The Linux System Directories "Off Of" The / (Root) Directory

There are several important Linux system directories that are located "off of" the / (root) directory of the Linux filesystem.

Examples of Using the Linux ls Command to View Some Linux System Directories

Some of the directories below may not exist for your Linux distribution. If there is no output from the following commands, just read the descriptions and continue.

View the Linux system directories off of the / root directory.

$ cd cd / ; ls -l | less

If necessary, use the down arrow to see more directories and press q to quit out of the less command.

Now change into the boot directory (that is off of the / directory) and look at its contents.

$ cd /boot ; ls -l | less

This directory contains the kernel program file and other files used to boot a system. Press q to quit.

Now change directory back to the / (root) directory.

$ cd /

You don't have to change into a directory to view the contents of the directory. You can use a path with a command, such as the ls command, to see the contents of a directory.

Now use the ls command to get a listing of the initrd directory by using a path, in this case the path of /initrd.

$ ls -l /initrd

By default, the initrd directory is empty. It is used during the Linux boot process.

Do not put anything in this directory or remove it. If you remove this directory, your system will not boot and you will see a "kernel panic" error message.

The Linux system directory and command concepts covered here apply to ALL Linux distributions, including Red Hat, Ubuntu, openSUSE, SUSE, Debian, Fedora and Slackware Linux.