Arch Linux

TheFortean

Member

Registered: 2017-12-02

Posts: 5

Seeking a source of information (Solved)

My reason for moving to Arch is to learn the basics. I am quite happy with Mint as a functioning OS!
I am currently interested in getting to grips with fstab. Specifically the fourth column “mount options”.
Is there a source for the COMPREHENSIVE list of mount options; ie. ALL of them with explanations?
I have been searching through the internet for a list and I get the “comprehensive” fstab information which carries perhaps thirteen mount options. I have managed to get some that only do  five, prefixed with words like “Here are the commonly used ones”.
Is the full list of fstab mount options Top Secret, or can I find them somewhere?
I am specifically looking for the mount option to ensure the DISPLAY of fstab mounted INTERNAL ext4 drives on to the desktop. I do not need to know how to mount external NTFS drives because I have not got any, and I already know how to do that!
Once I have collated some comprehensive knowledge, if I have problems, I will be able to ask intelligent questions!
Thank you for any help in this matter.

Last edited by TheFortean (2026-01-31 12:25:30)

progandy

Member

Registered: 2012-05-17

Posts: 5,305

Re: Seeking a source of information (Solved)

The options are listed in the manpage for mount and systemd.mount:

https://man.archlinux.org/man/fstab.5.e … %3C/i%3E).
https://man.archlinux.org/man/core/util … nt_Options
https://man.archlinux.org/man/systemd.mount.5.en#FSTAB

Edit: This seems to basically be a duplicate of https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=311822 ?

The mount options should have nothing to do with how your desktop environment will create shortcuts on the desktop for the drives. That should be a function povided by the desktop environment, as I do not use any I have no knowledge on where to enable that.

Last edited by progandy (2026-01-31 10:34:41)

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dimich

Member

From: Kharkiv, Ukraine

Registered: 2009-11-03

Posts: 514

Re: Seeking a source of information (Solved)

Is the full list of fstab mount options Top Secret, or can I find them somewhere?

"Full list" of supported options depends on filesystem type.
Basic filesystem-independent options described in man 5 fstab.
Generic mount options described in Generic Mount Options section of man 8 mount.
Options specific for common filesystems are described in Filesystem-Specific Mount Options section of the same man page. There are also links to documentation for some other filesystems.
Options for particular filesystem can be also found in kernel documentation.
For third-party filesystems you should look at their documentation or read their driver sources.

Last edited by dimich (2026-01-31 11:17:10)

TheFortean

Member

Registered: 2017-12-02

Posts: 5

Re: Seeking a source of information (Solved)

Many thanks for the help!
I will be studying this information.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: