---
name: "updfstab"
section: "8"
platform: "linux"
package: "kudzu"
version: "1.1.67-1"
release: "Debian 3.1 (Sarge)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/updfstab"
---

# updfstab(8)

update /etc/fstab to reflect removable devices

## NAME

updfstab - update /etc/fstab to reflect removable devices

## SYNOPSIS

**updfstab** \[*-nt*\] \[--usage\]

## DESCRIPTION

**updfstab** is designed to keep **/etc/fstab** consistent with the devices plugged into your system. It looks for devices such as cdroms, zip and jaz drives, ls120 drives, and digital cameras on the SCSI and IDE buses. USB devices look like SCSI devices to user space, so those are supported as well, but are only added if they are currently attached to the system (having a scsi device assigned to them is not sufficient).

Devices which **updfstab** adds to **/etc/fstab** are marked with the *kudzu* mount option to distinguish them from other devices.  **updfstab** will not remove devices from **/etc/fstab** unless they are marked with the *kudzu* mount option. It also ignores devices that are already listed in **/etc/fstab**, or which have multiple partitions on the media currently inserted (except when **ignoremulti is used).**

## OPTIONS

- **-c,--config**=*path*

  Use the configuration specified by *path*, rather then  /etc/updfstab.conf.

- **-n,--normalize**

  Normally, **updfstab** tries to touch **/etc/fstab** as little as possible. When this option is given, it will instead move all of the devices with the *kudzu* mount option to the end of the file, and will list the devices in the same order the internal probe returns.

- **-t,--test**

  When this option is specified, **updstab** does not update the  **/etc/fstab** file. Instead, it displays the fstab entries it would use to standard out. If no changes need to be made, it outputs the string *(nothing to do)* rather then a full filesystem table.

## CONFIGURATION

The devices updfstab *looks for are specified by its configuration file,* */etc/updfstab.conf by default. It defines a number of devices which* *updfstab* looks for on the system, along with various attributes of that device. If a single device name is given multiple times, later values override those given earlier. However, **match** directives accumulate; all specified matches remain in effect for that device. The default value of flags may be changed by specifying a new value for that flag outside of any device section, which changes the default for all future devices.

A simple configuration file looks like this:

```
# sample updfstab configuration file
symlink false
device cdrom {
    symlink true
    match cdrom
}
device zip {
    match hd zip
    match floppy "zip"
}
```

Here two devices are specified, cdrom and zip. If a cdrom device is found on the system, a **/dev/cdrom** is created pointing to the /dev entry for the device, and **/mnt/cdrom** is added to **/etc/fstab**. The next entry looks for hard drive devices with **zip** in their description as well as floppy devices with **zip** in their description. If either is found **/mnt/zip** is added to **/etc/fstab**, but no symlink is created.

Here is the complete list of directives which may be used:

- **device** *name*

  Set attributes for device name *name*. The *name* is used in the **/etc/fstab** entry and for any symbolic links which are created.

- **include** *path*

  Parsing of the current configuration file is stopped, and the file specified by *path* is read for current configuration information. Multiple **include** directives may be given, but they may not appear inside of **device** sections.

- **ignoremulti** *val*

  If *val* is true, **updfstab** will not skip the device, even if it has multiple partitions, and will add a mount entry to **/etc/fstab**, using the partition specified in the config file.

- **match** *class string*

  This directive adds a new rule for this device type; devices found on the system which match this rule are considered a device of the type whose section the **match** directive appears in. The *class* must be **cdrom**, **floppy**, or **hd**. If *string* appears, it must be a substring of the physical device's description for the rule to match.

- **nofstab** *val*

  If *val* is true, **updfstab** does not add a mount entry to **/etc/fstab**. This is mainly useful in conjunction with **symlink**.

- **partition** *num*

  Specifies a default partition number which should be mounted from this device. If 0 is used, no partition number appears. **updfstab** always scans **/proc/partitions** for the proper partition number before relying on this value.

- **skip** *val*

  The device entry is skipped. This lets a configuration file undefine a device that was defined earlier (such as in an included file). *val* should be **true** or **false**.

- **symlink** *val*

  If *val* is true, **updfstab** creates a symbolic link in the **/dev** directory pointing to the actual device. This symbolic link is then used in **/etc/fstab**.

## FILES

```
/etc/fstab
/etc/updfstab.conf
/proc/partitions
```

## SEE ALSO

*kudzu*(1)

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## AUTHORS

```
Erik Troan <ewt@redhat.com>
```