F2FS - ArchWiki

# F2FS

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F2FS (Flash-Friendly File System) is a file system intended for NAND-based flash memory equipped with Flash Transition Layer. Unlike JFFS or UBIFS it relies on FTL to handle write distribution. It is supported from kernel 3.8 onwards.

## Creating a F2FS file system

In order to create a F2FS file system, install f2fs-tools.

Create the file system:

    # mkfs.f2fs -l mylabel /dev/sdxY

where `/dev/sdxY` is the target volume to format in F2FS. See mkfs.f2fs(8) for all available options.

## Mounting a F2FS file system

The file system can then be mounted manually or via other mechanisms:

    # mount /dev/sdxY /mnt/foo

## Grow an F2FS file system

When the filesystem is unmounted, it can be grown if the partition is expanded. Shrinking is not currently supported.

First use a partition tool to resize the partition. This can be done, for example, by deleting the old partition and creating a new one with with the same type, the same start sector, and a new end position.

Then expand the filesystem to fill the new partition using:

    # resize.f2fs /dev/sdxY

where `/dev/sdxY` is the target F2FS volume to grow. See resize.f2fs(8) for supported options.

Note: If you're using GPT, the partition's GUID (seen in `/dev/disk/by-partuuid/`) might change, but the filesystem UUID (seen in `/dev/disk/by-uuid/`) should stay the same.

## Checking and repair

Checking and repairs to f2fs file systems are accomplished with `fsck.f2fs` provided by f2fs-tools. See fsck.f2fs(8) for available switches.

## Troubleshooting

### GRUB with root on F2FS

When using GRUB your freshly installed system might not boot after reboot. As GRUB does not support F2FS it is not able to extract the UUID of your drive so it uses classic non-persistent `/dev/sdXx` names instead. In this case you might have to manually edit `/boot/grub/grub.cfg` and replace `root=/dev/sdXx` with `root=UUID=XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX`. You can use the `blkid` command to get the UUID of your device, see Persistent block device naming.

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- File systems