Filesystems: Difference between revisions

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Documentation how to use the Alpine distro to format HD/Floppy/Other.
This page documents the Alpine Linux supported filesystems needed for various storage media.  


= Install =
== Overview ==
Alpine has multiple storage media formatting packages available. Different packages/programs are used to format different types of filesystems.
* {{Pkg|btrfs-progs}} - For BTRFS
* {{Pkg|dosfstools}} - For FAT12/FAT16/FAT32
* {{Pkg|e2fsprogs}} - For ext3/ext4
* {{Pkg|f2fs-tools}} - For F2FS
* {{Pkg|jfsutils}} - For JFS
* {{Pkg|ntfs-3g}} - For NTFS (Note: ntfs-3g is a FUSE driver)
* {{Pkg|xfsprogs}} - For XFS


= Format =
The following table lists the packages and tools related to various filesystems available along with the '''command''' to format.
Here are some examples on how to use the formatting tools:
<onlyinclude>
{| class="wikitable" align="center" style="width:100%; border:1px #0771a6 solid; background:#f9f9f9; text-align:left; border-collapse:collapse;"
|-style="background:#333333; color:#ffffff; font-size: 1.2em; text-align:center;"
|width="18%" | Tool
|width="18%"| Filesystem
|width="15%"|Formatting command
|Brief Notes
|-
|{{Pkg|btrfs-progs}}||[[Btrfs]]||mkfs.btrfs||Combines copy-on-write and volume management, similar to ZFS.
|-
|{{Pkg|dosfstools}} ||FAT12/FAT16/FAT32||mkfs.vfat||Widely-used DOS filesystems. Also used for [[UEFI|EFI]] partitions.
|-
|{{Pkg|e2fsprogs}} ||ext2/ext3/ext4||mkfs.ext4||Journaling filesystems. ext4 is the current default on Linux.
|-
|{{Pkg|exfatprogs}} ||exfat||mkfs.exfat||Commonly used on USB flash drives and SD cards.
|-
|{{Pkg|f2fs-tools}} ||[[F2FS]]||mkfs.f2fs||
|-
|{{Pkg|hfsprogs}} ||HFS/HFS+||mkfs.hfsplus||Used in older Apple/Mac products before APFS.
|-
|{{Pkg|jfsutils}} ||JFS||mkfs.jfs||
|-
|{{Pkg|ntfs-3g-progs}} ||NTFS ||mkfs.ntfs||Full-featured, Microsoft/Windows FUSE driver.
|-
|{{Pkg|squashfs-tools}} ||[[SquashFS]]||mksquashfs||Compressed read-only file system.
|-
|{{Pkg|xfsprogs}} ||XFS||mkfs.xfs|| High-performance journaling file system for large storages
|-
|{{Pkg|zfs}} ||[[ZFS]]||-NA-||Advanced copy-on-write filesystem/volume manager
|}</onlyinclude>


{{Note|'''/dev/sda1''' is used as a example}}
== Filesystem tools ==
Each filesystem require different packages/programs to format the partitioned space and the appropriate packages needs to be installed first. The list of filesystem tools and the associated formatting commands are listed [[#Overview|above]].


==== btrfs-progs ====
== Filesystem labels ==  
{{Cmd|# mkfs.btrfs /dev/sda1}}


==== dosfstools ====
Most of the commonly used filesystems store the '''volume label''' or '''filesystem label''' in their metadata/superblock.  
{{Cmd|# mkfs.vfat /dev/sda1}}


==== e2fsprogs ====
Labels can be set during filesystem creation or at a later time. The below table lists the commands for both. The commands are non-destructive as long as the filesystem is '''Unmounted''', except for [[btrfs]].
{{Cmd|# mkfs.ext2 /dev/sda1}}
{{Cmd|# mkfs.ext3 /dev/sda1}}
{{Cmd|# mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda1}}


==== f2fs-tools ====
{| class="wikitable" align="center" style="width:100%; border:1px #0771a6 solid; background:#f9f9f9; text-align:left; border-collapse:collapse;"
|-style="background:#333333; color:#ffffff; font-size: 1.2em; text-align:center;"
|width="8%" | Filesystem
|width="18%"| Tool
|width="25%"| Filesystem creation
|width="35%"| Existing filesystem
|Mounted/Unmounted
|-
|[[btrfs]]||{{Pkg|btrfs-progs}}||mkfs.btrfs -L "label" /dev/sdXY||btrfs filesystem label /mount/point "newlabel"||Mounted
|-
|FAT32||{{Pkg|dosfstools}} ||mkfs.fat -n "LABEL" /dev/sdXY ||fatlabel /dev/sdXY "NEWLABEL"||Unmounted
|-
|ext4||{{Pkg|e2fsprogs-extra}} ||mkfs.ext4 -L "label" /dev/sdXY||tune2fs -L "newlabel" /dev/sdXY||Unmounted
|-
|NTFS ||{{Pkg|ntfs-3g-progs}} ||mkfs.ntfs -L "label" /dev/sdXY||ntfslabel /dev/sdXY "newlabel"||Unmounted
|-
|XFS||{{Pkg|xfsprogs}} ||mkfs.xfs -L "label" /dev/sdXY||xfs_admin -L "newlabel" /dev/sdXY||Unmounted
|}


{{Cmd|# mkfs.f2fs /dev/sda1}}
== See also ==


= Partitions =
* [[Setting_up_disks_manually#Manual_partitioning|Manual partitioning]]
If you need to change or make a partition table on a Hard Drive you want to format, you can use:
* [https://www.nico.schottelius.org/blog/2024-10-10-how-to-enable-encrypted-swap-in-alpine-linux/ How to enable encrypted swap in Alpine Linux]
 
==== fdisk ====
{{Cmd|# fdisk /dev/sda}}
 
==== cfdisk ====
{{Cmd|# cfdisk /dev/sda}}


[[Category:Storage]]
[[Category:Storage]]
[[Category:Installation]]
[[Category:Filesystems]]

Latest revision as of 03:03, 14 April 2026

This page documents the Alpine Linux supported filesystems needed for various storage media.

Overview

The following table lists the packages and tools related to various filesystems available along with the command to format.

Tool Filesystem Formatting command Brief Notes
btrfs-progs Btrfs mkfs.btrfs Combines copy-on-write and volume management, similar to ZFS.
dosfstools FAT12/FAT16/FAT32 mkfs.vfat Widely-used DOS filesystems. Also used for EFI partitions.
e2fsprogs ext2/ext3/ext4 mkfs.ext4 Journaling filesystems. ext4 is the current default on Linux.
exfatprogs exfat mkfs.exfat Commonly used on USB flash drives and SD cards.
f2fs-tools F2FS mkfs.f2fs
hfsprogs HFS/HFS+ mkfs.hfsplus Used in older Apple/Mac products before APFS.
jfsutils JFS mkfs.jfs
ntfs-3g-progs NTFS mkfs.ntfs Full-featured, Microsoft/Windows FUSE driver.
squashfs-tools SquashFS mksquashfs Compressed read-only file system.
xfsprogs XFS mkfs.xfs High-performance journaling file system for large storages
zfs ZFS -NA- Advanced copy-on-write filesystem/volume manager

Filesystem tools

Each filesystem require different packages/programs to format the partitioned space and the appropriate packages needs to be installed first. The list of filesystem tools and the associated formatting commands are listed above.

Filesystem labels

Most of the commonly used filesystems store the volume label or filesystem label in their metadata/superblock.

Labels can be set during filesystem creation or at a later time. The below table lists the commands for both. The commands are non-destructive as long as the filesystem is Unmounted, except for btrfs.

Filesystem Tool Filesystem creation Existing filesystem Mounted/Unmounted
btrfs btrfs-progs mkfs.btrfs -L "label" /dev/sdXY btrfs filesystem label /mount/point "newlabel" Mounted
FAT32 dosfstools mkfs.fat -n "LABEL" /dev/sdXY fatlabel /dev/sdXY "NEWLABEL" Unmounted
ext4 e2fsprogs-extra mkfs.ext4 -L "label" /dev/sdXY tune2fs -L "newlabel" /dev/sdXY Unmounted
NTFS ntfs-3g-progs mkfs.ntfs -L "label" /dev/sdXY ntfslabel /dev/sdXY "newlabel" Unmounted
XFS xfsprogs mkfs.xfs -L "label" /dev/sdXY xfs_admin -L "newlabel" /dev/sdXY Unmounted

See also

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