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What is the /opt directory?
(lemmy.zip)
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this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2024
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It is my understanding that /opt is short for optional, a bit like how /etc does actually mean et cetera, and their modern use cases were evolved rather than designed. /etc became a catch-all for system settings and configurations, and /opt became a place for executable binaries other than those managed by the local package manager. Which often meant "a big monolithic binary that arrives in a .tar.gz file." /opt became less popular to use when /usr/local/bin was made for basically the same purpose.
In modern practice, /opt gets used as a drunk tank for irritatingly unfriendly monolithic software. A lot of the time, software that isn't managed by the system's package manager gets put in /usr/local/bin, but occasionally if it's a pain in the ass it'll get put in /opt.