EXT2FS(4)

💅 ext2fs(4) — ext2/ext3/ext4 file system 💅

okay bestie so this is a page from the Kernel Interfaces Manual, section 4 — the part of the manual where kernel-level stuff lives (iykyk). this one is all about ext2fs, and honestly? it's giving "quietly carrying the entire Linux-on-FreeBSD friendship" energy. let's get into it ✨

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💖 NAME 💖

ext2fs — the ext2/ext3/ext4 file system, bestie!! that's it, that's the name 🎀

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

so there's two ways to bring this icon into your life, depending on your vibe:

if you want to link it straight into the kernel:

options EXT2FS

if you'd rather load it as a kernel loadable module (the flexible, main-character move):

kldload ext2fs

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

okay so the ext2fs driver lets the FreeBSD kernel go ahead and access ext2 file systems and its derivatives. yes, derivatives — the whole little family. no gatekeeping here 🫶

it currently implements most of the features required by ext3 and ext4 file systems. most, bestie, not all — read the room on that one.

and now the fine print, because we keep it real:

• Support for Extended Attributes in ext4 is experimental 🙈 (so like, it works, but don't make it the main character of your production setup, you know?)
• Journalling — currently not supported 💀
• Encryption — currently not supported 💀

no cap, those last two are genuinely important. don't assume journalling or encryption are there just because ext3/ext4 have them. they're not. bestie please read the caveats, i'm begging 😭

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⭐ EXAMPLES ⭐

wanna mount an ext2fs volume that lives on /dev/ada1s1? iconic, here's literally the whole thing:

mount -t ext2fs /dev/ada1s1 /mnt

that's it. that's the example. slay 💅

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🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

the little friends-adjacent pages you should also check out, fr fr:

• nmount(2)
• unmount(2)
• fstab(5)
• mount(8)

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🌈 HISTORY 🌈

the ext2fs driver first appeared in FreeBSD 2.2 👑 — yes, she's been around a minute. seasoned. iconic. ate.

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🧚 AUTHORS 🧚

credit where credit is due, because none of this was a solo project:

• The ext2fs kernel implementation is derived from code written, or modified, by Godmar Back, using the UFS CSRG sources for CMU Mach ✨
• John Dyson did the initial port to FreeBSD 🫶
• Aditya Sarawgi merged important parts of the allocation code from a clean-room NetBSD implementation 💜
• Zheng Liu implemented the read support for ext4 filesystems, and Fedor Uporov implemented the write support — read and write, the duo we didn't know we needed 🎀
• The FreeBSD community has contributed a huge amount of modifications — group effort, group chat energy, we love to see it 💖
• The initial version of this manual page was written by Craig Rodrigues <rodrigc@FreeBSD.org> 🌸

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💀 little reminder before you go: extended attributes in ext4 = experimental, journalling = not supported, encryption = not supported. that's not me being dramatic, that's the manpage being real.

and that's the whole vibe check! source/version says Debian, dated December 30, 2018 — so big thank you to Debian for shipping this page, and to 2018 for coming through with it. bye bestie, go mount something safe 💅✨🦋