1FILESYSTEMS(5) Linux Programmer's Manual FILESYSTEMS(5)
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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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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. If you need a
14 currently unsupported filesystem, insert the corresponding module or
15 recompile the kernel.
16 In order to use a filesystem, you have to mount it; see mount(8).
18 Below a short description of the available or historically available
20 filesystems in the Linux kernel. See kernel documentation for a
21 comprehensive description of all options and limitations.
22 ext is an elaborate extension of the minix filesystem. It has
24 been completely superseded by the second version of the
25 extended filesystem (ext2) and has been removed from the
26 kernel (in 2.1.21).
27 ext2 is the high performance disk filesystem used by Linux for
29 fixed disks as well as removable media. The second extended
30 filesystem was designed as an extension of the extended
31 filesystem (ext). See ext2(5).
32 ext3 is a journaling version of the ext2 filesystem. It is easy
34 to switch back and forth between ext2 and ext3. See ext3(5).
35 ext4 is a set of upgrades to ext3 including substantial
37 performance and reliability enhancements, plus large
38 increases in volume, file, and directory size limits. See
39 ext4(5).
40 hpfs is the High Performance Filesystem, used in OS/2. This
42 filesystem is read-only under Linux due to the lack of
43 available documentation.
44 iso9660 is a CD-ROM filesystem type conforming to the ISO 9660
46 standard.
47 High Sierra
49 Linux supports High Sierra, the precursor to the ISO
50 9660 standard for CD-ROM filesystems. It is
51 automatically recognized within the iso9660 filesystem
52 support under Linux.
53 Rock Ridge
55 Linux also supports the System Use Sharing Protocol
56 records specified by the Rock Ridge Interchange
57 Protocol. They are used to further describe the files
58 in the iso9660 filesystem to a UNIX host, and provide
59 information such as long filenames, UID/GID, POSIX
60 permissions, and devices. It is automatically
61 recognized within the iso9660 filesystem support under
62 Linux.
63 JFS is a journaling filesystem, developed by IBM, that was
65 integrated into Linux in kernel 2.4.24.
66 minix is the filesystem used in the Minix operating system, the
68 first to run under Linux. It has a number of shortcomings,
69 including a 64 MB partition size limit, short filenames, and
70 a single timestamp. It remains useful for floppies and RAM
71 disks.
72 msdos is the filesystem used by DOS, Windows, and some OS/2
74 computers. msdos filenames can be no longer than 8
75 characters, followed by an optional period and 3 character
76 extension.
77 ncpfs is a network filesystem that supports the NCP protocol, used
79 by Novell NetWare.
80 To use ncpfs, you need special programs, which can be found
82 at ⟨ftp://linux01.gwdg.de/pub/ncpfs⟩.
83 nfs is the network filesystem used to access disks located on
85 remote computers.
86 ntfs replaces Microsoft Window's FAT filesystems (VFAT, FAT32).
88 It has reliability, performance, and space-utilization
89 enhancements plus features like ACLs, journaling, encryption,
90 and so on.
91 proc is a pseudo filesystem which is used as an interface to ker‐
93 nel data structures rather than reading and interpreting
94 /dev/kmem. In particular, its files do not take disk space.
95 See proc(5).
96 Reiserfs is a journaling filesystem, designed by Hans Reiser, that was
98 integrated into Linux in kernel 2.4.1.
99 smb is a network filesystem that supports the SMB protocol, used
101 by Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT, and Lan Manager. See
102 ⟨https://www.samba.org/samba/smbfs/⟩.
103 sysv is an implementation of the SystemV/Coherent filesystem for
105 Linux. It implements all of Xenix FS, SystemV/386 FS, and
106 Coherent FS.
107 umsdos is an extended DOS filesystem used by Linux. It adds capa‐
109 bility for long filenames, UID/GID, POSIX permissions, and
110 special files (devices, named pipes, etc.) under the DOS
111 filesystem, without sacrificing compatibility with DOS.
112 tmpfs is a filesystem whose contents reside in virtual memory.
114 Since the files on such filesystems typically reside in RAM,
115 file access is extremely fast. See tmpfs(5).
116 vfat is an extended FAT filesystem used by Microsoft Windows95 and
118 Windows NT. vfat adds the capability to use long filenames
119 under the MSDOS filesystem.
120 XFS is a journaling filesystem, developed by SGI, that was inte‐
122 grated into Linux in kernel 2.4.20.
123 xiafs was designed and implemented to be a stable, safe filesystem
125 by extending the Minix filesystem code. It provides the
126 basic most requested features without undue complexity. The
127 xiafs filesystem is no longer actively developed or main‐
128 tained. It was removed from the kernel in 2.1.21.
129
131 fuse(4), btrfs(5), ext2(5), ext3(5), ext4(5), nfs(5), proc(5),
132 tmpfs(5), fsck(8), mkfs(8), mount(8)
133
135 This page is part of release 4.16 of the Linux man-pages project. A
136 description of the project, information about reporting bugs, and the
137 latest version of this page, can be found at
138 https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.
139Linux 2018-04-30 FILESYSTEMS(5)