Linux Directory Structure

Detailed Working of Linux Directory Structure

Boot Process

Boot Loader (/boot)

• When a Linux system starts, the BIOS or UEFI firmware initializes the hardware and loads the bootloader (like GRUB) from the /boot directory.
• The bootloader loads the kernel (/boot/vmlinuz) and the initial RAM disk (/boot/initrd.img) into memory.

Kernel Initialization (/proc, /sys)

• The kernel initializes system components and mounts the root filesystem.
• During initialization, the kernel populates /proc and /sys with information about processes and system hardware.

System Initialization

System and Service Initialization (/etc, /lib, /sbin, /run)

• After the kernel initializes, it starts the init process (or systemd in modern Linux systems) which takes over the boot process.
• systemd reads configuration files from /etc/systemd and other directories in /etc to start necessary system services.
• Essential libraries required for booting and running system services are located in /lib.
• System administration binaries in /sbin and /usr/sbin help manage services.
• /run is used to store transient system information during system operation.

User Environment Setup