---
name: "hier"
section: "7"
platform: "freebsd"
package: "base"
version: "16.0-CURRENT-20261027-61c70dc16a79"
release: "FreeBSD 16.0-CURRENT (2026-10-27)"
platforms: ["linux", "freebsd", "openbsd", "macos"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/hier"
---

# hier(7)

index of FreeBSD file system hierarchy

## NAME

**hier** – index of FreeBSD file system hierarchy

## DESCRIPTION

- */*

  root directory of the file system

- */COPYRIGHT*

  FreeBSD copyright information

- */bin/*

  fundamental BSD user utilities; see [intro(1)](/intro/1.md)

- */boot/*

  programs and configurations used during FreeBSD [boot(8)](/boot/8.md)

  - *defaults/*

    default boot configuration files; see [loader.conf(5)](/loader.conf/5.md)

  - *device.hints*

    kernel variables for controlling drivers; see [device.hints(5)](/device.hints/5.md)

  - *dtb/*

    compiled flattened device tree (FDT) files; see [fdt(4)](/fdt/4.md) and [dtc(1)](/dtc/1.md)

    - *overlays/*

      compiled [fdt(4)](/fdt/4.md) overlays; see *fdt\_overlays* in [loader.conf(5)](/loader.conf/5.md)

  - *efi/*

    the [uefi(8)](/uefi/8.md) EFI System Partition (ESP) mount point

  - *firmware/*

    loadable binary firmware kernel modules

  - *fonts/*

    binary bitmap console fonts; see [loader.conf(5)](/loader.conf/5.md) and [vtfontcvt(8)](/vtfontcvt/8.md)

  - *images/*

    beastie boot menu images; see [loader\_lua(8)](/loader_lua/8.md)

  - *kernel/*

    FreeBSD kernel and modules; see [kldstat(8)](/kldstat/8.md)

  - *kernel.old/*

    alternative kernel and modules

  - *loader.conf*

    boot loader configuration; see [loader.conf(5)](/loader.conf/5.md)

  - *loader.conf.d/*

    [loader.conf(5)](/loader.conf/5.md) configuration files

  - *lua/*

    scripts for the Lua boot loader; see [loader\_lua(8)](/loader_lua/8.md)

  - *modules/*

    third-party loadable kernel modules, such as those installed with pkg(8) or from [ports(7)](/ports/7.md)

  - *zfs/*

    ZFS [zpool(8)](/zpool/8.md) cache files

- */compat/*

  files supporting binary compatibility with other operating systems

  - *linux/*

    default location for [linux(4)](/linux/4.md) compatibility run-time

- */dev/*

  device nodes and special files; see [intro(4)](/intro/4.md) and [devfs(4)](/devfs/4.md)

  - *ada0*

    first ATA storage device

  - *ada0p1*

    first partition on ada0

  - *cd0*

    first optical drive

  - *cuaU0*

    first USB serial port; see [cu(1)](/cu/1.md)

  - *da0*

    first SCSI storage device

  - *da0s1*

    first partition on da0

  - *dri/*

    GPU character device nodes; see [drm(7)](/drm/7.md)

  - *drm/*

    GPU [drm(7)](/drm/7.md) special files

  - *fd/*

    file descriptor files; see [fd(4)](/fd/4.md)

  - *fd0*

    first floppy drive

  - *gpt/*

    storage partitions by GPT label

  - *mmcsd0*

    first SD storage device

  - *mmcsd0s1*

    first partition on mmcsd0

  - *nda0*

    first NVMe storage device attached via [cam(3)](/cam/3.md)

  - *null*

    infinite loop that accepts anything and contains nothing

  - *nvd0*

    first NVMe storage device using NVMe namespaces

  - *pts/*

    pseudo-terminals; see [pts(4)](/pts/4.md)

  - *random*

    source of weak randomness; see [random(4)](/random/4.md)

  - *sa0*

    first tape drive

  - *usb/*

    USB busses

  - *vmm/*

    active [bhyve(8)](/bhyve/8.md) virtual machines

  - *zvol/*

    [zfs(8)](/zfs/8.md) volumes

- */entropy*

  provides initial state to RNG; see [save-entropy(8)](/save-entropy/8.md)

- */etc/*

  base system configuration files and scripts; see [intro(5)](/intro/5.md)

  - *auto\_master*

    autofs [automount(8)](/automount/8.md) configuration

  - *bluetooth/*

    bluetooth configuration files

  - *cron.d/*

    tables for driving scheduled tasks; see [crontab(5)](/crontab/5.md)

  - *crontab*

    root's cron table

  - *defaults/*

    default system configuration files; see [rc(8)](/rc/8.md)

  - *devd/*

    configuration for [devd(8)](/devd/8.md), the device state change daemon

  - *devfs.conf*

    boot time device configuration

  - *dma/*

    configuration for [dma(8)](/dma/8.md)

  - *freebsd-update.conf*

    configuration for the base system updater; see [freebsd-update(8)](/freebsd-update/8.md)

  - *fstab*

    static filesystem configuration; see [fstab(5)](/fstab/5.md)

  - *hosts*

    database of local hosts if no network name server is running

  - *inetd.conf*

    configuration for BSD heritage internet servers; see [inetd(8)](/inetd/8.md)

  - *localtime*

    local timezone information; see [ctime(3)](/ctime/3.md)

  - *jail.conf.d/*

    [jail(8)](/jail/8.md) startup scripts

  - *login.conf*

    login class capability database; see [login.conf(5)](/login.conf/5.md)

  - *machine-id*

    defines the UUID for the local system, required for dbus

  - *mail/*

    [sendmail(8)](/sendmail/8.md) control files

    - *aliases*

      addresses to deliver system mail

    - *mailer.conf*

      [mailwrapper(8)](/mailwrapper/8.md) configuration

  - *motd.template*

    message displayed upon tty login; see [motd(5)](/motd/5.md)

  - *mtree/*

    system mapper specification; see [mtree(8)](/mtree/8.md)

  - *newsyslog.conf.d/*

    log rotation configuration files.

  - *ntp/*

    stored time for the Network Time Protocol

  - *ntp.conf*

    configuration for the NTP client, [ntpd(8)](/ntpd/8.md)

  - *pam.d/*

    configuration files for the Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) library; see [pam(3)](/pam/3.md)

  - *periodic/*

    scripts that are run daily, weekly, or monthly by [cron(8)](/cron/8.md); see [periodic(8)](/periodic/8.md)

  - *pf.conf*

    configuration for the Packet Filter firewall; see [pf(4)](/pf/4.md)

  - *pkg/*

    default configuration for the package manager, pkg(8)

  - *ppp/*

    PPP configuration files; see [ppp(8)](/ppp/8.md)

  - *rc.conf*

    system and daemon configuration; see [rc.conf(5)](/rc.conf/5.md)

  - *rc.d/*

    system and daemon startup/control scripts; see [rc(8)](/rc/8.md)

  - *resolv.conf*

    DNS configuration; see [resolv.conf(5)](/resolv.conf/5.md)

  - *resolvconf.conf*

    DNS configuration manager configuration, often generated by local-unbound; see [local-unbound(8)](/local-unbound/8.md) or [resolvconf(8)](/resolvconf/8.md)

  - *security/*

    OpenBSM audit configuration files; see [audit(8)](/audit/8.md)

  - *ssh/*

    OpenSSH configuration files; see [ssh(1)](/ssh/1.md)

  - *ssl/*

    OpenSSL configuration files

    - *cert.pem*

      System trust store in bundle form; see [certctl(8)](/certctl/8.md).

    - *certs/*

      System trust store in OpenSSL hashed-directory form; see [certctl(8)](/certctl/8.md).

    - *openssl.cnf*

      OpenSSL configuration file; see [openssl.cnf(5)](/openssl.cnf/5.md).

    - *untrusted/*

      Explicitly distrusted certificates; see [certctl(8)](/certctl/8.md).

  - *sysctl.conf*

    kernel state defaults; see [sysctl.conf(5)](/sysctl.conf/5.md)

  - *syslog.conf*

    system message log configuration

  - *ttys*

    tty creation configuration; see [getty(8)](/getty/8.md)

  - *wpa\_supplicant.conf*

    client wifi configuration; see [wpa\_supplicant.conf(5)](/wpa_supplicant.conf/5.md)

- */home/*

  home directories for users; the typical home for an interactive user *beastie* would be */home/beastie/*

- */lib/*

  system libraries critical to binaries in */bin* and */sbin*

  - *geom/*

    class-specific libraries for the [geom(8)](/geom/8.md) utility

  - *nvmecontrol/*

    vendor-specific libraries to extend the [nvmecontrol(8)](/nvmecontrol/8.md) utility

- */libexec/*

  system utilities critical to binaries in */bin* and */sbin*

- */media/*

  mount points for removable storage media such as CDs, DVDs, and USB drives; see [automount(8)](/automount/8.md), or bsdisks(8) if a using a desktop environment from [ports(7)](/ports/7.md)

- */mnt/*

  empty directory commonly used by system administrators as a temporary mount point

- */net/*

  automounted NFS shares; see [auto\_master(5)](/auto_master/5.md)

- */nonexistent/*

  a non-existent directory; by convention, it serves as a home directory for user accounts that need no home directory; see also */var/empty/*

- */proc/*

  process file system; see [procfs(4)](/procfs/4.md)

- */rescue/*

  statically linked programs for emergency recovery; see [rescue(8)](/rescue/8.md)

- */root/*

  home directory of the root user

- */sbin/*

  fundamental BSD system administration utilities; see [intro(8)](/intro/8.md)

- */tmp/*

  temporary files commonly removed between system reboots; see *clear\_tmp\_enable* in [rc.conf(5)](/rc.conf/5.md)

- */usr/*

  contains the majority of user utilities and applications

  - *bin/*

    common utilities, programming tools, and applications; see [intro(1)](/intro/1.md)

  - *freebsd-dist/*

    distribution files (like base.txz); see [release(7)](/release/7.md) and [bsdinstall(8)](/bsdinstall/8.md)

  - *include/*

    standard C include header files

  - *lib/*

    shared and [ar(1)](/ar/1.md)-type libraries; see [intro(3)](/intro/3.md)

    - *clang/*

      shared libraries for the system compiler, [clang(1)](/clang/1.md)

    - *compat/*

      shared libraries for compatibility

    - *debug/*

      standalone debug data for the kernel and base system libraries and binaries

    - *dtrace/*

      [dtrace(1)](/dtrace/1.md) library scripts

    - *engines/*

      OpenSSL (Cryptography/SSL toolkit) dynamically loadable engines

    - *flua/*

      FreeBSD Lua shared libraries

    - *i18n/*

      shared libraries for internationalization

  - *lib32/*

    32-bit compatibility libraries

  - *libdata/*

    miscellaneous utility data files

    - *ldscripts/*

      linker scripts; see [ld(1)](/ld/1.md)

    - *pkgconfig/*

      collections of compiler and linker flags for the [pkgconf(1)](/pkgconf/1.md) development tool

  - *libexec/*

    system daemons and utilities executed by programs

    - *bsdconfig/*

      utilities called by the ncurses FreeBSD configuration wizard

    - *bsdinstall/*

      utilities for [bsdinstall(8)](/bsdinstall/8.md)

    - *dwatch/*

      profiles for [dwatch(1)](/dwatch/1.md)

    - *fwget/*

      utilities called by [fwget(8)](/fwget/8.md)

    - *hyperv/*

      scripts for communicating with the Hyper-V hypervisor

    - *lpr/*

      utilities and filters for the line printer system; see [lpr(1)](/lpr/1.md)

    - *sendmail/*

      the [sendmail(8)](/sendmail/8.md) binary; see [mailwrapper(8)](/mailwrapper/8.md)

    - *sm.bin/*

      restricted shell for [sendmail(8)](/sendmail/8.md); see [smrsh(8)](/smrsh/8.md)

    - *zfs/*

      Z file system utilities

  - *local/*

    local executables, libraries, etc, installed by [pkg(7)](/pkg/7.md) or [ports(7)](/ports/7.md)

    - *bin/*

      local user utilities, see [intro(1)](/intro/1.md)

    - *etc/*

      local program configurations

    - *include/*

      local library headers

    - *lib/*

      local libraries

    - *lib32/*

      local 32-bit compatibility libraries

    - *libdata/*

      local utility data files

    - *libexec/*

      utilities executed by local utilities

    - *sbin/*

      local administration utilities

    - *share/*

      local architecture-independent files

    - *share/doc/*

      local documentation

    - *share/doc/freebsd/*

      articles, books, FAQ, and handbooks available from the FreeBSD project

    - *share/man/*

      local manual pages; see [man(1)](/man/1.md)

  - *obj/*

    architecture-specific target tree produced by building FreeBSD from source; see [build(7)](/build/7.md)

  - *ports/*

    FreeBSD ports collection; see [ports(7)](/ports/7.md)

  - *sbin/*

    system daemons and utilities meant for user execution; see [intro(8)](/intro/8.md)

  - *share/*

    architecture-independent files

    - *atf/*

      scripts for the Automated Testing Framework; see ATF(7)

    - *bhyve/*

      [bhyve(8)](/bhyve/8.md) keyboard mappings

    - *calendar/*

      system-wide calendar files; see [calendar(1)](/calendar/1.md)

    - *certs/*

      TLS certificates for [openssl(1)](/openssl/1.md)

    - *dict/*

      word lists; see [look(1)](/look/1.md)

      - *freebsd*

        FreeBSD-specific terms, proper names, and jargon

      - *web2*

        words from Webster's Second International

    - *doc/*

      miscellaneous documentation

    - *dtrace/*

      scripts for the Dynamic Tracing Compiler; see [dtrace(1)](/dtrace/1.md)

    - *examples/*

      various examples for users and programmers

    - *firmware/*

      firmware images loaded by userland programs

    - *games/*

      ASCII text files used by BSD heritage games, see [intro(6)](/intro/6.md)

    - *keys/*

      known trusted and revoked keys

      - *pkg/*

        fingerprints for [pkg(7)](/pkg/7.md) and pkg(8)

    - *locale/*

      localization files; see [setlocale(3)](/setlocale/3.md)

    - *man/*

      system manual pages; see [man(1)](/man/1.md)

    - *misc/*

      miscellaneous system-wide files

      - *ascii*

        chart of the ASCII codepoints

      - *flowers*

        the meanings of flowers

      - *magic*

        magic numbers used by [file(1)](/file/1.md)

      - *termcap*

        terminal characteristics database; see [termcap(5)](/termcap/5.md)

    - *mk/*

      templates for make; see [make(1)](/make/1.md)

    - *nls/*

      national language support files

    - *security/*

      data files for security policies such as [mac\_lomac(4)](/mac_lomac/4.md)

    - *sendmail/*

      [sendmail(8)](/sendmail/8.md) configuration files

    - *skel/*

      example *.* (dot) files for new accounts

    - *snmp/*

      MIBs, example files and tree definitions for the SNMP daemon

      - *defs/*

        tree definition files for use with [gensnmptree(1)](/gensnmptree/1.md)

      - *mibs/*

        management Information Base (MIB) files

    - *syscons/*

      [syscons(4)](/syscons/4.md) files

      - *fonts/*

        console fonts; see [vidcontrol(1)](/vidcontrol/1.md) and [vidfont(1)](/vidfont/1.md)

      - *keymaps/*

        console keyboard maps; see [kbdcontrol(1)](/kbdcontrol/1.md) and [kbdmap(1)](/kbdmap/1.md)

      - *scrnmaps/*

        console screen maps

    - *sysroot/*

      files necessary for the -sysroot compiler/linker argument to build non-native binaries

      - *VERSION/*

        files for FreeBSD release VERSION; by convention, “VERSION” matches [uname(1)](/uname/1.md) **-r**

      - *VERSION/MACHINE.MACHINE\_ARCH/*

        represent the binary ABI for these files; “MACHINE” matches [uname(1)](/uname/1.md) **-m**; “MACHINE\_ARCH” matches [uname(1)](/uname/1.md) **-p**

    - *tabset/*

      tab description files for a variety of terminals; used in the termcap file; see [termcap(5)](/termcap/5.md)

    - *vi/*

      localization support and utilities for the [vi(1)](/vi/1.md) editor

    - *vt/*

      files used by the system console; see [vt(4)](/vt/4.md)

      - *fonts/*

        console fonts; see [vidcontrol(1)](/vidcontrol/1.md), [vidfont(1)](/vidfont/1.md), and [vtfontcvt(8)](/vtfontcvt/8.md)

      - *keymaps/*

        console keyboard maps; see [kbdcontrol(1)](/kbdcontrol/1.md) and [kbdmap(1)](/kbdmap/1.md)

    - *zoneinfo/*

      timezone configuration information; see [tzfile(5)](/tzfile/5.md)

  - *src/*

    FreeBSD source code; see [development(7)](/development/7.md); the layout of the source tree is described by the top-level *README.md* file

  - *tests/*

    the FreeBSD test suite; see [tests(7)](/tests/7.md)

- */var/*

  log, temporary, transient, and spool files

  - *account/*

    system accounting files

    - *acct*

      execution accounting file; see [acct(5)](/acct/5.md)

  - *at/*

    timed command scheduling files; see [at(1)](/at/1.md)

    - *jobs/*

      job files

    - *spool/*

      output spool files

  - *audit/*

    security event audit trail files; see [audit(8)](/audit/8.md)

  - *authpf/*

    user shell sessions for authenticating gateways; see [authpf(8)](/authpf/8.md)

  - *backups/*

    critical system configuration backups

  - *cache/*

    miscellaneous cache files

    - *pkg/*

      cached packages for pkg(8)

    - *cups/*

      cached printers for the Common Unix Prinitng system; see [cups(1)](/cups/1.md)

  - *crash/*

    default directory to store kernel crash dumps; see [crash(8)](/crash/8.md) and [savecore(8)](/savecore/8.md)

  - *cron/*

    files used by cron; see [cron(8)](/cron/8.md)

    - *tabs/*

      crontab files; see [crontab(5)](/crontab/5.md)

  - *db/*

    autogenerated system-specific database files

    - *etcupdate/*

      temporary files and log for [etcupdate(8)](/etcupdate/8.md)

    - *freebsd-update/*

      downloads and temporary files for [freebsd-update(8)](/freebsd-update/8.md)

    - *pkg/*

      package database

  - *empty/*

    for use by programs that require an empty directory, used for instance by [sshd(8)](/sshd/8.md) for privilege separation

  - *games/*

    status and score files for BSD heritage games

  - *heimdal/*

    Kerberos server databases; see [kdc(8)](/kdc/8.md)

  - *lib/*

    state information for ported Linux applications

  - *log/*

    system log files

    - *Xorg.0.log*

      [Xserver(1)](/Xserver/1.md) log, if [X(7)](/X/7.md) is installed rotates to *Xorg.0.log.old*

    - *aculog*

      serial line access log; see [cu(1)](/cu/1.md)

    - *auth.log*

      system authentication log

    - *bsdinstall\_log*

      system installation log

    - *cron*

      scheduled task log; see [cron(8)](/cron/8.md)

    - *cups/*

      logs for [cups(1)](/cups/1.md)

    - *daemon.log*

      default log for system daemons

    - *devd.log*

      default log for device state change daemon

    - *dmesg.today*

      kernel message buffer log, rotates to *dmesg.yesterday*

    - *debug.log*

      undiscarded debug syslog messages

    - *lpd-errs*

      logs for the line printer spooler daemon; see [lpd(8)](/lpd/8.md)

    - *maillog*

      [sendmail(8)](/sendmail/8.md) log, rotates and compresses to maillog.0.bz2

    - *messages*

      general system message log; see [syslogd(8)](/syslogd/8.md)

    - *mount.today*

      currently loaded [fstab(5)](/fstab/5.md), rotates to *mount.yesterday*

    - *pf.today*

      packet filter firewall log; see [pf(4)](/pf/4.md)

    - *pflog*

      saved packets caught by [pflogd(8)](/pflogd/8.md)

    - *ppp.log*

      see [ppp(8)](/ppp/8.md)

    - *security*

      transcript of events marked with the security flag

    - *setuid.today*

      listing of executable files which run with elevated permissions, rotates to *setuid.yesterday*

    - *userlog*

      logs changes in users or groups

    - *utx.lastlogin*

      last login log; see [getutxent(3)](/getutxent/3.md)

    - *utx.log*

      login/logout log; see [getutxent(3)](/getutxent/3.md)

  - *mail/*

    user mailbox files

  - *msgs/*

    system messages database; see [msgs(1)](/msgs/1.md)

  - *preserve/*

    unused, present for historical reasons

  - *quotas/*

    UFS quota information files

  - *run/*

    files containing information about the operating system since it was booted

    - *bhyve/*

      [bhyve(8)](/bhyve/8.md) virtual machine [unix(4)](/unix/4.md)-domain sockets

    - *ppp/*

      writable by the “network” group for command connection sockets; see [ppp(8)](/ppp/8.md)

    - *utx.active*

      database of current users; see [getutxent(3)](/getutxent/3.md)

    - *wpa\_supplicant/*

      IEEE Std. 802.11 wifi run time files

  - *rwho/*

    information about other systems on the local network; see [rwhod(8)](/rwhod/8.md), [rwho(1)](/rwho/1.md), and [ruptime(1)](/ruptime/1.md)

  - *spool/*

    printer and mail system spooling directories

    - *clientmqueue/*

      undelivered submission mail queue; see [sendmail(8)](/sendmail/8.md)

    - *cups/*

      print jobs and temporary files for [cups(1)](/cups/1.md)

    - *dma/*

      undelivered mail queue for DragonFly Mail Agent; see [dma(8)](/dma/8.md)

    - *lock/*

      serial device locks; see [uucplock(3)](/uucplock/3.md)

    - *lpd/*

      line printer spooler daemon spool

    - *mqueue/*

      undelivered mail queue for [sendmail(8)](/sendmail/8.md)

    - *output/*

      line printer spooling directories

  - *tmp/*

    temporary files not removed between system reboots

    - *vi.recover/*

      recovery files for the [vi(1)](/vi/1.md) editor

  - *unbound/*

    files and configuration for [unbound(8)](/unbound/8.md)

  - *yp/*

    the NIS maps; see [yp(8)](/yp/8.md)

## NOTES

This manual page documents the default FreeBSD file system layout. The actual hierarchy on a given system is defined at the system administrator's discretion. A well-maintained installation will include a customized version of this document.

## SEE ALSO

[apropos(1)](/apropos/1.md), [find(1)](/find/1.md), [grep(1)](/grep/1.md), [ls(1)](/ls/1.md), [whereis(1)](/whereis/1.md), [which(1)](/which/1.md)

## HISTORY

A **hier** manual page first appeared in 1979 with Version 7 AT&T UNIX.