The /usr/local hierarchy is for use by the system administrator when installing software locally. It needs to be safe from being overwritten when the system software is updated. It may be used for programs and data that are shareable amongst a group of hosts, but not found in /usr.
| /usr/local bin games include lib sbin share src |
Local hierarchy Local binaries Local game binaries Local C header files Local libraries Local system binaries Local architecture-independent hierarchy Local source code |
Tree 4.6.1
This directory should always be empty after first installing a FHS-compliant system. No exceptions to this rule should be made other than the listed directory stubs.
Locally installed software should be placed within /usr/local rather than /usr unless it is being installed to replace or upgrade software in /usr.
Note that software placed in / or /usr may be overwritten by system upgrades (though we recommend that distributions do not overwrite data in /etc under these circumstances). For this reason, local software should not be placed outside of /usr/local without good reason.