Mount a File System on Linux
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Mounting or unmounting a file system on Linux is usually straightforward, except when it isn’t. This article teaches you how to mount and unmount file systems, as well as list available and currently mounted file systems. It also explains how to handle the case where file systems won’t unmount because they are in use.
Before You Begin
If you have not already done so, create a Linode account and Compute Instance. See our Getting Started with Linode and Creating a Compute Instance guides.
Follow our Setting Up and Securing a Compute Instance guide to update your system. You may also wish to set the timezone, configure your hostname, create a limited user account, and harden SSH access.
root or with the sudo prefix. For more information on privileges, see our
Linux Users and Groups guide.File Systems Available for Linux
On a Linux system, you can list the currently available file system types from the command line with:
cat /proc/filesystemsThe result looks something like this list, which is from an Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Linode:
nodev sysfs nodev tmpfs nodev bdev nodev proc nodev cgroup nodev cgroup2 nodev cpuset nodev devtmpfs nodev configfs nodev debugfs nodev tracefs nodev securityfs nodev sockfs nodev bpf nodev pipefs nodev ramfs nodev hugetlbfs nodev devpts ext3 ext2 ext4 squashfs vfat nodev ecryptfs fuseblk nodev fuse nodev fusectl nodev mqueue nodev pstore nambtrfs nodev autofsYou can also list the documented file systems using
man filesystems.FILESYSTEMS(5) Linux Programmer's Manual FILESYSTEMS(5) NAME 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 When, as is customary, the proc filesystem is mounted on /proc, you can find in the file /proc/filesystems which filesystems…Later on in the man page, there is a short summary of each file system. It includes notes about when each was added to, and possibly removed from, the Linux kernel. For example, the minix file system was superseded by ext. It in turn was superseded by ext2. ext3 adds journaling to ext2. ext4 is a set of upgrades to ext3 including substantial performance and reliability enhancements, plus large increases in volume, file, and directory size limits.
Press Q to exit
man filesystems.
How to List Currently Mounted File Systems on Linux
You can list the currently mounted file systems from a Linux command line with a simple
mountcommand.mountThe following is on an Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Linode, logged in as
root:sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime) proc on /proc type proc (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime) udev on /dev type devtmpfs (rw,nosuid,relatime,size=441300k,nr_inodes=110325,mode=755,inode64) devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,nosuid,noexec,relatime,gid=5,mode=620,ptmxmode=000) tmpfs on /run type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,size=99448k,mode=755,inode64) /dev/sda on / type ext4 (rw,relatime,errors=remount-ro) securityfs on /sys/kernel/security type securityfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime) tmpfs on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,inode64) tmpfs on /run/lock type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,size=5120k,inode64) cgroup2 on /sys/fs/cgroup type cgroup2 (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,nsdelegate,memory_recursiveprot) pstore on /sys/fs/pstore type pstore (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime) bpf on /sys/fs/bpf type bpf (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,mode=700) systemd-1 on /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc type autofs (rw,relatime,fd=29,pgrp=1,timeout=0,minproto=5,maxproto=5,direct,pipe_ino=18031) hugetlbfs on /dev/hugepages type hugetlbfs (rw,relatime,pagesize=2M) mqueue on /dev/mqueue type mqueue (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime) debugfs on /sys/kernel/debug type debugfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime) tracefs on /sys/kernel/tracing type tracefs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime) fusectl on /sys/fs/fuse/connections type fusectl (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime) configfs on /sys/kernel/config type configfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime) none on /run/credentials/systemd-sysusers.service type ramfs (ro,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,mode=700) tmpfs on /run/user/0 type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,size=99444k,nr_inodes=24861,mode=700,inode64)You can list the static file system information by displaying
/etc/fstab.cat /etc/fstabThe two static file systems for this instance are the root disk and the swap disk:
# /etc/fstab: static file system information. # # Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a # device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices # that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5). # # <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass> /dev/sda / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1 /dev/sdb none swap sw 0 0You can also list and search for file systems using the
findmntcommand.findmntThe basic output shows the file system tree:
TARGET SOURCE FSTYPE OPTIONS / /dev/sda ext4 rw,relatime,errors=remount-ro ├─/sys sysfs sysfs rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime │ ├─/sys/kernel/security securityfs securityfs rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime │ ├─/sys/fs/cgroup cgroup2 cgroup2 rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,nsdelegate,memory_recursiveprot │ ├─/sys/fs/pstore pstore pstore rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime │ ├─/sys/fs/bpf bpf bpf rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,mode=700 │ ├─/sys/kernel/debug debugfs debugfs rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime │ ├─/sys/kernel/tracing tracefs tracefs rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime │ ├─/sys/fs/fuse/connections fusectl fusectl rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime │ └─/sys/kernel/config configfs configfs rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime ├─/proc proc proc rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime │ └─/proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc systemd-1 autofs rw,relatime,fd=29,pgrp=1,timeout=0,minproto=5,maxproto=5,direct,pipe_ino=18031 ├─/dev udev devtmpfs rw,nosuid,relatime,size=441300k,nr_inodes=110325,mode=755,inode64 │ ├─/dev/pts devpts devpts rw,nosuid,noexec,relatime,gid=5,mode=620,ptmxmode=000 │ ├─/dev/shm tmpfs tmpfs rw,nosuid,nodev,inode64 │ ├─/dev/hugepages hugetlbfs hugetlbfs rw,relatime,pagesize=2M │ └─/dev/mqueue mqueue mqueue rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime └─/run tmpfs tmpfs rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,size=99448k,mode=755,inode64 ├─/run/lock tmpfs tmpfs rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,size=5120k,inode64 ├─/run/credentials/systemd-sysusers.service │ none ramfs ro,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,mode=700 └─/run/user/0 tmpfs tmpfs rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,size=99444k,nr_inodes=24861,mode=700,inode64You can restrict the output various ways, as described in
man findmnt, to show only specific devices, mount points, or file system types, such as:findmnt -t ext4This lists only
ext4file systems:TARGET SOURCE FSTYPE OPTIONS / /dev/sda ext4 rw,relatime,errors=remount-roIf you’re only interested in block devices, you can list them with
lsblkcommand:lsblkOnce again, this only lists our Linode’s root and swap disks.
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS sda 8:0 0 24.5G 0 disk / sdb 8:16 0 512M 0 disk [SWAP]
How to Mount File Systems on Linux
You can mount file systems for a single session using the mount command, and permanently by editing /etc/fstab. Mounting needs to be done by an administrator, either by logging in as root or by using the sudo command. There are some cases where mounting is done automatically, like when you insert a USB flash drive. Here are a few examples using the mount command, plus the preparatory mkdir command to create the mount point.
Mount a Windows Floppy Disk
This command is only necessary if the
/mnt/floppydirectory doesn’t already exist.mkdir /mnt/floppyUse
mountwith the-tflag (short for “type”) to specify MSDOS as the file system.mount -t msdos /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppyThe contents of the floppy disk in
/dev/fd0should now be accessible from/mnt/floppy.
Mount a CD-ROM
Once again, the first command is only necessary if the
/mnt/cdromdirectory doesn’t already exist.mkdir /mnt/cdromAlthough not harmful, specifying
-t iso9660may be unnecessary, as Linux can usually identify the file system type of a CD-ROM automatically.mount -t iso9660 /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdromThe contents of the compact disc in
/dev/cdrom/should now be accessible from/mnt/cdrom.
Mount a Disk Drive Permanently
Open
/etc/fstabwithnanoor another text editor (asrootor usingsudo).sudo nano /etc/fstabAdd a line at the bottom describing the new disk and its mount point. Follow the “device location type options dump pass” format, like so:
/dev/sdc /mnt/disk-drive ext4 defaults 0 0Press Ctrl + X, then Y and Enter to exit and save the file.
Before rebooting your system, issue a
mountcommand and make sure that it succeeds (meaning that it picked up the omitted parameters from/etc/fstab):... /dev/sdc on /mnt/disk-drive type ext4 (rw,relatime) ...
Mount a USB Drive
Most modern distros automatically mount USB drives when you insert them.
If that doesn’t happen, create a mount point if it doesn’t already exist.
mkdir -p /media/usbThis example assumes the USB drive is on
sdd1.mount /dev/sdd1 /media/usbThe contents of the USB drive in
/dev/sdd1should now be accessible from/media/usb.
Mount an ISO File
The example below assumes that the ISO file is in the
/rootdirectory and that you are logged in as root.mkdir /media/isoYou can mount ISO image files using the
loopdevice, specified as an option to themountcommand.mount ~/my_image.iso /media/iso -o loopThe contents of the ISO file in your
rootdirectory should now be accessible from/media/iso.
Mount a Remote File System
The network file system (NFS) supports mounting remote file systems as shares for local access.
If you don’t already have an NFS client, you need to install it using the following commands:
apt install nfs-commonyum install nfs-utilsOnce you have an NFS client installed, you need to create a mount point.
mkdir /media/nfsNow edit
/etc/fstabas discussed above. The new line should look like the following:123.45.67.8:/my_share /media/nfs nfs defaults 0 0Then you can use a partial
mountcommand, which completes from/etc/fstab.mount /media/nfs
Unmounting File Systems
You can unmount a file system using the
umountcommand. Either the device name or the mount point is sufficient to specify what you wish to unmount.umount /media/nfs umount /media/iso umount /media/usb umount /dev/cdrom umount /dev/fd0If the file system is in use, you get an error message indicating that the target is busy. To determine what processes are using the mounted file system, use the
fuser -mcommand, for example:fuser -m /media/usb
You can add the -l (lazy) switch to umount to instruct the system to unmount the device when it’s free. Alternatively, the -f (force) switch makes the system unmount the device right away, at the possible risk of corrupting the file system. The -f switch is primarily intended to unmount unreachable NFS shares.
Conclusion
Mounting a file system on Linux is generally a straightforward two-step process: create a mount point directory, and use the mount command to mount the device at the mount point. Unless the file system is in use, unmounting is even simpler, requiring only the umount command. File system mounting and unmounting requires you to be logged in as root, or use the sudo prefix to temporarily take on root privileges.
More Information
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