Technical Articles
A Practical Guide to the Linux Filesystem
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A practical, investigative guide to how the Linux filesystem behaves in everyday use. Instead of memorizing rules, this article focuses on observable patterns to help you understand what’s safe to change, what might break, and how to reason about filesystem problems on real systems.
Audience
This article is written for:
- Linux users who are past the very first steps and want to understand why things behave the way they do
- Homelab users and self-hosters managing their own systems
- Developers or technical learners who are comfortable using Linux but feel uncertain when troubleshooting filesystem issues
It assumes basic familiarity with Linux concepts (paths, users, commands), but does not require prior knowledge of filesystems as a theory topic.
Approach
The article is structured as an investigation rather than a reference manual.
- Focuses on observable behavior instead of exhaustive rules
- Uses common Debian-based systems (Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint) as a practical baseline
- Builds understanding through patterns: responsibility, ownership, and file purpose
- Emphasizes prediction (“what will break if I touch this?”) over memorization
Examples and explanations are grounded in real system behavior, not abstract definitions.
Challenges
Key challenges addressed in this article include:
- Explaining filesystem structure without oversimplifying or overwhelming
- Avoiding distro-specific edge cases while remaining concrete and testable
- Teaching permissions and responsibility as signals, not obstacles
- Balancing beginner accessibility with usefulness for real troubleshooting
The article deliberately avoids completeness in favor of clarity and practical reasoning.
Here’s a link to the full article: A Practical Guide to the Linux Filesystem
How to Read and Understand a Linux Command
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Description
Audience
Approach
Challenges
Here’s a link to the full article: How to Read and Understand a Linux Command