Linux - Difference between opt and usr local, Why use /opt for installation

Difference between opt and usr local

When we frequently install multiple software, different questions might arise in our mind like,

What is the difference between /opt and /usr/local directories?
Why some of the third party softwares are installed in /opt?
why we install packages in /usr/local?


/opt is for third-party applications that don't rely on any dependencies outside the scope of said package. /usr/local is for packages installed on this machine outside the scope of the distribution package manager.

An example:

An open source sip-client supplied as a .deb would install into /usr. If it was built with the Qt framework, apt would pull it in as a dependency. The same open source sip-client built from source would reside in /usr/local. So it would not be messed up by apt if you later installed a .deb package for the same application. You could either build its dependencies from source, or get them from the package manager.

A third-party application in /opt is supposed to be self-contained. For instance, a proprietary sip-client using Qt would not rely on the version from apt, but would have it bundled or statically linked in.

The topic on Linux - Difference between opt and usr local is posted by - Math

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