Where should I install my app on Linux?

We have some data import tools we've written in-house and I need to set them up on a new Linux box.

These are written in both Java and .NET (running on Mono) and they comprise binaries, config files, resources/assets like images and templates. They also write logs and look to some special folders for the data to import.

I'm new to Linux. At the moment, they're in a folder like /data/importer.java/ and /data/importManager.net/ with these folders containing everything they need to run.

But I see /data/ is a non-standard folder. So I wanted to know if there's a proper place to set them up, however it seems the on Linux, there's many, many folders each for a specific purpose and for read-only/read-write data.

Its almost as if I need to split my apps over a bunch of folders to do it properly, and some folder names, like bin sound right but then what do I with non-binary/compiled files?

Aside from the binaries, the config and everything else is often modified by humans.

Something like (just focusing on the Java part for now):

• /opt/importer.java/ for the binaries, config and resources
• /var/importer.java/data-in/ for dropping in data to import
• /var/importer.java/logs for the logs written

Or maybe I should use the /srv/ folder? Or perhaps /usr/bin/. Maybe logs should be written to the /home/ folder of the running user?

It's all so complicated. Whenever I read any Linux documentation I regret it. Should I just copy it all over from the other machine as-is and forget I ever tried?

Thanks

Luke

This is a question with no right answer and an intriguing bit of Unix history.

The rule we followed at my prior employer was that non-out-of-the-box software was installed in /opt/PackageName-VersionNumber and there was a symbolic link from /opt/PackageName-VersionNumber to /opt/PackageName.

Configs go in /opt/PackageName/etc
Logs go in /opt/PackageName/logs
Binaries go in /opt/PackageName/bin
Data goes in /opt/PackageName/data

For apps that were to be distributed outside of our shop we wrote them to be relocatable by the package manager. This was a rare occurrence, and not "fun".

As far as I'm aware native linux applications are written to have their binaries in [/usr]/bin, logs in /var, config in /etc, and so on. Non native applications or combinations of packages (such as lampp/xampp for example) that are meant to be used systemwide, on the other hand are by default installed in /opt, with the configuration usually also residing in that folder. If the software is meant to run per user a folder inside their home directory is customary.