So 'the root directory' refers to /, and 'the root user's home directory' refers to /root, pronounced 'slash root'.ĭon't feel bad about being confused at first-root has a LOT of meanings! There may even be a couple more that I have missed. Most users have their home directory in /home (for instance, Jimmy would have his home directory at /home/jimmy, pronounced 'slash home slash jimmy'), but for good technical reasons the root user's home directory needs to be in the root directory. Since root is a user (the superuser), root has a home directory. That is where all their files are stored, and they're not accessible to other users. (Don't worry, it's not that difficult.) Every user in Linux has a 'home directory'. The definition of 'root' which applies in the context you are asking about requires some preparation. The word 'root' can also be a verb, meaning 'to acquire root privileges, usually illegitimately or against the intentions of the manufacturer.' Examples: 'An attacker rooted my system and I had to reinstall.' 'I got tired of the restrictions Samsung put on my phone, so I rooted it.' as root', referring to the root user, is the more usual way to say that.) Example sentences: 'You have to run the installer root.' (Although '. The word 'root' can also mean 'root privileges'-in other words, the system permissions which allow you to do absolutely anything on the system. So /home is the name of a directory inside the root directory, and it is pronounced 'slash home'. If you are referring to something inside the root directory, you pronounce it 'slash'. The Linux term is 'directory', for reasons I won't go into here.) The root directory is spelled / but is pronounced 'the root directory'.

(You say you're a Linux noob, so I used the word 'folder', which is common in Windows and Mac OS X. Next, root is the name for the 'folder' which contains all other folders and files on the entire system. (He has much power than a Windows administrator, by the way, because the ENTIRETY of the Linux operating system can be changed, even down to editing the source code of the operating system itself.) 'root' has a number of different meanings.įirst, it is the username of the 'superuser', the administrator of the computer, who has the power to do literally anything with the computer.

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