26.3 macOS File Systems

FreeBSD provides support for macOS file systems, including HFS/HFS+ and APFS, for accessing storage devices formatted for Apple systems.

APFS File System

Apple File System (APFS) is a next-generation file system developed by Apple, which has been the default file system for macOS since macOS High Sierra. On FreeBSD, read-only access to APFS partitions can be achieved through libfsapfs.

Installing libfsapfs

Install the libfsapfs package using pkg:

# pkg install libfsapfs

Install using Ports:

# cd /usr/ports/filesystems/libfsapfs/
# make install clean

Loading the fusefs Kernel Module

Before using FUSE file systems, the fusefs(4) kernel module must be loaded:

# kldload fusefs

Use sysrc(8) to configure the module to load automatically at boot:

# sysrc kld_list+=fusefs

Identifying APFS Volumes

After connecting a disk containing APFS volumes to the computer, use gpart to view partition information. APFS volumes are typically displayed as the apple-apfs type:

# gpart show -p nda1
=>    34  195286    nda1  GPT  (95M)
      34       6          - free -  (3K)
      40  195280  nda1p1  apple-apfs  (95M)

The file command can be used to more precisely identify the file system type:

# file -s /dev/nda1p1
/dev/nda1p1: Apple File System (APFS), blocksize 4096

Mounting APFS Volumes

Use libfsapfs to mount APFS volumes. Mount the APFS volume /dev/nda1p1 to /mnt:

# fsapfsmount /dev/nda1p1 /mnt

Verify the mount status and view contents:

# ls /mnt/
/mnt/.DS_Store      /mnt/.Trashes/      /mnt/evidence.json  /mnt/README.md
/mnt/.fseventsd/    /mnt/container/     /mnt/image/

Note

Currently, libfsapfs only provides read-only support; write operations are not available.

HFS/HFS+ File Systems

Note

HFS/HFS+ was the primary file system for macOS before the introduction of APFS. Since macOS High Sierra (2017), APFS has replaced HFS+ as the default file system; since macOS Catalina, the system volume must use APFS. HFS+ now exists only on older Mac devices and external storage formatted with HFS+, and is only applicable for scenarios requiring access to such legacy storage.

FreeBSD provides read-only support for HFS/HFS+ through the filesystems/hfsfuse package.

To use HFS/HFS+ on FreeBSD, install the filesystems/hfsfuse package, load the FUSE kernel module, and mount the file system as follows:

Installing the HFS/HFS+ Package

Install using pkg:

# pkg install fusefs-hfsfuse

Install using Ports:

# cd /usr/ports/filesystems/hfsfuse/
# make install clean

Loading the fusefs Kernel Module

Before using FUSE file systems, the fusefs(4) kernel module must be loaded:

# kldload fusefs

Use sysrc(8) to configure the module to load automatically at boot:

# sysrc kld_list+=fusefs

Identifying HFS/HFS+ Volumes

The file command can be used to identify the file system type:

# file -s /dev/ada0
/dev/ada0: Apple HFS Plus version 4 data (mounted) last mounted by: 'HFSJ', created: Thu Jan 29 17:33:30 2009, last modified: Thu Jan 29 17:33:36 2009, last checked: Thu Jan 29 17:33:30 2009, block size: 4096, number of blocks: 2560, free blocks: 444

Mounting HFS/HFS+ Volumes

Mount the HFS/HFS+ volume by specifying its FreeBSD partition name and a mount point (which must already exist). The following example mounts /dev/ada0 to /mnt:

# hfsfuse /dev/ada0 /mnt

Verify the mount status

# mount
/dev/ada0 on /mnt (fusefs.hfs, read-only)

……irrelevant output omitted……

# df -hl
/dev/ada0       10M    8.3M    1.7M    83%    /mnt

View contents:

# ls /mnt
.Trashes	.fseventsd	file1.txt	file2.txt
# cat file1.txt
This is file 1 - snarf

Note

Currently, fusefs-hfsfuse only provides read-only support; write operations are not available, and there are currently no plans for write support.

References

• Apple. Apple File System Reference[EB/OL]. [2026-03-25]. https://developer.apple.com/support/downloads/Apple-File-System-Reference.pdf. Apple's official APFS technical documentation.
• FreeBSD Forums. Mounting APFS partition[EB/OL]. [2026-03-25]. https://forums.freebsd.org/threads/mounting-apfs-partition.69094/. FreeBSD forum discussion on APFS mount support.
• libfsapfs Project. GitHub Repository[EB/OL]. [2026-03-25]. https://github.com/libyal/libfsapfs. libfsapfs open source project repository.