Linux System Administrators Guide:
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Chapter 3. Overview of the Directory Tree
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3.3. The /etc directory
The /etc maintains a lot of files. Some of them are described below. For others, you should determine which program they belong to and read the manual page for that program. Many networking configuration files are in /etc as well, and are described in the Networking Administrators' Guide .
- /etc/rc or /etc/rc.d or /etc/rc?.d
- /etc/passwd
- /etc/shadow
- /etc/fdprm
- /etc/fstab
- /etc/group
- /etc/inittab
- /etc/issue
- /etc/magic
- /etc/motd
- /etc/mtab
- /etc/login.defs
- /etc/printcap
- /etc/profile , /etc/bash.rc , /etc/csh.cshrc
Scripts or directories of scripts to run at startup or when changing the run level. See Section 2.3.1 for further information.
The user database, with fields giving the username, real name, home directory, and other information about each user. The format is documented in the passwd manual page.
/etc/shadow is an encrypted file the holds user passwords.
Floppy disk parameter table. Describes what different floppy disk formats look like. Used by setfdprm . See the setfdprm manual page for more information.
Lists the filesystems mounted automatically at startup by the mount -a command (in /etc/rc or equivalent startup file). Under Linux, also contains information about swap areas used automatically by swapon -a . See Section 5.10.7 and the mount manual page for more information. Also fstab usually has its own manual page in section 5.
Similar to /etc/passwd , but describes groups instead of users. See the group manual page in section 5 for more information.
Configuration file for init .
Output by getty before the login prompt. Usually contains a short description or welcoming message to the system. The contents are up to the system administrator.
The configuration file for file . Contains the descriptions of various file formats based on which file guesses the type of the file. See the magic and file manual pages for more information.
The message of the day, automatically output after a successful login. Contents are up to the system administrator. Often used for getting information to every user, such as warnings about planned downtimes.
List of currently mounted filesystems. Initially set up by the bootup scripts, and updated automatically by the mount command. Used when a list of mounted filesystems is needed, e.g., by the df command.
Configuration file for the login command. The login.defs file usually has a manual page in section 5.
Like /etc/termcap /etc/printcap , but intended for printers. However it uses different syntax. The printcap has a manual page in section 5.
Files executed at login or startup time by the Bourne, BASH , or C shells. These allow the system administrator to set global defaults for all users. Users can also create individual copies of these in their home directory to personalize their environment. See the manual pages
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