Root directory

View of the root directory in the OpenIndiana operating system

In a computer file system, and primarily used in the Unix and Unix-like operating systems, the root directory is the first or top-most directory in a hierarchy.[1] It can be likened to the trunk of a tree, as the starting point where all branches originate from. The root file system is the file system contained on the same disk partition on which the root directory is located; it is the filesystem on top of which all other file systems are mounted as the system boots up.[2]

  1. ^ "Root Directory Definition". techterms.com. Archived from the original on 2020-10-26. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  2. ^ "Root Filesystem Definition by The Linux Information Project". LInfo.org. Archived from the original on 2021-07-10. Retrieved 2020-03-14.