Linux File System Management Tutorial

This article provides a step‑by‑step tutorial on managing Linux file directories, covering the overall file system hierarchy, the difference between absolute and relative paths, and the purpose of each standard directory.

Preparation: Use a virtual machine, log in as root, and open a terminal.

Command‑line shortcuts: Arrow keys browse command history, Tab completes commands and arguments, and Ctrl+C cancels a command.

Absolute vs. relative paths: An absolute path starts from the root (e.g., cd /home/zeyang ), while a relative path is based on the current directory (e.g., cd home/zeyang/ when you are in / ).

Linux directory structure and purpose:

/ – root directory (equivalent to C:\ on Windows)

/home – user home directories (e.g., /root, /home/testuser)

/bin – essential executable commands

/sbin – system binaries requiring elevated privileges

/dev – device files (terminals, disks, network cards, etc.)

/lib, /lib64 – shared libraries

/mnt – mount points for external filesystems

/proc – process information (numeric PID directories)

/run – runtime data

/tmp – temporary files (cleared periodically)

/var – variable data such as logs

/boot – boot loader files

/etc – system configuration files (e.g., /etc/passwd, /etc/groups)

/opt – optional application software

/root – root user’s home directory

/sys – kernel and system information

/usr – user programs, libraries, and documentation

FAQ example (making a file executable):

[root@myserver ~]# ls
anaconda-ks.cfg  Documents  initial-setup-ks.cfg  Pictures  Templates  Videos
Desktop          Downloads  Music                Public    test
[root@myserver ~]# ls -l initial-setup-ks.cfg
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 1363 Jun 16 21:39 initial-setup-ks.cfg
[root@myserver ~]# chmod +x initial-setup-ks.cfg
[root@myserver ~]# ls -l initial-setup-ks.cfg
-rwxr-xr-x. 1 root root 1363 Jun 16 21:39 initial-setup-ks.cfg

File and directory operations:

Viewing

cd /path – change directory

cd .. – go up one level

cd . – stay in current directory

cd - – return to previous directory

pwd – display current directory

ls – list directory contents

cat /path/file – show file content

more /path/file – paginate file view (quit with q or Ctrl+C)

Creating

touch filename – create an empty file

vim filename – edit a file with Vim

cp source dest – copy files (add -r for directories)

mv source dest – move or rename files/directories

mkdir dirname – create a directory (use -p to create parent directories)

[root@myserver Desktop]# mkdir abc
[root@myserver Desktop]# mkdir abc/cc/bb -p
[root@myserver Desktop]# ls abc/
cc
[root@myserver Desktop]# ls abc/cc/
bb

Deleting

rm file – remove a file (confirm with y)

rm -f file – force delete without prompt

rm -rf directory – recursively delete a directory

[root@myserver Desktop]# rm -rf test/

Updating (renaming)

mv oldname newname – rename a file or directory

[root@myserver Desktop]# mv aa bb
[root@myserver Desktop]# mv a.txt b.txt

Vim editor tips: Install Vim if missing ( yum -y install vim ). Basic workflow: vim file , press i or o to insert, Esc to exit insert mode, :wq to save and quit, :w to save, :q to quit.

Copy/paste: yy (yank), p (paste), prefix with a number for multiple lines.

Delete/undo: dd (delete line), u (undo), ndd (delete n lines), dG (delete to end), dgg (delete to start).

Navigate: G (last line), gg (first line).

Block visual mode: Ctrl+v , select lines, Shift+I to insert text on each line, d to delete selected block.

Colon commands: set nu / set nonu to toggle line numbers, :6 to go to line 6, :%s/hello/abc/g to replace all occurrences, /keyword to search (n/N to move).

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