variable
369 <varname>$TMPDIR</varname> set they should prefer using the
370 directory specified in it over directly referencing
371 <filename>/var/tmp</filename> (see
372 <citerefentry project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>environ</refentrytitle><manvolnum>7</manvolnum></citerefentry>
373 for details). </para></listitem>
374 </varlistentry>
375
376 </variablelist>
377 </refsect1>
378
379 <refsect1>
380 <title>Virtual Kernel and API File Systems</title>
381
382 <variablelist>
383 <varlistentry>
384 <term><filename>/dev</filename></term>
385 <listitem><para>The root directory for device nodes. Usually
386 this directory is mounted as a <literal>devtmpfs</literal>
387 instance, but might be of a different type in
388 sandboxed/containerized setups. This directory is managed
389 jointly by the kernel and
390 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-udevd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
391 and should not be written to by other components. A number of
392 special purpose virtual file systems might be mounted below
393 this directory.</para></listitem>
394 </varlistentry>
395
396 <varlistentry>
397 <term><filename>/dev/shm</filename></term>
398 <listitem><para>Place for POSIX shared memory segments, as
399 created via
400 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>shm_open</refentrytitle><manvolnum>3</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
401 This directory is flushed on boot, and is a
402 <literal>tmpfs</literal> file system. Since all users have
403 write access to this directory, special care should be taken
404 to avoid name clashes and vulnerabilities. For normal users,
405 shared memory segments in this directory are usually deleted
406 when the user logs out. Usually it is a better idea to use
407 memory mapped files in <filename>/run</filename> (for system
408 programs) or <varname>$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR</varname> (for user
409 programs) instead of POSIX shared memory segments, since those
410 directories are not world-writable and hence not vulnerable to
411 security-sensitive name clashes.</para></listitem>
412 </varlistentry>
413
414 <varlistentry>
415 <term><filename>/proc</filename></term>
416 <listitem><para>A virtual kernel file system exposing the
417 process list and other functionality. This file system is
418 mostly an API to interface with the kernel and not a place
419 where normal files may be stored. For details, see
420 <citerefentry project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>proc</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
421 A number of special purpose virtual file systems might be
422 mounted below this directory.</para></listitem>
423 </varlistentry>
424
425 <varlistentry>
426 <term><filename>/proc/sys</filename></term>
427 <listitem><para>A hierarchy below <filename>/proc</filename>
428 that exposes a number of kernel tunables. The primary way to
429 configure the settings in this API file tree is via
430 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sysctl.d</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>
431 files. In sandboxed/containerized setups this directory is
432 generally mounted read-only.</para></listitem>
433 </varlistentry>
434
435 <varlistentry>
436 <term><filename>/sys</filename></term>
437 <listitem><para>A virtual kernel file system exposing
438 discovered devices and other functionality. This file system
439 is mostly an API to interface with the kernel and not a place
440 where normal files may be stored. In sandboxed/containerized
441 setups this directory is generally mounted read-only. A number
442 of special purpose virtual file systems might be mounted below
443 this directory.</para></listitem>
444 </varlistentry>
445
446 </variablelist>
447 </refsect1>
448
449 <refsect1>
450 <title>Compatibility Symlinks</title>
451
452 <variablelist>
453 <varlistentry>
454 <term><filename>/bin</filename></term>
455 <term><filename>/sbin</filename></term>
456 <term><filename>/usr/sbin</filename></term>
457
458 <listitem><para>These compatibility symlinks point to
459 <filename>/usr/bin</filename>, ensuring that scripts and
460 binaries referencing these legacy paths correctly find their
461 binaries.</para></listitem>
462 </varlistentry>
463
464 <varlistentry>
465 <term><filename>/lib</filename></term>
466
467 <listitem><para>This compatibility symlink points to
468 <filename>/usr/lib</filename>, ensuring that programs
469 referencing this legacy path correctly find their
470 resources.</para></listitem>
471 </varlistentry>
472
473 <varlistentry>
474 <term><filename>/lib64</filename></term>
475
476 <listitem><para>On some architecture ABIs this compatibility
477 symlink points to <varname>$libdir</varname>, ensuring that
478 binaries referencing this legacy path correctly find their
479 dynamic loader. This symlink only exists on architectures
480 whose ABI places the dynamic loader in this
481 path.</para></listitem>
482 </varlistentry>
483
484 <varlistentry>
485 <term><filename>/var/run</filename></term>
486
487 <listitem><para>This compatibility symlink points to
488 <filename>/run</filename>, ensuring that programs referencing
489 this legacy path correctly find their runtime
490 data.</para></listitem>
491 </varlistentry>
492
493 </variablelist>
494 </refsect1>
495
496 <refsect1>
497 <title>Home Directory</title>
498
499 <para>User applications may want to place files and directories in
500 the user's home directory. They should follow the following basic
501 structure. Note that some of these directories are also
502 standardized (though more weakly) by the <ulink
503 url="http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html">XDG
504 Base Directory Specification</ulink>. Additional locations for
505 high-level user resources are defined by <ulink
506 url="http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/xdg-user-dirs/">xdg-user-dirs</ulink>.</para>
507
508 <variablelist>
509 <varlistentry>
510 <term><filename>~/.cache</filename></term>
511
512 <listitem><para>Persistent user cache data. User programs may
513 place non-essential data in this directory. Flushing this
514 directory should have no effect on operation of programs,
515 except for increased runtimes necessary to rebuild these
516 caches. If an application finds
517 <varname>$XDG_CACHE_HOME</varname> set is should use the
518 directory specified in it instead of this
519 directory.</para></listitem>
520 </varlistentry>
521
522 <varlistentry>
523 <term><filename>~/.config</filename></term>
524
525 <listitem><para>Application configuration and state. When a
526 new user is created this directory will be empty or not exist
527 at all. Applications should fall back to defaults should their
528 configuration or state in this directory be missing. If an
529 application finds <varname>$XDG_CONFIG_HOME</varname> set is
530 should use the directory specified in it instead of this
531 directory.</para></listitem>
532 </varlistentry>
533
534 <varlistentry>
535 <term><filename>~/.local/bin</filename></term>
536
537 <listitem><para>Executables that shall appear in the user's
538 <varname>$PATH</varname> search path. It is recommended not to
539 place executables in this directory that are not useful for
540 invocation from a shell; these should be placed in a
541 subdirectory of <filename>~/.local/lib</filename> instead.
542 Care should be taken when placing architecture-dependent
543 binaries in this place which might be problematic if the home
544 directory is shared between multiple hosts with different
545 architectures.</para></listitem>
546 </varlistentry>
547
548 <varlistentry>
549 <term><filename>~/.local/lib</filename></term>
550
551 <listitem><para>Static, private vendor data that is compatible
552 with all architectures.</para></listitem>
553 </varlistentry>
554
555 <varlistentry>
556 <term><filename>~/.local/lib/<replaceable>arch-id</replaceable></filename></term>
557
558 <listitem><para>Location for placing public dynamic libraries.
559 The architecture identifier to use, is defined on <ulink
560 url="https://wiki.debian.org/Multiarch/Tuples">Multiarch
561 Architecture Specifiers (Tuples)</ulink>
562 list.</para></listitem>
563 </varlistentry>
564
565 <varlistentry>
566 <term><filename>~/.local/share</filename></term>
567
568 <listitem><para>Resources shared between multiple packages,
569 such as fonts or artwork. Usually, the precise location and
570 format of files stored below this directory is subject to
571 specifications that ensure interoperability. If an application
572 finds <varname>$XDG_DATA_HOME</varname> set is should use the
573 directory specified in it instead of this
574 directory.</para></listitem>
575 </varlistentry>
576
577 </variablelist>
578 </refsect1>
579
580
581 <refsect1>
582 <title>Unprivileged Write Access</title>
583
584 <para>Unprivileged processes generally lack write access to most
585 of the hierarchy.</para>
586
587 <para>The exceptions for normal users are
588 <filename>/tmp</filename>,
589 <filename>/var/tmp</filename>,
590 <filename>/dev/shm</filename>, as well as the home directory
591 <varname>$HOME</varname> (usually found below
592 <filename>/home</filename>) and the runtime directory
593 <varname>$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR</varname> (found below
594 <filename>/run/user</filename>) of the user, which are all
595 writable.</para>
596
597 <para>For unprivileged system processes only
598 <filename>/tmp</filename>,
599 <filename>/var/tmp</filename> and
600 <filename>/dev/shm</filename> are writable. If an
601 unprivileged system process needs a private, writable directory in
602 <filename>/var</filename> or <filename>/run</filename>, it is
603 recommended to either create it before dropping privileges in the
604 daemon code, to create it via
605 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>tmpfiles.d</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>
606 fragments during boot, or via the
607 <varname>RuntimeDirectory=</varname> directive of service units
608 (see
609 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.unit</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>
610 for details).</para>
611 </refsect1>
612
613 <refsect1>
614 <title>Node Types</title>
615
616 <para>Unix file systems support different types of file nodes,
617 including regular files, directories, symlinks, character and
618 block device nodes, sockets and FIFOs.</para>
619
620 <para>It is strongly recommended that <filename>/dev</filename> is
621 the only location below which device nodes shall be placed.
622 Similar, <filename>/run</filename> shall be the only location to
623 place sockets and FIFOs. Regular files, directories and symlinks
624 may be used in all directories.</para>
625 </refsect1>
626
627 <refsect1>
628 <title>System Packages</title>
629
630 <para>Developers of system packages should follow strict rules
631 when placing their own files in the file system. The following
632 table lists recommended locations for specific types of files
633 supplied by the vendor.</para>
634
635 <table>
636 <title>System Package Vendor Files Locations</title>
637 <tgroup cols='2' align='left' colsep='1' rowsep='1'>
638 <colspec colname="directory" />
639 <colspec colname="purpose" />
640 <thead>
641 <row>
642 <entry>Directory</entry>
643 <entry>Purpose</entry>
644 </row>
645 </thead>
646 <tbody>
647 <row>
648 <entry><filename>/usr/bin</filename></entry>
649 <entry>Package executables that shall appear in the <varname>$PATH</varname> executable search path, compiled for any of the supported architectures compatible with the operating system. It is not recommended to place internal binaries or binaries that are not commonly invoked from the shell in this directory, such as daemon binaries. As this directory is shared with most other packages of the system special care should be taken to pick unique names for files placed here, that are unlikely to clash with other package's files.</entry>
650 </row>
651 <row>
652 <entry><filename>/usr/lib/<replaceable>arch-id</replaceable></filename></entry>
653 <entry>Public shared libraries of the package. As above, be careful with using too generic names, and pick unique names for your libraries to place here to avoid name clashes.</entry>
654 </row>
655 <row>
656 <entry><filename>/usr/lib/<replaceable>package</replaceable></filename></entry>
657 <entry>Private, static vendor resources of the package, including private binaries and libraries, or any other kind of read-only vendor data.</entry>
658 </row>
659 <row>
660 <entry><filename>/usr/lib/<replaceable>arch-id</replaceable>/<replaceable>package</replaceable></filename></entry>
661 <entry>Private other vendor resources of the package that are architecture-specific and cannot be shared between architectures. Note that this generally does not include private executables since binaries of a specific architecture may be freely invoked from any other supported system architecture.</entry>
662 </row>
663 <row>
664 <entry><filename>/usr/include/<replaceable>package</replaceable></filename></entry>
665 <entry>Public C/C++ APIs of public shared libraries of the package.</entry>
666 </row>
667 </tbody>
668 </tgroup>
669 </table>
670
671 <para>Additional static vendor files may be installed in the
672 <filename>/usr/share</filename> hierarchy, to the locations
673 defined by the various relevant specifications.</para>
674
675 <para>During runtime and for local configuration and state
676 additional directories are defined:</para>
677
678 <table>
679 <title>System Package Variable Files Locations</title>
680 <tgroup cols='2' align='left' colsep='1' rowsep='1'>
681 <colspec colname="directory" />
682 <colspec colname="purpose" />
683 <thead>
684 <row>
685 <entry>Directory</entry>
686 <entry>Purpose</entry>
687 </row>
688 </thead>
689 <tbody>
690 <row>
691 <entry><filename>/etc/<replaceable>package</replaceable></filename></entry>
692 <entry>System-specific configuration for the package. It is recommended to default to safe fallbacks if this configuration is missing, if this is possible. Alternatively, a <citerefentry><refentrytitle>tmpfiles.d</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry> fragment may be used to copy or symlink the necessary files and directories from <filename>/usr/share/factory</filename> during boot, via the <literal>L</literal> or <literal>C</literal> directives.</entry>
693 </row>
694 <row>
695 <entry><filename>/run/<replaceable>package</replaceable></filename></entry>
696 <entry>Runtime data for the package. Packages must be able to create the necessary subdirectories in this tree on their own, since the directory is flushed automatically on boot. Alternatively, a <citerefentry><refentrytitle>tmpfiles.d</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry> fragment may be used to create the necessary directories during boot. Alternatively, the <varname>RuntimeDirectory=</varname> directive of service units may be used (see <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.unit</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry> for details.)</entry>
697 </row>
698 <row>
699 <entry><filename>/run/log/<replaceable>package</replaceable></filename></entry>
700 <entry>Runtime log data for the package. As above, the package needs to make sure to create this directory if necessary, as it will be flushed on every boot.</entry>
701 </row>
702 <row>
703 <entry><filename>/var/cache/<replaceable>package</replaceable></filename></entry>
704 <entry>Persistent cache data of the package. If this directory is flushed the application should work correctly on next invocation, though possibly slowed down due to the need to rebuild any local cache files. The application must be capable of recreating this directory should it be missing and necessary.</entry>
705 </row>
706 <row>
707 <entry><filename>/var/lib/<replaceable>package</replaceable></filename></entry>
708 <entry>Persistent private data of the package. This is the primary place to put persistent data that does not fall into the other categories listed. Packages should be able to create the necessary subdirectories in this tree on their own, since the directory might be missing on boot. Alternatively, a <citerefentry><refentrytitle>tmpfiles.d</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry> fragment may be used to create the necessary directories during boot.</entry>
709 </row>
710 <row>
711 <entry><filename>/var/log/<replaceable>package</replaceable></filename></entry>
712 <entry>Persistent log data of the package. As above, the package should make sure to create this directory if necessary, as it might be missing.</entry>
713 </row>
714 <row>
715 <entry><filename>/var/spool/<replaceable>package</replaceable></filename></entry>
716 <entry>Persistent spool/queue data of the package. As above, the package should make sure to create this directory if necessary, as it might be missing.</entry>
717 </row>
718 </tbody>
719 </tgroup>
720 </table>
721 </refsect1>
722
723 <refsect1>
724 <title>User Packages</title>
725
726 <para>Programs running in user context should follow strict rules
727 when placing their own files in the user's home directory. The
728 following table lists recommended locations in the home directory
729 for specific types of files supplied by the vendor if the
730 application is installed in the home directory. (Note however,
731 that user applications installed system-wide should follow the
732 rules outlined above regarding placing vendor files.)</para>
733
734 <table>
735 <title>User Package Vendor File Locations</title>
736 <tgroup cols='2' align='left' colsep='1' rowsep='1'>
737 <colspec colname="directory" />
738 <colspec colname="purpose" />
739 <thead>
740 <row>
741 <entry>Directory</entry>
742 <entry>Purpose</entry>
743 </row>
744 </thead>
745 <tbody>
746 <row>
747 <entry><filename>~/.local/bin</filename></entry>
748 <entry>Package executables that shall appear in the <varname>$PATH</varname> executable search path. It is not recommended to place internal executables or executables that are not commonly invoked from the shell in this directory, such as daemon executables. As this directory is shared with most other packages of the user special care should be taken to pick unique names for files placed here, that are unlikely to clash with other package's files.</entry>
749 </row>
750 <row>
751 <entry><filename>~/.local/lib/<replaceable>arch-id</replaceable></filename></entry>
752 <entry>Public shared libraries of the package. As above, be careful with using too generic names, and pick unique names for your libraries to place here to avoid name clashes.</entry>
753 </row>
754 <row>
755 <entry><filename>~/.local/lib/<replaceable>package</replaceable></filename></entry>
756 <entry>Private, static vendor resources of the package, compatible with any architecture, or any other kind of read-only vendor data.</entry>
757 </row>
758 <row>
759 <entry><filename>~/.local/lib/<replaceable>arch-id</replaceable>/<replaceable>package</replaceable></filename></entry>
760 <entry>Private other vendor resources of the package that are architecture-specific and cannot be shared between architectures.</entry>
761 </row>
762 </tbody>
763 </tgroup>
764 </table>
765
766 <para>Additional static vendor files may be installed in the
767 <filename>~/.local/share</filename> hierarchy, to the locations
768 defined by the various relevant specifications.</para>
769
770 <para>During runtime and for local configuration and state
771 additional directories are defined:</para>
772
773 <table>
774 <title>User Package Variable File Locations</title>
775 <tgroup cols='2' align='left' colsep='1' rowsep='1'>
776 <colspec colname="directory" />
777 <colspec colname="purpose" />
778 <thead>
779 <row>
780 <entry>Directory</entry>
781 <entry>Purpose</entry>
782 </row>
783 </thead>
784 <tbody>
785 <row>
786 <entry><filename>~/.config/<replaceable>package</replaceable></filename></entry>
787 <entry>User-specific configuration and state for the package. It is required to default to safe fallbacks if this configuration is missing.</entry>
788 </row>
789 <row>
790 <entry><filename><varname>$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR</varname>/<replaceable>package</replaceable></filename></entry>
791 <entry>User runtime data for the package.</entry>
792 </row>
793 <row>
794 <entry><filename>~/.cache/<replaceable>package</replaceable></filename></entry>
795 <entry>Persistent cache data of the package. If this directory is flushed the application should work correctly on next invocation, though possibly slowed down due to the need to rebuild any local cache files. The application must be capable of recreating this directory should it be missing and necessary.</entry>
796 </row>
797 </tbody>
798 </tgroup>
799 </table>
800 </refsect1>
801
802 <refsect1>
803 <title>See Also</title>
804 <para>
805 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
806 <citerefentry project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>hier</refentrytitle><manvolnum>7</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
807 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-path</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
808 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-efi-boot-generator</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
809 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>sysctl.d</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
810 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>tmpfiles.d</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
811 <citerefentry project='die-net'><refentrytitle>pkg-config</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
812 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.unit</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>
813 </para>
814 </refsect1>
9546c6ed
LP
815
816</refentry>