---
name: "mount_hfs"
section: "8"
platform: "macos"
package: "hfs"
version: "715.120.4"
release: "macOS 26.5"
platforms: ["macos"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/mount_hfs"
---

# mount\_hfs(8)

mount an HFS+ file system

## NAME

**mount\_hfs** – mount an HFS+ file system

## SYNOPSIS

**mount\_hfs** \[**-e** *encoding*\] \[**-u** *user*\] \[**-g** *group*\] \[**-m** *mask*\] \[**-o** *options*\] \[**-j**\] \[**-c**\] \[**-w**\] \[**-x**\] *special* *directory*

## DESCRIPTION

The **mount\_hfs** command attaches the HFS file system residing on the device *special* to the global file system namespace at the location indicated by *directory*. This command is normally executed by [mount(8)](/mount/8.md) at boot time.

The options are as follows:

- **-u** *user*

  Set the owner of the files in the file system to *user*. The default owner is the owner of the directory on which the file system is being mounted. The *user* may be a user-name, or a numeric value.

- **-g** *group*

  Set the group of the files in the file system to *group*. The default group is the group of the directory on which the file system is being mounted. The *group* may be a group-name, or a numeric value.

- **-m** *mask*

  Specify the maximum file permissions for files in the file system. (For example, a *mask* of 755 specifies that, by default, the owner should have read, write, and execute permissions for files, but others should only have read and execute permissions.  See [chmod(1)](/chmod/1.md) for more information about octal file modes.)  Only the nine low-order bits of *mask* are used.  The default *mask* is taken from the directory on which the file system is being mounted.

- **-o**

  Options are specified with a **-o** flag followed by a comma separated string of options. See the [mount(8)](/mount/8.md) man page for possible options and their meanings.

- **-j**

  Ignore the journal for this mount.

- **-c**

  Disable group commit for journaling.

## SEE ALSO

[mount(2)](/mount/2.md), [unmount(2)](/unmount/2.md), [fstab(5)](/fstab/5.md), [mount(8)](/mount/8.md)

## BUGS

Some HFS file systems with highly fragmented catalog files may not mount.

## HISTORY

The **mount\_hfs** utility first appeared in Mac OS X Server 1.0.  As of Mac OS X 10.15, this utility will no longer mount HFS standard file systems.