---
name: "hier"
section: "7"
platform: "openbsd"
package: "man"
version: "8.0-current-20261101"
release: "OpenBSD 8.0-current (2026-11-01)"
platforms: ["linux", "freebsd", "openbsd", "macos"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/hier"
---

# hier(7)

layout of filesystems

## NAME

**hier** – layout of filesystems

## DESCRIPTION

A sketch of the filesystem hierarchy.

- /

  Root directory.

- /altroot/

  Alternate (backup) location for the root (‘/’) filesystem (see [daily(8)](/daily/8.md)).

- /bin/

  User utilities fundamental to both single and multi-user environments. These programs are statically compiled and therefore do not depend on any system libraries to run.

- /bsd

  Pure kernel executable (the operating system loaded into memory at boot-time).

- /bsd.mp

  Pure kernel executable for multiprocessor machines.

- /bsd.rd

  Installation kernel. The built-in RAM disk contains utilities which can be run without an external file system, so this kernel is useful for limited system maintenance too.

- /bsd.sp

  Pure kernel executable for single processor machines.

- /dev/

  Block and character device files.

  - MAKEDEV

    Script for creating device files (see [MAKEDEV(8)](/MAKEDEV/8.md)).

  - fd/

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

- /etc/

  System configuration files and scripts.

  - localtime

    Local time zone information (see [ctime(3)](/ctime/3.md)).

  - X11/

    Configuration files for the X11 window system.

  - acme/

    Private keys for [acme-client(1)](/acme-client/1.md).

  - amd/

    Contains map files for [amd(8)](/amd/8.md).

  - authpf/

    Configuration files for the authenticating gateway user shell (see [authpf(8)](/authpf/8.md)).

  - examples/

    Example configuration files for base system daemons.

  - firmware/

    Firmware files for various devices.

  - fonts/

    Configuration files for X11 window system fonts.

  - hotplug/

    Scripts for the hotplug daemon, [hotplugd(8)](/hotplugd/8.md).

  - iked/

    Configuration files for [iked(8)](/iked/8.md).

  - isakmpd/

    Configuration files for [isakmpd(8)](/isakmpd/8.md).

  - ldap/

    Certificates and schema definition files for [ldapd(8)](/ldapd/8.md).

  - login.conf.d/

    Additional login attributes for [login.conf(5)](/login.conf/5.md).

  - mail/

    System mail configuration files.

  - mtree/

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

  - npppd/

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

  - ppp/

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

  - raddb/servers/

    List of radius servers and their associated shared secrets for [login\_radius(8)](/login_radius/8.md).

  - rc.d/

    [packages(7)](/packages/7.md) start/stop scripts and subroutines for [rc(8)](/rc/8.md).

  - rpki/

    TAL and configuration files for [rpki-client(8)](/rpki-client/8.md).

  - signify/

    Key files used by [signify(1)](/signify/1.md).

  - skel/

    Example ‘.’ (dot) files for new accounts.

  - skey/

    One-time password user database for [skey(1)](/skey/1.md).

  - ssh/

    Configuration files for [ssh(1)](/ssh/1.md) and [sshd(8)](/sshd/8.md).

  - ssl/

    OpenSSL configuration files (see [openssl(1)](/openssl/1.md)).

- /home/

  Default location for user home directories.

  - \_sysupgrade/

    Download location for [sysupgrade(8)](/sysupgrade/8.md).

- /mnt/

  Empty directory commonly used by system administrators as a temporary mount point.

- /root/

  Default home directory for the superuser.

- /sbin/

  System programs and administration utilities fundamental to both single and multi-user environments. Most of these programs are statically compiled and therefore do not depend on any system libraries to run.

- /tmp/

  Temporary files that are *not* preserved between system reboots. Periodically cleaned by [daily(8)](/daily/8.md).

- /usr/

  Contains the majority of user utilities and applications.

  - X11R6/

    Files required for the X11 window system.

    - bin/

      X11 binaries.

    - include/

      X11-specific C include files.

    - lib/

      X11 archive libraries.

      - X11/

        Default configuration files for X11 and companion applications.

      - modules/

        Various libraries and drivers for the X11 window system.

      - pkgconfig/

        Package metadata for [pkg-config(1)](/pkg-config/1.md).

      - xorg/

        Data files used by the X server.

    - man/

      X11 manual pages.

    - share/

      Architecture independent data files.

  - bin/

    Common utilities, programming tools, and applications.

  - games/

    Useful and semi-frivolous programs.

  - include/

    Standard C include files.

    - arpa/

      C include files for Internet service protocols.

    - c++/

      Include files for the Clang C++ compiler.

    - cbor/

      C include files for the Concise Binary Object Representation (CBOR) library.

    - crypto/

      C include files for the cryptographic libraries.

    - ddb/

      C include files for the kernel debugger (see [ddb(4)](/ddb/4.md)).

    - dev/

      Device-specific C include files.

    - fido/

      C include files for the U2F/FIDO2 communication library.

    - g++/

      Include files for the GNU C++ compiler.

    - isofs/

      C include files for the ISO standard file systems (currently only cd9660).

    - llvm/

      C++ include files for LLVM.

    - llvm-c/

      C include files for LLVM.

    - machine/

      Machine specific C include files.

    - miscfs/

      C include files for miscellaneous file systems.

    - msdosfs/

      C include files for MS-DOS file system.

    - net/

      Miscellaneous network C include files.

    - net80211/

      C include files for 802.11 wireless networking.

    - netinet/

      C include files for Internet standard protocols (see [inet(4)](/inet/4.md)).

    - netinet6/

      C include files for Internet protocol version 6 (see [inet6(4)](/inet6/4.md)).

    - netmpls/

      C include files for the MPLS protocol.

    - nfs/

      C include files for NFS (Network File System).

    - ntfs/

      C include files for NTFS file system.

    - openssl/

      C include files for the OpenSSL library (see [ssl(8)](/ssl/8.md)).

    - protocols/

      C include files for Berkeley service protocols.

    - readline/

      C include files for the [readline(3)](/readline/3.md) library.

    - rpc/

      C include files for remote procedure calling (see [rpc(5)](/rpc/5.md)).

    - rpcsvc/

      C include files for rpcsvc.

    - scsi/

      SCSI-specific C include files.

    - sys/

      System C include files (kernel data structures).

    - ufs/

      C include files for UFS (the U-word File System).

    - uvm/

      C include files for the virtual memory interface.

  - lib/

    System libraries. See [intro(3)](/intro/3.md) for a description of library types.

  - libdata/

    Miscellaneous utility data files.

    - cvs/

      Placeholder for user contributed [cvs(1)](/cvs/1.md) code/scripts.

    - ldscripts/

      ELF linker scripts.

    - perl5/

      Data files for [perl(1)](/perl/1.md).

  - libexec/

    System daemons and utilities (executed by other programs).

    - auth/

      Login scripts used to authenticate users (for BSD Authentication).

    - cvs/contrib/

      User contributed [cvs(1)](/cvs/1.md) scripts.

    - lpr/

      Contains the lpf filter for [lpd(8)](/lpd/8.md).

    - radiusd/

      Authentication modules for [radiusd(8)](/radiusd/8.md).

    - snmpd/

      SNMP subagents.

  - local/

    Local executables, libraries, etc.

  - mdec/

    Boot-related executables.

  - obj/

    Architecture specific target tree produced by building the */usr/src* tree.

  - ports/

    The OpenBSD ports collection (see [ports(7)](/ports/7.md)).

  - sbin/

    System daemons and utilities (executed by users).

  - share/

    Architecture independent data files.

    - calendar/

      Variety of pre-fab calendar files (see [calendar(1)](/calendar/1.md)).

    - dict/

      Word lists (see [look(1)](/look/1.md) and [spell(1)](/spell/1.md)).

      - american

        Spellings preferred in American usage.

      - british

        Spellings preferred in British usage.

      - propernames

        List of proper names.

      - stop

        Forms that would otherwise be derivable by [spell(1)](/spell/1.md) from words in the other files in */usr/share/dict*, but should not be accepted.

      - web2

        Words from Webster's 2nd International.

      - web2a

        Additional words from Webster's.

      - words

        Common words.

      - papers/

        Reference databases.

      - special/

        Custom word lists.

    - doc/

      Miscellaneous documentation.

    - games/

      ASCII text files used by various games.

    - info/

      Texinfo source files.

    - locale/

      Locales for multi-language support.

    - man/

      Manual pages.

      - man1/

        General commands (tools and utilities).

      - man2/

        System calls and error numbers.

      - man3/

        Libraries.

      - man3p/

        [perl(1)](/perl/1.md) programmers' reference guide.

      - man4/

        Special files and hardware support.

      - man5/

        File formats.

      - man6/

        Games.

      - man7/

        Miscellaneous.

      - man8/

        System maintenance and operation commands.

      - man9/

        Kernel internals.

    - misc/

      Miscellaneous system-wide ASCII text files.

      - termcap

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

      - pcvtfonts/

        Additional console fonts.

    - mk/

      Templates for [make(1)](/make/1.md).

    - relink/

      Link kit for boot-time kernel and library relinking.

    - snmp/

      Data files for [snmpd(8)](/snmpd/8.md).

      - mibs/

        Management Information Base (MIB) definitions.

    - tabset/

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

    - terminfo/

      Compiled terminal characteristic files (see [terminfo(5)](/terminfo/5.md)).

    - texinfo/

      Templates for [texinfo(5)](/texinfo/5.md).

    - zoneinfo/

      Time zone configuration information (see [tzfile(5)](/tzfile/5.md)).

  - src/

    BSD and/or local source files.

    - bin/

      Source for files in */bin*.

    - distrib/

      Source for making distribution sets.

    - etc/

      Source for files in */etc*.

    - games/

      Source for files in */usr/games*.

    - gnu/

      Source for files under GPL or other restrictive licenses.

    - include/

      Source for files in */usr/include*.

    - lib/

      Source for files in */usr/lib*.

    - libexec/

      Source for files in */usr/libexec*.

    - regress/

      Regress framework.

    - sbin/

      Source for files in */sbin*.

    - share/

      Source for files in */usr/share*.

    - sys/

      Kernel source files.

    - usr.bin/

      Source for files in */usr/bin*.

    - usr.sbin/

      Source for files in */usr/sbin*.

  - xenocara/

    Source for the X11 window system.

  - xobj/

    Architecture specific target tree produced by building the */usr/xenocara* tree.

- /var/

  Multi-purpose log, temporary, transient, and spool files.

  - account/

    System accounting files.

    - acct

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

  - agentx/

    Master socket for AgentX-based backends, managed by [snmpd(8)](/snmpd/8.md).

  - audit/

    Audit logs.

  - authpf/

    PID file for [authpf(8)](/authpf/8.md).

  - backups/

    Miscellaneous backup files.

  - cache/

    Data cached for programs.

  - crash/

    Crash dumps written by [savecore(8)](/savecore/8.md).

  - cron/

    Spools and configuration files for [cron(8)](/cron/8.md) and [at(1)](/at/1.md).

    - atjobs/

      [at(1)](/at/1.md) jobs.

    - tabs/

      Individual [crontab(1)](/crontab/1.md) files.

  - db/

    Miscellaneous, automatically generated system-specific database files.

  - empty/

    Generic [chroot(2)](/chroot/2.md) directory.

  - games/

    Miscellaneous game status and log files.

  - log/

    Miscellaneous system log files.

    - wtmp

      Login/logout log (see [wtmp(5)](/wtmp/5.md)).

    - rdist/

      Log files for [rdist(1)](/rdist/1.md).

  - mail/

    User mailbox files.

  - nsd/

    Database and zone files for [nsd(8)](/nsd/8.md).

  - quotas/

    Filesystem quota information files.

  - run/

    System information files describing various info about the system since it was booted.

    - rc.d/

      Details of currently running daemons; used by [rc.d(8)](/rc.d/8.md).

    - utmp

      Database of current users (see [utmp(5)](/utmp/5.md)).

  - spool/

    Miscellaneous printer and mail system spooling directories.

    - ftp/

      Commonly ~ftp; the anonymous ftp root directory.

    - lock/

      Lock files for utilities such as [pppd(8)](/pppd/8.md).

    - output/

      Line printer spooling directories.

    - smtpd/

      Mail spool for [smtpd(8)](/smtpd/8.md).

  - sysmerge/

    Checksum files and reference sets for [sysmerge(8)](/sysmerge/8.md).

  - syspatch/

    Rollback tarballs and patch files for [syspatch(8)](/syspatch/8.md).

  - tmp -\> ../tmp

    A symbolic link to the system */tmp* directory. To protect other users of */var* from overfill conditions, this is no longer a space you can trust to retain storage over a reboot. Periodically cleaned by [daily(8)](/daily/8.md).

  - unbound/

    Configuration files for [unbound(8)](/unbound/8.md).

  - www/

    Configuration files for [httpd(8)](/httpd/8.md).

  - yp/

    Files for the [yp(8)](/yp/8.md) subsystem.

## SEE ALSO

[apropos(1)](/apropos/1.md), [find(1)](/find/1.md), [locate(1)](/locate/1.md), [whatis(1)](/whatis/1.md), [whereis(1)](/whereis/1.md), [which(1)](/which/1.md)

## HISTORY

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