Computing » Filesystem interoperability
Note: this list does not mentio
Also, this is by no means an exhaustive list, so please do contact me if you have any update suggestions.
Sources:
- Links found on Wikipedia’s List of file systems page
- Arch Wiki: File systems
- NetBSD 9.2 manpages:
fstab(5)
- HP/UX 11.22 manpages:
fstab(4)
- IRIX 6.5.30 manpages:
filesystems(4)
- NeXTStep 3.3 manpages:
mount(8)
- ULTRIX 4.2 manpages:
mount(8)
- RISC OS Open: Hardware Support
- Haiku discussion: Best File System for Multi Boot
- ReactOS Wiki: File Systems FAQ
- Archive Team file formats wiki: Filesystem
ADFS / Advanced Disc Filing System
Acorn’s successor to DFS. Also known as Filecore.
- RISC OS: primary filesystem.
- Linux: native support.
- NetBSD: native support.
AdvFS / Advanced File System
Highly reliable filesystem originally for Digital/Tru64 UNIX.
- Digital/Tru64 UNIX: primary filesystem.
Can likely be accessed via emulators and common-denominator filesystems; needs research/testing.
APFS / Apple File System
Apple’s proprietary “next-generation” filesystem to superseed HFS+.
- macOS: primary filesystem since 10.13 High Sierra; native support since 10.12 Sierra.
- Linux: kernel module support.
Easily accessible on Windows/Linux/*BSD/etc. by common means of file transfer, e.g. a FAT32 flash drive or e-Mail.
Apple DOS 3.𝑥 filesystem
Floppy disk format for DOS on the Apple II.
- Apple DOS 3.𝑥: primary filesystem.
- Windows/Linux/*BSD/macOS: accessible via DiskM8.
AFS / AtheOS File System
Journalling filesystem for the obscure AtheOS, Syllable and Wave OS.
- AtheOS: primary filesystem.
- Syllable: primary filesystem.
- Wave OS: primary filesystem.
Can likely be accessed via emulators and common-denominator filesystems; needs research/testing.
BFS / Boot File System
Simple filesystem that contained files necessary for booting some old UNIX OSes.
- System V, Version 4.0: secondary filesystem.
- UnixWare: secondary filesystem.
- Linux: native support.
BFS/BeFS / Be File System
BeOS and Haiku’s native filesystem.
- BeOS: primary filesystem.
- Haiku: primary filesystem.
- Linux: native support.
- SkyOS: native support.
- Syllable: native support.
BFS / Byte File System
IBM’s filesystem for Unix applications on z/VM.
- z/VM: co-primary filesystem.
Can likely be accessed via emulators and common-denominator filesystems; needs research.
Btrfs / B-tree file system
Increasingly popular scalable filesystem.
- Linux: native support; de facto co-primary filesystem.
- ReactOS: native support.
CBMFS
Commodore floppy disk drive OS’ native filesystem.
- CBM DOS: native filesystem.
- Windows/Linux/*BSD: accessible via VICE.
CDFS / Compact Disc File System
Predecessor to ISO 9660, developed by Simson Garfinkel and J. Spencer Love.
Only known by name; needs research.
CP/M filesystem
Disk format for the original CP/M.
- CP/M: primary filesystem.
- Linux/*BSD: accessible via Cpmtools.
DFS (Acorn) / Disc Filing System
A somewhat simple filesystem notorious for its differing implementations. Superseded by ADFS.
- Acorn MOS: primary filesystem.
DFS (IBM)
Only known by name; needs research.
EROFS / Enhanced Read-only File System
Lightweight read-only filesystem.
- Linux: native support since 5.4.
EFS / Extent File System
Pioneering extent-based filesystem, superseded by XFS.
- IRIX: primary filesystem until v5.3.
- Linux: native support since 2.4.20.
- NetBSD: native support.
exFAT / Extensible File Allocation Table
Microsoft’s flash-friendly replacement for FAT32.
- Windows: native support since Windows XP SP2.
- Linux: native support since 5.4.
- macOS: native support since 10.6.5.
ext / Extended file system
Original filesystem for Linux, replacing the MINIX filesystem. Quickly superseded by ext2, though often used on Linux floppies.
- Linux: native support.
ext2 / Second extended file system
Successor to ext. Still somewhat in use for removable media, though eventually superseded by ext3.
- Linux: native support.
- NetBSD: native support.
- OpenBSD: native support.
- Windows: support via Ext3Fsd.
ext3 / Third extended file system
Successor to ext2, adding journalling. Somewhat quickly superseded by ext4.
- Linux: native support.
- Windows: support via Ext3Fsd.
ext3cow / Third extended file system with copy-on-write
Copy-on-write-enabled version of ext3.
- Linux: native support.
ext4 / Fourth extended file system
Successor to ext3, improving performance and limitations. Can be journalled or journalless.
- Linux: native support; current de facto primary filesystem.
- Windows: support via Ext3Fsd.
FAT / File Allocation Table
Original 8-bit structure for Microsoft’s various BASIC disks.
- NCR Basic 6+: primary filesystem.
Might be accessible by later versions of FAT; needs research/testing.
FAT12 / 12-bit File Allocation Table
Essentially a noncompatible rewrite of 8-bit FAT, designed to be more compatible with CP/M’s standards. Common on most all floppy disks, though otherwise superseded by the backwards-compatible FAT16B for most purposes.
- PC-DOS: primary filesystem until v3.0.
- MS-DOS: primary filesystem until v3.0.
- Windows: native support.
- FreeBSD: native support.
- OpenBSD: native support.
- NetBSD: native support.
- NeXTStep: native support.
- OS/2: native support.
- eComStation: native support.
- ArcaOS: native support.
- RISC OS: native support.
- ReactOS: native support.
Possibly accessible by later versions of FAT on Linux/BSD/etc.; needs research/testing.
FAT16 / 16-bit File Allocation Table
Backwards-compatible successor to 12-bit FAT. Note that when most people mention FAT16, they’re likely talking about its quick successor, FAT16B.
- MS-DOS: primary filesystem between v3.0 and v4.0.
- PC-DOS: primary filesystem between v3.0 and IBM DOS v4.0.
- Windows: native support since Windows 3.1.
- OS/2: native support.
- eComStation: native support.
- ArcaOS: native support.
- ReactOS: native support.
FAT16B / 16-bit File Allocation Table, version B
An expansion to the original FAT16 with 32-bit sector counts, allowing usage of larger disks. When most people mention FAT16, they actually mean FAT16B. Superseded by the backwards-compatible FAT32 for most purposes.
- MS-DOS: primary filesystem between v4.0 and Win98’s v7.1.
- IBM DOS: primary filesystem since v4.0.
- OS/2: primary filesystem until v1.2.
- DR DOS: primary filesystem between v3.31 and v7.03.
- Windows 9𝑥: primary filesystem between Windows 3.1 and Windows 98; native support since Windows 95.
- Windows NT: native support.
- FreeBSD: native support.
- NetBSD: native support.
- OpenBSD: native support.
- NeXTStep: native support.
- RISC OS: native support.
- OS/2: native support.
- eComStation: native support.
- ArcaOS: native support.
- ReactOS: native support.
Possibly accessible by later versions of FAT on Linux/BSD/etc.; needs research/testing.
FAT32 / 32-bit File Allocation Table
Backwards-compatible successor to FAT16B with support for much larger disks. Still commonly used on removable media and as a common-denominator filesystem.
- MS-DOS: primary filesystem since Win98 SE’s v7.1.
- Windows 9𝑥: native support since Windows 95; primary filesystem since Windows 98 SE.
- Windows NT: native support since Windows 2000.
- Linux: native support.
- FreeBSD: native support.
- NetBSD: native support.
- OpenBSD: native support.
- NeXTStep: native support.
- macOS: native support.
- RISC OS: native support.
- OS/2: native support.
- eComStation: native support.
- Haiku: native support.
- ArcaOS: native support.
- DR-DOS: support via DRFAT32.
FFS/AFFS / Amiga Fast File System
Amiga’s HDD-friendly replacement for OFS.
- AmigaOS: primary filesystem since DOS/1.
- Linux: native support.
Files-11
OpenVMS filesystem. Also known as ODS, for whatever reason.
- OpenVMS: primary filesystem.
- RSX-11: primary filesystem in some versions.
HAMMER
High-availability filesystem originally for DragonFly BSD. Superseded by the backwards-compatible HAMMER2.
- DragonFly BSD: native support; primary filesystem between v2.0 and v5.2.
HAMMER2
Successor to HAMMER with enhanced clustering.
- DragonFly BSD: primary filesystem since v5.2.
HFS / Hierarchal File System (IBM)
Not to be confused with Apple’s HFS.
- IBM MVS/ESA: primary filesystem.
- HP/UX: native support.
- IRIX: native support.
- z/OS: native support; primary filesystem until v2.5.
HFS / Hierarchal File System (Apple)
Successor to MFS to support hard disks.
- Classic Mac OS: native support since Mac OS 8.1; primary filesystem between System 2.1 and Mac OS 8.1.
- macOS: native support until 10.15 Catalina.
- NeXTStep: native support.
HFS+ / Hierarchal File System Plus
Successor to HFS, with better support for larger files. Superseded by APFS.
- Classic Mac OS: primary filesystem since Mac OS 8.1.
- macOS: primary filesystem until 10.12 Sierra.
- Linux: native support.
- Windows: driver support between Windows XP and 7 when using Boot Camp in OS X 10.6.
HPFS / High Performance File System
OS/2’s much-improved replacement of the FAT filesystem.
- OS/2: primary filesystem since v1.2.
- Windows NT: native support until 3.51.
- Linux: native support.
- DragonFly BSD: native support.
- eComStation: native support.
- ArcaOS: native support.
High Throughput File System
Journalling filesystem of SCO OpenServer.
- SCO OpenServer: primary filesystem.
ISO 9660
The ubiquitous CD-ROM filesystem.
This filesystem is so universally understood that I can’t (currently) be bothered to list off every compatible OS. in-progress
- Windows: native support.
- FreeBSD: native support.
- NeXTStep: native support.
- ReactOS: native support.
JFFS / Journalling Flash File System
A popular flash-friendly filesystem.
- Linux: native support since 2.4.10.
JFS / Journaling File System
IBM’s journalling filesystem, first used for AIX.
- IBM AIX: primary filesystem since v3.1.
- OS/2: primary filesystem since OS/2 Warp Server for eBusiness.
- Linux: native support since 2.4.24.
LFS / Log-structured File System
Proof-of-concept added to 4.4BSD.
- 4.4BSD: native support.
- NetBSD: native support since 4.0.
LTFS / Linear Tape File System
Filesystem designed to make tape access behave more like a disk.
- Windows/Linux/macOS: driver support via Quantum LTFS.
MFS / Macintosh File System
Original filesystem for the Macintosh for a short period before HFS.
- Classic Mac OS: primary filesystem until System 3.1.; native support until Mac OS 8.0.
- macOS: support via MFSLives.
MINIX file system
Originally a simplified, educational variant of UFS.
- MINIX: primary filesystem.
- Linux: native support; de facto primary filesystem till around 1995.
- MiNT: native support.
- HelenOS: native support.
NILFS / New Implementation of a Log-structured File System
Another sort of proof-of-concept logging filesystem.
- Linux: native support since 2.6.30.
- NetBSD: native support.
NOVA / Non-volatile Memory Accelerated
Log-structured filesystem for persistent memory.
- Linux: since 4.13.
NTFS / New Technology File System
Microsoft’s most successful take on a journalling filesystem.
- Windows NT: primary filesystem.
- Linux: native support since 2.1.74.
- macOS: native support since OS X 10.3.
- FreeBSD: native support since 3.2.
- NetBSD: native support.
- OpenBSD: native support since 4.9.
- Haiku: native support.
- Windows 9𝑥: driver support since Windows 95 via SysInternals’ NTFS98.
- OS/2/eComStation/ArcaOS: plugin support via NetDrive
- MS-DOS: driver support via Avira’s NTFS4DOS.
- DR-DOS: driver support since v7.0 via NTFSREAD.
NVFS / Non-volatile File System
Flash memory filesystem made by Palm.
Unsure how to access it outside of PalmPilot devices.
NWFS / NetWare File System
A heavily modified version of FAT by Novell. Superseded by NSS.
- NetWare: primary filesystem between v2 and v5.
NSS / Novell Storage Services
Novell’s successor to NWFS.
- NetWare: primary filesystem since v5.
OFS / Amiga Old File System
Amiga’s predecessor to AFFS. Somewhat useless on anything but floppies.
- TRIPOS: primary filesystem.
- AmigaDOS: primary filesystem.
- AmigaOS: native support; primary filesystem until v3.5.
- NetBSD: native support.
OS-9 file system
Forested filesystem.
- OS-9: primary filesystem.
PFS / Professional File System
- AmigaOS: native support since around 1995.
- MorphOS: native support.
- AROS: native support.
ProDOS file system
Filesystem native to the ProDOS on the Apple II.
- ProDOS: primary filesystem.
QNX4FS / QNX version 4 file system
- QNX: primary filesystem between v4 and v6.
ReFS / Resilient File System
Microsoft’s enterprise-grade successor to NTFS. Can’t boot off it, though.
- Windows: native support between Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 2017 Fall Creators Update, except for Windows 10 Enterprise and Pro for Workstations.
ReiserFS
Yet another general-purpose filesystem for Linux.
- Linux: native support since 2.4.1.
- ReactOS: native support.
Reliance
An embedded filesystem.
- Linux: driver support?
- QNX: driver support?
Reliance Nitro
A higher-performance rendition of Reliance.
- Linux: driver support?
- QNX: driver support?
- Windows: driver support since Windows 2000 via RWD.
SFS / Amiga Smart File System
Amiga’s better-performing alternative to AFFS.
- AmigaOS: native support since v1.279.
- AROS: native support since v1.84.
- MorphOS: native support since 1.224.
- Linux: native support since 1.0beta12.
SkyFS / SkyOS File System
A fork of BFS for SkyOS.
- SkyOS: primary filesystem.
Soup
Shallow database of sorts for the Newton platform.
- Newton: primary filesystem.
Tux3
Experimental fork of ext3 with versioning.
- Linux: non-mainline kernel module support.
TRSDOS filesystem
Used on the Tandy TRS-80 family.
Only known by name; needs research.
UBIFS / Unsorted Block Image File System
Nokia’s NAND-friendly alternative to JFFS2.
- Linux: native support since 2.6.27.
UDF / Universal Disk Format
A write-once media format that supplanted ISO 9660.
This filesystem is so universally understood that I can’t (currently) be bothered to list off every compatible OS. in-progress
- FreeBSD: native support.
- OpenBSD: native support.
UFS / Unix File System
Disregarding mutually compatible vendor-specific additions, practically the original Version 7 Unix filesystem. Also known as FFS / Fast File System in some systems.
- UNIX: primary filesystem since Version 7.
- NeXTStep: primary filesystem.
- A/UX: primary filesystem.
- Solaris: primary filesystem.
- SunOS: primary filesystem.
- HP-UX: primary filesystem.
- ULTRIX: primary filesystem.
- Tru64 UNIX: native support.
- FreeBSD: native support; primary filesystem until v5.0.
- OpenBSD: native support; primary filesystem until v6.7.
- NetBSD: native support.
- DragonFly BSD: native support.
- Linux: native support.
- macOS: native support until 10.7.
UFS2 / Unix File System, version 2
- FreeBSD: primary filesystem since v5.0.
- OpenBSD: primary filesystem since v6.7.
- NetBSD: native support.
- DragonFly BSD: native support.
- Linux: native support.
VxFS / Veritas File System
Extent-based filesystem developed for AT&T USL. Also known as JFS.
- HP-UX: primary filesystem.
- AIX: native support.
- Solaris: native support.
- Reliant UNIX: native support.
- UnixWare: native support.
- SCO OpenServer: native support.
- Linux: native support.
WOFS / Write-once File System
A predecessor to ISO 9660 based on CDFS and sold by N/Hance.
Only known by name; needs research.
XFS
SGI said it wasn’t an acronym, but I’m pretty sure “FS” at least stands for “filesystem”.
- IRIX: primary filesystem since v5.3.
- Linux: native support.
Xiafs
A replacement for the MINIX filesystem for Linux, competing with ext for a short time.
- Linux: native support between 0.99.15 and 2.1.21.
YAFFS / Yet Another Flash File System
A log-structured filesystem widely used in embedded and portable systems.
- Linux: native support.
- Windows CE: native support.
- ThreadX: native support.
- pSOS: native support.
- RTEMS: native support.
- eCos: native support.
zFS / z/OS File System
IBM’s crack at a high-performance mainframe filesystem. Not to be confused with ZFS.
- z/OS: primary filesystem.
- OS/390: primary filesystem.
- MVS/EVA: native support sinve V5R2.2.
ZFS / Zettabyte File System
A sort-of filesystem-LVM hybrid by Sun.
- Solaris: primary filesystem since around 2001.
- FreeBSD: native support.
- NetBSD: native support.
- Linux: kernel module support.