Frequently Asked Question

What is /opt and when should I install software there?

/opt is reserved by the FHS for self-contained third-party software packages that do not follow the distribution's normal layout. A vendor product called Acme would install everything (binaries, libraries, configuration, documentation) under /opt/acme/, with its own internal bin/, lib/, and etc/ subdirectories. Uninstalling is then a matter of deleting one directory, with no scattered files left behind. Common examples on real systems are /opt/google/chrome, /opt/spotify, /opt/dropbox, and Oracle products.

/opt is appropriate when the software is a closed-source or out-of-tree application that doesn't fit the FHS, when you want a clean isolation boundary, or when you're bundling things for an organisation that needs to be sure nothing has been altered under /usr. For software you compile yourself from source, the more conventional choice is /usr/local (which uses the same bin/lib/share split as /usr itself); for software installed by the package manager, the choice has already been made for you and it lives under /usr.