MSDOSFS(5)

📦 version 14.5, in freebsd 14.5

🎀 msdosfs(5) — the MS-DOS (FAT) file system, bestie edition 🎀

okay so real talk, this one's a <italic>File Formats Manual</italic> situation, section 5, and it's literally all about <pink>msdosfs</pink> — the MS-DOS (FAT) file system. welcome to the group chat 💅

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

options MSDOSFS

that's the whole vibe. one line. iconic. 💖

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so the msdosfs driver is what lets the FreeBSD kernel <green>read</green> and <hotpink>write</hotpink> MS-DOS based file systems. like it's the translator between your kernel and your dusty FAT partition, and it's serving 🫶

the most common usage — the one everybody does, the main character move — follows:

mount -t msdosfs /dev/ada0sN /mnt

where N is the partition number and /mnt is a mount point. okay so <purple>N</purple> matters, don't skip it, that's the partition number fr fr 🦋

some users tend to create a /dos directory for msdosfs mount points. and honestly? lowkey smart. it helps to keep better track of the file system, and make it more easily accessible. organization slay ✨

it is possible to define an entry in /etc/fstab that looks similar to:

/dev/ada0sN             /dos    msdosfs         rw      0       0

this will mount an MS-DOS based partition at the /dos mount point during system boot. literally automatic, no cap 👑

⚠️ using /mnt as a permanent mount point is not advised — its intention has always been to be a temporary mount point for floppy and ZIP disks. so like, /mnt is for guests, not for moving in permanently, iykyk 💀

see hier(7) for more information on FreeBSD directory layout. it's giving "learn the neighborhood" 🌈

🔥 EXAMPLES 🔥

wanna know which FAT file system version (e.g, <yellow>FAT16</yellow>, <yellow>FAT32</yellow>) a partition is formatted with? vibe check it like this:

file -s /dev/da0s1

gpart(8) may also be used to extract this information. two ways to get the answer, both valid, we love options 💜

💫 SEE ALSO 💫

go read them, bestie, they're all part of the lore 📚

👑 AUTHORS 👑

this manual page was written by Tom Rhodes <trhodes@FreeBSD.org>. king behavior, we thank him for his service 🫶🌸

and that's the whole page!! 🎀✨ no crumbs left, every flag and path accounted for 💅

so yeah — this beauty shipped on the Debian side of things with a <pink>September 27, 2018</pink> date stamp, MSDOSFS(5) forever and always. mwah, go mount something responsibly 💖🦋

📦 where this page comes from