SquashFS HOWTO

Revision History
Revision 1.9	2008-07-24	Revised by:
Text corrections.
Revision 1.8	2008-01-06	Revised by:
Changes according to SquashFS release 3.3. Some parts added.
Revision 1.7	2005-03-25	Revised by:
Changes according to SquashFS release 2.1.
Revision 1.6	2004-11-10	Revised by:
Changes according to SquashFS release 2.0. Text corrections.
Revision 1.5	2004-06-07	Revised by:
Changes according to SquashFS release 2.0 alpha. Lots of description improvements and clarifications. Split instructions for Linux kernels of 2.6.x (new) and 2.4.x series.
Revision 1.1	2004-05-22	Revised by:
Changes according to SquashFS release 1.3r3.
Revision 1.0	2004-02-19	Revised by:
Initial Release, reviewed by LDP.
Revision 0.2	2003-12-08	Revised by:
Text corrections, license added.
Revision 0.1	2003-11-24	Revised by:
Initial version. Instructions for SquashFS release 1.3r2.

Abstract

This HOWTO describes the usage of SquashFS - a highly-compressed read-only file system for Linux, which is intended for use in tiny-sized and embedded systems, and anywhere else you'd want to use a compressed file system. With this document, you'll learn how to prepare a SquashFS-ready Linux kernel, create a squashed file system and happily use it.

Home of this HOWTO

The SquashFS HOWTO lives at http://artemio.net/projects/linuxdoc/squashfs. There you will always find the latest version of the document, and will be able to send your feedback.

Table of Contents

1. What is SquashFS

1.1. Introduction
1.2. Overview of SquashFS
1.3. Making it clear

2. Getting ready for SquashFS

2.1. Acquiring SquashFS
2.2. Preparing a SquashFS-capable kernel
2.3. Compiling the SquashFS tools
2.4. Installing SquashFS on Debian

3. The SquashFS tools exposed

3.1. Using mksquashfs
3.2. Command-line options
3.3. Using unsquashfs

4. Creating and using squashed file systems

4.1. Basic steps
4.2. Squashing file systems
4.3. Creating tiny/embedded systems
4.4. Making it writeble

5. Acknowledgements

6. License

SquashFS HOWTO

Artemiy I. Pavlov

Marco Cecchetti