fstab (after file systems table) is a system file commonly found in the directory /etc on Unix and Unix-like computer systems. In Linux, it is part of the util-linux package. The fstab file typically lists all available disk partitions and other types of file systems and data sources that may not necessarily be disk-based, and indicates how they are to be initialized or otherwise integrated into the larger file system structure. The fstab file is read by the mount command, which happens automatically at boot time to determine the overall file system structure, and thereafter when a user executes the mount command to modify that structure. It is the duty of the system administrator to properly create and maintain the fstab file. While fstab is used for basic system configuration, for other uses, it has been superseded by automatic mounting mechanisms. The file has other names on some versions of Unix; for example, it is found at /etc/vfstab on Solaris systems. Modern use The fstab file is read by programs that work with disk partitions and other file systems and is not automatically maintained. Instead it is written by the system administrator or sometimes by an operating system installation program. However, some administration tools can automatically build and edit fstab, or act as graphical editors for it. Modern Linux systems use udev as an automounter to handle the hot swapping of devices (such as MP3 players or digital cameras) instead of relying on fstab. Programs such as pmount allow ordinary users to mount and unmount filesystems without a corresponding fstab entry; traditional Unix has always allowed privileged users (the root user and users in the wheel group) to mount or unmount devices without a corresponding fstab entry. Example The following is an example of an fstab file on a typical Linux system. # device-spec mount-point fs-type options dump pass LABEL=/ / ext4 defaults 1 1 /dev/sda6 none swap defaults 0 0 none /dev/pts devpts gid=5,mode=620 0 0 none /proc proc defaults 0 0 none /dev/shm tmpfs defaults 0 0 # Removable media /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom udf,iso9660 noauto,owner,ro 0 0 # NTFS Windows 7 partition /dev/sda1 /mnt/Windows ntfs-3g quiet,defaults,locale=en_US.utf8,umask=0,noexec 0 0 # Partition shared by Windows and Linux /dev/sda7 /mnt/shared vfat umask=000 0 0 # Mounting tmpfs tmpfs /mnt/tmpfschk tmpfs size=100m 0 0 # Mounting cifs //cifs_server_name/ashare /store/pingu cifs credentials=/root/smbpass.txt 0 0 # Mounting NFS nfs_server_name:/store /store nfs rw 0 0 The