Bindir

Bindir, short for binary directory, is a conventional directory in a Unix-like filesystem where executable programs intended for end users are installed. It is a concept used by build systems and packaging workflows to determine where to place compiled programs so that they can be invoked by users.

In build systems such as GNU Autotools and CMake, bindir is a variable that specifies the destination directory for installed binaries. The standard value is prefix/bin, where prefix typically defaults to /usr/local, resulting in /usr/local/bin as the default install location for user-facing programs. The prefix and bindir values can be overridden at configure time or by build scripts to customize the installation path. A related variable is sbindir, which usually corresponds to /bin or /sbin for system administration utilities.

The distinction between bindir and other directories reflects a broader filesystem layout: binaries go in bindir, libraries in lib, data files in share or datadir, and helper programs not intended for direct user invocation may reside in libexecdir. Some distributions keep essential system binaries in /bin and /sbin, while user-installed or locally built software is placed in /usr/bin or /usr/local/bin, with bindir commonly aligning with the latter.

In packaging workflows, bindir guides where to place package-installed executables and how to structure package contents across different directory trees. For example, a program named foo installed with bindir=/usr/local/bin will appear at /usr/local/bin/foo.

See also: sbin, libexecdir, datadir, prefix.