Linux Basic Commands

4. / (Root Directory)

/ (Root Directory) in Linux

In Linux, / is called the root directory.
It is the top-most directory in the Linux filesystem. All other files and folders are stored under this root.

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🔹 Think of it like:

A tree 🌳 — / is the root and everything else (like /home, /etc, /bin, etc.) are branches.

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🔹 Example:

Type this in terminal:

cd /
pwd

Output:

/

👉 This means you are now in the root directory.

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🔹 Listing contents of /:

ls /

You may see folders like:

bin   boot  dev  etc  home  lib  media  mnt  opt  proc  root  run  sbin  tmp  usr  var

Each of these has a special purpose. For example:

• /home → User folders

• /etc → Configuration files

• /bin → Basic Linux commands

• /var → Logs and variable data

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🔹 Visual Structure:

/
├── bin
├── etc
├── home
│   └── ashwin
├── var
├── usr
└── tmp

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