Linux File System Explained 2023 - The Complete Guide

Introduction

Explaining Linux file system in simple way! In this article, we will cover about Linux file system hierarchy and all basic commands that needs to learn for understanding more about file system. If you are beginners, then I would recommend to watch the entire Linux Series from beginning on YouTube. 

Linux File System Hierarchy 

The Linux File System Hierarchy or the Filesystem Hierarchy Structure(FHS) describe the directory structure and each directory contains different files which has their own meaning. 

1. / (Root): 

Root Directory is a top level directory which is denoted as "/" and it is a parent directory.

2. /home:

Home Directory contains all other users data and if you have created any new user then that particular user directory will create inside in home directory. 

3. /boot: 

Boot Directory contains all bootable files which needs the operating system for booting up the system

4. /bin: 

Bin Directory contains all other user commands like ls, cat, cd and so on but bin directory doesn't contains root user commands. 

5. /sbin: 

Sbin Directory is a system/super-user binaries which contains all commands including root level commands. 

 

Read all directories Meaning: Click here

All basic Commands 

Lets discuss about basic Linux commands that you need to know! 

1. Manual pager command for checking specification of any command 

$ man

2. Check all parameters and find more details of any command

$ help            (for eg: cat --help) 

3. Check the hostname of your Linux Distro

$ hostname 

4. Check who logged in currently 

$ whoami

5. Clear the terminal 

$ clear

6. Switch the user

$ su "username_name"

7. Check the history of all commands that you have entered before

$ history 

8. Check your present working directory

$ pwd

9. Change the directory 

$ cd 

10. Create the directory 

$ mkdir "directory_name"

11. Remove the directory 

$ rmdir "directory_name"

12. Read the content of the file

$ cat "file_name"

13. Remove the file 

$ rm "file_name"

14. Create empty file

$ touch "file_name"

15. Check Timestamp of the file

$ stat "file_name"

Watch this video for more commands