Filesystem Hierarchy Standard

The /dev directory is the location of special or device files.

If it is possible that devices in /dev will need to be manually created, /dev shall contain a command named MAKEDEV, which can create devices as needed. It may also contain a MAKEDEV.local for any local devices.

If required, MAKEDEV should have provisions for creating any device that may be found on the system, not just those that a particular implementation installs.