1FILESYSTEMS(5)             Linux Programmer's Manual            FILESYSTEMS(5)
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NAME

6       filesystems  -  Linux  filesystem  types:  ext, ext2, ext3, ext4, hpfs,
7       iso9660, JFS, minix, msdos, ncpfs nfs, ntfs, proc, Reiserfs, smb, sysv,
8       umsdos, vfat, XFS, xiafs
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DESCRIPTION

11       When, as is customary, the proc filesystem is mounted on /proc, you can
12       find in  the  file  /proc/filesystems  which  filesystems  your  kernel
13       currently  supports;  see  proc(5)  for  more details.  There is also a
14       legacy sysfs(2) system call (whose availability is  controlled  by  the
15       CONFIG_SYSFS_SYSCALL  kernel  build  configuration  option  since Linux
16       3.15) that enables enumeration of the  currently  available  filesystem
17       types regardless of /proc availability and/or sanity.
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19       If   you   need   a   currently   unsupported  filesystem,  insert  the
20       corresponding kernel module or recompile the kernel.
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22       In order to use a filesystem, you have to mount it;  see  mount(2)  and
23       mount(8).
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25       The  following  list  provides  a short description of the available or
26       historically available filesystems in the Linux kernel.  See the kernel
27       documentation  for  a  comprehensive  description  of  all  options and
28       limitations.
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30       ext       is an elaborate extension of the minix  filesystem.   It  has
31                 been  completely  superseded  by  the  second  version of the
32                 extended filesystem (ext2) and  has  been  removed  from  the
33                 kernel (in 2.1.21).
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35       ext2      is  the  high  performance  disk filesystem used by Linux for
36                 fixed disks as well as removable media.  The second  extended
37                 filesystem  was  designed  as  an  extension  of the extended
38                 filesystem (ext).  See ext2(5).
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40       ext3      is a journaling version of the ext2 filesystem.  It  is  easy
41                 to switch back and forth between ext2 and ext3.  See ext3(5).
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43       ext4      is   a   set   of  upgrades  to  ext3  including  substantial
44                 performance  and   reliability   enhancements,   plus   large
45                 increases  in  volume,  file, and directory size limits.  See
46                 ext4(5).
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48       hpfs      is the High  Performance  Filesystem,  used  in  OS/2.   This
49                 filesystem  is  read-only  under  Linux  due  to  the lack of
50                 available documentation.
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52       iso9660   is a CD-ROM  filesystem  type  conforming  to  the  ISO  9660
53                 standard.
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55                 High Sierra
56                        Linux  supports  High Sierra, the precursor to the ISO
57                        9660  standard  for   CD-ROM   filesystems.    It   is
58                        automatically recognized within the iso9660 filesystem
59                        support under Linux.
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61                 Rock Ridge
62                        Linux also supports the System  Use  Sharing  Protocol
63                        records   specified  by  the  Rock  Ridge  Interchange
64                        Protocol.  They are used to further describe the files
65                        in  the iso9660 filesystem to a UNIX host, and provide
66                        information such as  long  filenames,  UID/GID,  POSIX
67                        permissions,   and   devices.    It  is  automatically
68                        recognized within the iso9660 filesystem support under
69                        Linux.
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71       JFS       is  a  journaling  filesystem,  developed  by  IBM,  that was
72                 integrated into Linux in kernel 2.4.24.
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74       minix     is the filesystem used in the  Minix  operating  system,  the
75                 first  to  run under Linux.  It has a number of shortcomings,
76                 including a 64 MB partition size limit, short filenames,  and
77                 a  single  timestamp.  It remains useful for floppies and RAM
78                 disks.
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80       msdos     is the  filesystem  used  by  DOS,  Windows,  and  some  OS/2
81                 computers.    msdos   filenames  can  be  no  longer  than  8
82                 characters, followed by an optional period  and  3  character
83                 extension.
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85       ncpfs     is  a network filesystem that supports the NCP protocol, used
86                 by Novell NetWare.
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88                 To use ncpfs, you need special programs, which can  be  found
89                 at ⟨ftp://linux01.gwdg.de/pub/ncpfs⟩.
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91       nfs       is  the  network  filesystem  used to access disks located on
92                 remote computers.
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94       ntfs      replaces Microsoft Window's FAT  filesystems  (VFAT,  FAT32).
95                 It   has   reliability,  performance,  and  space-utilization
96                 enhancements plus features like ACLs, journaling, encryption,
97                 and so on.
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99       proc      is  a pseudo filesystem which is used as an interface to ker‐
100                 nel data structures  rather  than  reading  and  interpreting
101                 /dev/kmem.   In particular, its files do not take disk space.
102                 See proc(5).
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104       Reiserfs  is a journaling filesystem, designed by Hans Reiser, that was
105                 integrated into Linux in kernel 2.4.1.
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107       smb       is  a network filesystem that supports the SMB protocol, used
108                 by Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT, and Lan Manager.   See
109https://www.samba.org/samba/smbfs/⟩.
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111       sysv      is  an implementation of the System V/Coherent filesystem for
112                 Linux.  It implements all of Xenix FS, System V/386  FS,  and
113                 Coherent FS.
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115       umsdos    is  an  extended DOS filesystem used by Linux.  It adds capa‐
116                 bility for long filenames, UID/GID,  POSIX  permissions,  and
117                 special  files  (devices,  named  pipes,  etc.) under the DOS
118                 filesystem, without sacrificing compatibility with DOS.
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120       tmpfs     is a filesystem whose  contents  reside  in  virtual  memory.
121                 Since  the files on such filesystems typically reside in RAM,
122                 file access is extremely fast.  See tmpfs(5).
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124       vfat      is an extended FAT filesystem used by Microsoft Windows95 and
125                 Windows  NT.   vfat adds the capability to use long filenames
126                 under the MSDOS filesystem.
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128       XFS       is a journaling filesystem, developed by SGI, that was  inte‐
129                 grated into Linux in kernel 2.4.20.
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131       xiafs     was  designed and implemented to be a stable, safe filesystem
132                 by extending the Minix  filesystem  code.   It  provides  the
133                 basic  most requested features without undue complexity.  The
134                 xiafs filesystem is no longer  actively  developed  or  main‐
135                 tained.  It was removed from the kernel in 2.1.21.
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SEE ALSO

138       fuse(4),   btrfs(5),   ext2(5),   ext3(5),  ext4(5),  nfs(5),  proc(5),
139       sysfs(5), tmpfs(5), xfs(5), fsck(8), mkfs(8), mount(8)
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COLOPHON

142       This page is part of release 5.07 of the Linux  man-pages  project.   A
143       description  of  the project, information about reporting bugs, and the
144       latest    version    of    this    page,    can     be     found     at
145       https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.
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149Linux                             2020-06-09                    FILESYSTEMS(5)
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