1FILESYSTEMS(5) Linux Programmer's 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 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31 been completely superseded by the second version of the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).
34 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).
39 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).
42 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).
47 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.
51 iso9660 is a CD-ROM filesystem type conforming to the ISO 9660
53 standard.
54 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.
60 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.
70 JFS is a journaling filesystem, developed by IBM, that was
72 integrated into Linux in kernel 2.4.24.
73 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.
79 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.
84 ncpfs is a network filesystem that supports the NCP protocol, used
86 by Novell NetWare. It was was removed from the kernel in
87 4.17.
88 To use ncpfs, you need special programs, which can be found
90 at ⟨ftp://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/linux/misc/ncpfs⟩.
91 nfs is the network filesystem used to access disks located on re‐
93 mote computers.
94 ntfs is the filesystem native to Microsoft Windows NT, supporting
96 features like ACLs, journaling, encryption, and so on.
97 proc is a pseudo filesystem which is used as an interface to ker‐
99 nel data structures rather than reading and interpreting
100 /dev/kmem. In particular, its files do not take disk space.
101 See proc(5).
102 Reiserfs is a journaling filesystem, designed by Hans Reiser, that was
104 integrated into Linux in kernel 2.4.1.
105 smb is a network filesystem that supports the SMB protocol, used
107 by Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT, and Lan Manager. See
108 ⟨https://www.samba.org/samba/smbfs/⟩.
109 sysv is an implementation of the System V/Coherent filesystem for
111 Linux. It implements all of Xenix FS, System V/386 FS, and
112 Coherent FS.
113 umsdos is an extended DOS filesystem used by Linux. It adds capa‐
115 bility for long filenames, UID/GID, POSIX permissions, and
116 special files (devices, named pipes, etc.) under the DOS
117 filesystem, without sacrificing compatibility with DOS.
118 tmpfs is a filesystem whose contents reside in virtual memory.
120 Since the files on such filesystems typically reside in RAM,
121 file access is extremely fast. See tmpfs(5).
122 vfat is an extended FAT filesystem used by Microsoft Windows95 and
124 Windows NT. vfat adds the capability to use long filenames
125 under the MSDOS filesystem.
126 XFS is a journaling filesystem, developed by SGI, that was inte‐
128 grated into Linux in kernel 2.4.20.
129 xiafs was designed and implemented to be a stable, safe filesystem
131 by extending the Minix filesystem code. It provides the ba‐
132 sic most requested features without undue complexity. The
133 xiafs filesystem is no longer actively developed or main‐
134 tained. It was removed from the kernel in 2.1.21.
135
137 fuse(4), btrfs(5), ext2(5), ext3(5), ext4(5), nfs(5), proc(5),
138 sysfs(5), tmpfs(5), xfs(5), fsck(8), mkfs(8), mount(8)
139
141 This page is part of release 5.10 of the Linux man-pages project. A
142 description of the project, information about reporting bugs, and the
143 latest version of this page, can be found at
144 https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.
145Linux 2020-12-21 FILESYSTEMS(5)