filesystems(5) — Linux manual page

NAME | DESCRIPTION | SEE ALSO

filesystems(5)             File Formats Manual            filesystems(5)

NAME         top

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

DESCRIPTION         top

       When, as is customary, the proc filesystem is mounted on /proc,
       you can find in the file /proc/filesystems which filesystems your
       kernel currently supports; see proc(5) for more details.  There
       is also a legacy sysfs(2) system call (whose availability is
       controlled by the CONFIG_SYSFS_SYSCALL kernel build configuration
       option since Linux 3.15) that enables enumeration of the
       currently available filesystem types regardless of /proc
       availability and/or sanity.

       If you need a currently unsupported filesystem, insert the
       corresponding kernel module or recompile the kernel.

       In order to use a filesystem, you have to mount it; see mount(2)
       and mount(8).

       The following list provides a short description of the available
       or historically available filesystems in the Linux kernel.  See
       the kernel documentation for a comprehensive description of all
       options and limitations.

       erofs  is the Enhanced Read-Only File System, stable since Linux
              5.4.  See erofs(5).

       ext    is an elaborate extension of the minix filesystem.  It has
              been completely superseded by the second version of the
              extended filesystem (ext2) and has been removed from the
              kernel (in Linux 2.1.21).

       ext2   is a disk filesystem that was used by Linux for fixed
              disks as well as removable media.  The second extended
              filesystem was designed as an extension of the extended
              filesystem (ext).  See ext2(5).

       ext3   is a journaling version of the ext2 filesystem.  It is
              easy to switch back and forth between ext2 and ext3.  See
              ext3(5).

       ext4   is a set of upgrades to ext3 including substantial
              performance and reliability enhancements, plus large
              increases in volume, file, and directory size limits.  See
              ext4(5).

       hpfs   is the High Performance Filesystem, used in OS/2.  This
              filesystem is read-only under Linux due to the lack of
              available documentation.

       iso9660
              is a CD-ROM filesystem type conforming to the ISO 9660
              standard.

              High Sierra
                     Linux supports High Sierra, the precursor to the
                     ISO 9660 standard for CD-ROM filesystems.  It is
                     automatically recognized within the iso9660
                     filesystem support under Linux.

              Rock Ridge
                     Linux also supports the System Use Sharing Protocol
                     records specified by the Rock Ridge Interchange
                     Protocol.  They are used to further describe the
                     files in the iso9660 filesystem to a UNIX host, and
                     provide information such as long filenames,
                     UID/GID, POSIX permissions, and devices.  It is
                     automatically recognized within the iso9660
                     filesystem support under Linux.

       JFS    is a journaling filesystem, developed by IBM, that was
              integrated into Linux 2.4.24.

       minix  is the filesystem used in the Minix operating system, the
              first to run under Linux.  It has a number of
              shortcomings, including a 64 MB partition size limit,
              short filenames, and a single timestamp.  It remains
              useful for floppies and RAM disks.

       msdos  is the filesystem used by DOS, Windows, and some OS/2
              computers.  msdos filenames can be no longer than 8
              characters, followed by an optional period and 3 character
              extension.

       ncpfs  is a network filesystem that supports the NCP protocol,
              used by Novell NetWare.  It was removed from the kernel in
              Linux 4.17.

              To use ncpfs, you need special programs, which can be
              found at ⟨ftp://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/linux/misc/ncpfs⟩.

       nfs    is the network filesystem used to access disks located on
              remote computers.

       ntfs   is the filesystem native to Microsoft Windows NT,
              supporting features like ACLs, journaling, encryption, and
              so on.

       proc   is a pseudo filesystem which is used as an interface to
              kernel data structures rather than reading and
              interpreting /dev/kmem.  In particular, its files do not
              take disk space.  See proc(5).

       Reiserfs
              is a journaling filesystem, designed by Hans Reiser, that
              was integrated into Linux 2.4.1.

       smb    is a network filesystem that supports the SMB protocol,
              used by Windows.  See 
              ⟨https://www.samba.org/samba/smbfs/⟩.

       sysv   is an implementation of the System V/Coherent filesystem
              for Linux.  It implements all of Xenix FS, System V/386
              FS, and Coherent FS.

       umsdos is an extended DOS filesystem used by Linux.  It adds
              capability for long filenames, UID/GID, POSIX permissions,
              and special files (devices, named pipes, etc.) under the
              DOS filesystem, without sacrificing compatibility with
              DOS.

       tmpfs  is a filesystem whose contents reside in virtual memory.
              Since the files on such filesystems typically reside in
              RAM, file access is extremely fast.  See tmpfs(5).

       vfat   is an extended FAT filesystem used by Microsoft Windows95
              and Windows NT.  vfat adds the capability to use long
              filenames under the MSDOS filesystem.

       XFS    is a journaling filesystem, developed by SGI, that was
              integrated into Linux 2.4.20.

       xiafs  was designed and implemented to be a stable, safe
              filesystem by extending the Minix filesystem code.  It
              provides the basic most requested features without undue
              complexity.  The xiafs filesystem is no longer actively
              developed or maintained.  It was removed from the kernel
              in Linux 2.1.21.

SEE ALSO         top

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

Linux man-pages (unreleased)     (date)                   filesystems(5)

Pages that refer to this page: fstab(5)proc(5)mkfs(8)mount(8)