We have UNIX web servers running the FreeBSD operating system.
This article provides an overview of the main system parameters, such as paths to frequently used programs.
Paths
The FreeBSD operating system stores most applications in /usr/local/bin/ instead of /usr/bin/, which is commonly used in the UNIX world.
Take this into consideration when using instructions or scripts from external sources or the Internet.
| bash | /usr/local/bin/bash |
| Image Magick (convert) | /usr/local/bin/convert |
| GraphicsMagick (gm) | /usr/local/bin/gm |
| gzip | /usr/bin/gzip |
| zip | /usr/local/bin/zip |
| tar | /usr/bin/tar |
| mysqldump | /usr/local/bin/mysqldump |
| mysql | /usr/local/bin/mysql |
| perl | /usr/local/bin/perl |
| php CLI (current version) | /usr/local/bin/php |
| php CLI (latest version) | /usr/local/bin/php-head |
| php CLI (7.4) | /usr/local/php74/bin/php |
| php CLI (8.0) | /usr/local/php80/bin/php |
| php CLI (8.1) | /usr/local/php81/bin/php |
| composer (current php Version) | /usr/local/bin/composer |
| composer (php 7.4) | /usr/local/php74/bin/composer |
| composer (php 8.0) | /usr/local/php80/bin/composer |
| composer (php 8.1) | /usr/local/php81/bin/composer |
| python | /usr/local/bin/python |
| ruby | /usr/local/bin/ruby |
| sendmail | /usr/sbin/sendmail |
| xpdf (pdfinfo, pdftotext) | /usr/local/libexec/xpdf |
Directories
Your Home directory
Your Home directory, which contains all your website data is located at: /home/username/
In UNIX lingo, this is referred to as «home» and can be abbreviated with a tilde «~». The default and following directories are found here:
- ~/public_html/
- The «public_html» folder is the document root for your domains if they were created before September 2007.
- ~/www/
- This folder is the document root for your new domains (from September 2007). Each domain has a subfolder containing the web data.
Your Home directory contains other administrative directories as well. All of these begin with a period and are treated as “hidden”. Many FTP programs do not even show these at all. Please do not make changes to these directories as this may damage your account!
- ~/.htpasswds/
- Your Control Panel saves the usernames and passwords you have selected in the Control Panel to protect access to your website.
System directories
In addition to your own Home directory, the file system on your server contains other locations that may be of interest to you.
Locales
The locales available on your server are saved under /usr/share/locale/
The separate article on locales provides more information on this topic.
Temporary data directory
Websites must sometimes create temporary data such as for PHP session handling. These temporary files may be stored under /tmp/
Please note, however, that all users can access this directory and that the data is deleted automatically, periodically and without warning. It is therefore helpful if you create a folder for this type of data in your Home directory.
Apache Handler, MIME Types and Error Documents
In the Control Panel you have the possibility to create individual Apache handlers, MIME types and Error Documents.
For support requests please use this form instead.