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31                 been  completely  superseded  by  the  second  version of the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.  It was removed from the kernel in 4.17.
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88                 To use ncpfs, you need special programs, which can  be  found
89                 at ⟨ftp://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/linux/misc/ncpfs⟩.
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91       nfs       is the network filesystem used to access disks located on re‐
92                 mote computers.
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94       ntfs      is the filesystem native to Microsoft Windows NT,  supporting
95                 features like ACLs, journaling, encryption, and so on.
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97       proc      is  a pseudo filesystem which is used as an interface to ker‐
98                 nel data structures  rather  than  reading  and  interpreting
99                 /dev/kmem.   In particular, its files do not take disk space.
100                 See proc(5).
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102       Reiserfs  is a journaling filesystem, designed by Hans Reiser, that was
103                 integrated into Linux in kernel 2.4.1.
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105       smb       is  a network filesystem that supports the SMB protocol, used
106                 by Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT, and Lan Manager.   See
107https://www.samba.org/samba/smbfs/⟩.
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109       sysv      is  an implementation of the System V/Coherent filesystem for
110                 Linux.  It implements all of Xenix FS, System V/386  FS,  and
111                 Coherent FS.
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113       umsdos    is  an  extended DOS filesystem used by Linux.  It adds capa‐
114                 bility for long filenames, UID/GID,  POSIX  permissions,  and
115                 special  files  (devices,  named  pipes,  etc.) under the DOS
116                 filesystem, without sacrificing compatibility with DOS.
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118       tmpfs     is a filesystem whose  contents  reside  in  virtual  memory.
119                 Since  the files on such filesystems typically reside in RAM,
120                 file access is extremely fast.  See tmpfs(5).
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122       vfat      is an extended FAT filesystem used by Microsoft Windows95 and
123                 Windows  NT.   vfat adds the capability to use long filenames
124                 under the MSDOS filesystem.
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126       XFS       is a journaling filesystem, developed by SGI, that was  inte‐
127                 grated into Linux in kernel 2.4.20.
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129       xiafs     was  designed and implemented to be a stable, safe filesystem
130                 by extending the Minix filesystem code.  It provides the  ba‐
131                 sic  most  requested  features without undue complexity.  The
132                 xiafs filesystem is no longer  actively  developed  or  main‐
133                 tained.  It was removed from the kernel in 2.1.21.
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SEE ALSO

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

140       This page is part of release 5.12 of the Linux  man-pages  project.   A
141       description  of  the project, information about reporting bugs, and the
142       latest    version    of    this    page,    can     be     found     at
143       https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.
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147Linux                             2020-12-21                    FILESYSTEMS(5)
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