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In the Linux FHS, it says all third party packages should use /opt. However, I didn't see anybody is using /opt. Also, /opt is not in $PATH in anyway, so I think the OS is not intended to let us use /opt. So why bother to create /opt there since nobody is going to use it anyway.

You guys might think this is a duplicate, but clearly it's not. I know about the difference and the thread, but I just don't know why nobody is using it.

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    Conventions have a way of competing with one another. There are many places people commonly place 3rd party packages, but it's more important to note that there's no need for an /opt/ directory until you use third party packages, so I would say the onus is on the user rather than the OS (since these are packages specifically NOT part of the OS). You can also modify the $PATH globally with sudo/root by editing /etc/bashrc (in RHEL/CentOS/etc, I'm sure an equivalent exists for other distros). Commented Mar 24, 2016 at 10:57
  • If it wasn't closed as a dupe, it would have been closed as 'too broad'. There are many different reasons why someone might choose to use /usr/local or /opt or something else entirely. Your question is as un-answerable as 'why do some people prefer vanilla ice-cream over chocolate?'. Also, as @andcoz's answer shows, your premise is just plain wrong - some people DO use /opt. The fact that you haven't personally seen any examples doesn't mean they don't exist. Commented Mar 25, 2016 at 4:15
  • @cas What I am expecting is if there are some specific reasons why those packages are not installed under /opt, since according to the definition of the standard, many packages should. If there is no such common reason, and simply just those packages don't want to, then it's fine too, but I wouldn't know if I don't ask. Right? Commented Mar 25, 2016 at 4:55

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Examples of software that installs in /opt by default:

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    ... and Google Chrome, and possibly many others. Commented Mar 24, 2016 at 13:31
  • red hat uses /opt - it's the top level of where all the system logs are, amongst other things. Commented Sep 29, 2017 at 11:51
  • On macOS neither calibre nor TeamViewer installs into /opt. I guess /opt is intended to stay empty by design, since there is an Application folder in macOS. Commented Apr 23, 2021 at 23:36

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