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Aaron Williamson
10,421 PointsCan someone explain what the bin directory is all about?
Why does my path show multiple bins and what is their purpose? How are they related to my $PATH?
1 Answer
Joshua Shroy
9,943 PointsThe bin directory is just a standard subdirectory that holds your executable files.
"/bin is a standard subdirectory of the root directory in Unix-like operating systems that contains the executable (i.e., ready to run) programs that must be available in order to attain minimal functionality for the purposes of booting (i.e., starting) and repairing a system."
"/bin is by default in PATH, which is the list of directories that the system searches for the corresponding program when a command is issued. This means that any executable file (i.e., runnable program) in /bin can be run just by entering the file name at the command line and then pressing the ENTER key."
Hope that helps!