1filesystems(5) File Formats Manual filesystems(5)
2
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
9
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.
18 If you need a currently unsupported filesystem, insert the
20 corresponding kernel module or recompile the kernel.
21 In order to use a filesystem, you have to mount it; see mount(2) and
23 mount(8).
24 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.
29 erofs is the Enhanced Read-Only File System, stable since Linux 5.4.
31 See erofs(5).
32 ext is an elaborate extension of the minix filesystem. It has been
34 completely superseded by the second version of the extended
35 filesystem (ext2) and has been removed from the kernel (in Linux
36 2.1.21).
37 ext2 is a disk filesystem that was used by Linux for fixed disks as
39 well as removable media. The second extended filesystem was
40 designed as an extension of the extended filesystem (ext). See
41 ext2(5).
42 ext3 is a journaling version of the ext2 filesystem. It is easy to
44 switch back and forth between ext2 and ext3. See ext3(5).
45 ext4 is a set of upgrades to ext3 including substantial performance
47 and reliability enhancements, plus large increases in volume,
48 file, and directory size limits. See ext4(5).
49 hpfs is the High Performance Filesystem, used in OS/2. This
51 filesystem is read-only under Linux due to the lack of available
52 documentation.
53 iso9660
55 is a CD-ROM filesystem type conforming to the ISO 9660 standard.
56 High Sierra
58 Linux supports High Sierra, the precursor to the ISO 9660
59 standard for CD-ROM filesystems. It is automatically
60 recognized within the iso9660 filesystem support under
61 Linux.
62 Rock Ridge
64 Linux also supports the System Use Sharing Protocol
65 records specified by the Rock Ridge Interchange Protocol.
66 They are used to further describe the files in the
67 iso9660 filesystem to a UNIX host, and provide
68 information such as long filenames, UID/GID, POSIX
69 permissions, and devices. It is automatically recognized
70 within the iso9660 filesystem support under Linux.
71 JFS is a journaling filesystem, developed by IBM, that was
73 integrated into Linux 2.4.24.
74 minix is the filesystem used in the Minix operating system, the first
76 to run under Linux. It has a number of shortcomings, including
77 a 64 MB partition size limit, short filenames, and a single
78 timestamp. It remains useful for floppies and RAM disks.
79 msdos is the filesystem used by DOS, Windows, and some OS/2 computers.
81 msdos filenames can be no longer than 8 characters, followed by
82 an optional period and 3 character extension.
83 ncpfs is a network filesystem that supports the NCP protocol, used by
85 Novell NetWare. It was removed from the kernel in Linux 4.17.
86 To use ncpfs, you need special programs, which can be found at
88 ⟨ftp://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/linux/misc/ncpfs⟩.
89 nfs is the network filesystem used to access disks located on remote
91 computers.
92 ntfs is the filesystem native to Microsoft Windows NT, supporting
94 features like ACLs, journaling, encryption, and so on.
95 proc is a pseudo filesystem which is used as an interface to kernel
97 data structures rather than reading and interpreting /dev/kmem.
98 In particular, its files do not take disk space. See proc(5).
99 Reiserfs
101 is a journaling filesystem, designed by Hans Reiser, that was
102 integrated into Linux 2.4.1.
103 smb is a network filesystem that supports the SMB protocol, used by
105 Windows. See ⟨https://www.samba.org/samba/smbfs/⟩.
106 sysv is an implementation of the System V/Coherent filesystem for
108 Linux. It implements all of Xenix FS, System V/386 FS, and Co‐
109 herent FS.
110 umsdos is an extended DOS filesystem used by Linux. It adds capability
112 for long filenames, UID/GID, POSIX permissions, and special
113 files (devices, named pipes, etc.) under the DOS filesystem,
114 without sacrificing compatibility with DOS.
115 tmpfs is a filesystem whose contents reside in virtual memory. Since
117 the files on such filesystems typically reside in RAM, file ac‐
118 cess is extremely fast. See tmpfs(5).
119 vfat is an extended FAT filesystem used by Microsoft Windows95 and
121 Windows NT. vfat adds the capability to use long filenames un‐
122 der the MSDOS filesystem.
123 XFS is a journaling filesystem, developed by SGI, that was inte‐
125 grated into Linux 2.4.20.
126 xiafs was designed and implemented to be a stable, safe filesystem by
128 extending the Minix filesystem code. It provides the basic most
129 requested features without undue complexity. The xiafs filesys‐
130 tem is no longer actively developed or maintained. It was re‐
131 moved from the kernel in Linux 2.1.21.
132
134 fuse(4), btrfs(5), ext2(5), ext3(5), ext4(5), nfs(5), proc(5),
135 sysfs(5), tmpfs(5), xfs(5), fsck(8), mkfs(8), mount(8)
136Linux man-pages 6.05 2023-04-10 filesystems(5)