# Install e2fsprogs with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper Utilities for the ext2, ext3, and ext4 file systems. Version 1.47.4 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:e2fsprogs ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install e2fsprogs ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install e2fsprogs ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/e2fsprogs/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add e2fsprogs ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: e2fsprogs from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install comerr-dev ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: comerr-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install e2fsprogs ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: e2fsprogs from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#e2fsprogs ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/e2/e2fsprogs/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S e2fsprogs ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: e2fsprogs from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/core/os/x86_64/core.db.tar.gz - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install e2fsprogs ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: e2fsprogs from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:e2fsprogs - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 1.47.4 - **Source summary:** Utilities for the ext2, ext3, and ext4 file systems - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** GPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.0-only AND BSD-3-Clause AND MIT - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - badblocks (cli) - chattr (cli) - debugfs (cli) - dumpe2fs (cli) - e2freefrag (cli) - e2fsck (cli) - e2image (cli) - e2label (cli) - e2mmpstatus (cli) - e2scrub (cli) - e2scrub_all (cli) - e2undo (cli) - e4crypt (cli) - e4defrag (cli) - filefrag (cli) - fsck.ext2 (cli) - fsck.ext3 (cli) - fsck.ext4 (cli) - logsave (cli) - lsattr (cli) - mk_cmds (cli) - mkfs.ext2 (cli) - mkfs.ext3 (cli) - mkfs.ext4 (cli) - mklost+found (cli) - resize2fs (cli) - tune2fs (cli) - badblocks (alias) - chattr (alias) - debugfs (alias) - dumpe2fs (alias) - e2freefrag (alias) - e2fsck (alias) - e2image (alias) - e2label (alias) - e2mmpstatus (alias) - e2scrub (alias) - e2scrub_all (alias) - e2undo (alias) - e4crypt (alias) - e4defrag (alias) - filefrag (alias) - fsck.ext2 (alias) - fsck.ext3 (alias) - fsck.ext4 (alias) - logsave (alias) - lsattr (alias) - mk_cmds (alias) - mkfs.ext2 (alias) - mkfs.ext3 (alias) - mkfs.ext4 (alias) - mklost+found (alias) - resize2fs (alias) - tune2fs (alias) ## Dependencies - gettext ## Build dependencies - pkgconf ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 1.47.4 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net/ - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## Project history and usage e2fsprogs is the canonical user-space toolkit for the Linux ext2, ext3, and ext4 filesystem family. It includes the programs administrators recognize by muscle memory: `mke2fs` and `mkfs.ext*` to create filesystems, `e2fsck` and `fsck.ext*` to check and repair them, `tune2fs`, `dumpe2fs`, `debugfs`, `resize2fs`, `badblocks`, attribute tools, and supporting libraries such as libext2fs. ### Project history The project has been maintained for decades by Theodore Ts'o and is distributed as the second extended filesystem management programs. Official release notes in the kernel.org repository show e2fsprogs 1.02 dated 1996-01-16, while the libext2fs manual documents Theodore Ts'o's library work from 1997 onward. As ext filesystems evolved, e2fsprogs evolved with them. It began as tooling for ext2, became core to ext3 journaled filesystem administration, and then tracked ext4-era features such as extents, flex_bg, metadata checksums, bigalloc, encryption, casefolding, fast commits, and orphan-file support. The project is both end-user tool suite and library substrate. The libext2fs manual describes a user-level library for manipulating ext2 filesystems, and related tools such as e2tools build on that library rather than implementing ext filesystem parsing from scratch. ### Adoption history e2fsprogs became infrastructure software because ext filesystems became default or common Linux filesystems across distributions, installers, rescue environments, embedded systems, and image-building pipelines. Its tools are packaged by essentially every general-purpose Linux distribution and by cross-platform package managers where users need to inspect Linux filesystems from non-Linux hosts. Release notes show its maintenance responding to distribution bug reports, kernel feature additions, filesystem fuzzing, Coverity findings, and very-large-filesystem performance. That history is part of why the package is treated as a base-system dependency rather than an optional convenience. ### How it is used Administrators and installers use e2fsprogs to create, check, repair, resize, label, inspect, tune, and debug ext-family filesystems. Typical commands include `mkfs.ext4`, `e2fsck`, `resize2fs`, `tune2fs`, `dumpe2fs`, `debugfs`, `e2image`, `filefrag`, `chattr`, and `lsattr`. The toolkit is also used outside ordinary mounted filesystems: recovery workflows run `e2fsck`, image builders run `mke2fs` against files, developers inspect metadata with `debugfs` and `dumpe2fs`, and downstream tools use libext2fs to manipulate disk images without going through the kernel mount path. ### Why package nerds care For package nerds, e2fsprogs is one of the rare packages that is simultaneously mundane and load-bearing. It is a formula in Homebrew, a package in major Linux distributions, a rescue-disk staple, a cross-build dependency, and a version-sensitive companion to Linux kernel filesystem features. Its release notes are a map of Linux storage history: new kernel features land, then user-space tools learn to create, repair, report, or safely ignore them. Packaging the right e2fsprogs version matters because old user-space can misunderstand newer filesystem feature bits. ### Timeline - 1996-01-16: e2fsprogs 1.02 release notes document early ext2 filesystem tool maintenance. - 1997: libext2fs manual copyright begins, documenting a user-level library for manipulating ext2 filesystems. - 2010: e2fsprogs 1.41 release notes show ext4-era support work around flex_bg, ext4 mount defaults, direct I/O in debugfs, discard-aware mke2fs, and large filesystem handling. - 2015: e2fsprogs 1.42.13 includes security and robustness fixes, including CVE-2015-1572 in libext2fs. - 2021: e2fsprogs 1.46.0 adds support for fast_commit, stable_inodes, encryption plus casefolding, and fuse2fs improvements. - 2023: e2fsprogs 1.47.0 adds support for orphan_file and makes newer ext4 features default through mke2fs configuration. ### Related projects - Related projects include the Linux kernel ext2/ext3/ext4 drivers, e2tools, fuse2fs, distribution initramfs/rescue tooling, filesystem image builders, and package-manager formulas that expose the tools on non-Linux hosts. - e2tools is a particularly close neighbor: its README states that it directly uses the ext2fs library from e2fsprogs to read and write ext filesystem images without mounting them. ### Sources - - - - - - - - - - ## Security Notes broad file, network, media, or database tool signal. - **Geiger risk:** blue / medium - broad file, network, media, or database tool signal ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** e2fsprogs - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** yes - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - comerr-dev - 2.1-1.47.2-3+b11: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: comerr-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | common error description library - headers and static libraries | http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net - Debian apt - e2fsck-static - 1.47.2-3+b11: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: e2fsck-static from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | statically-linked version of the ext2/ext3/ext4 filesystem checker | http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net - Debian apt - e2fsprogs - 1.47.2-3+b11: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: e2fsprogs from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | ext2/ext3/ext4 file system utilities | http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net - Debian apt - e2fsprogs-l10n - 1.47.2-3: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: e2fsprogs-l10n from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | ext2/ext3/ext4 file system utilities - translations | http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net - Debian apt - fuse2fs - 1.47.2-3+b11: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: fuse2fs from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | ext2 / ext3 / ext4 file system driver for FUSE | http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net - Debian apt - fuseext2 - 1.47.2-3: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: fuseext2 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | transitional package | http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net - Debian apt - libcom-err2 - 1.47.2-3+b11: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libcom-err2 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | common error description library | http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net - Debian apt - libext2fs-dev - 1.47.2-3+b11: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libext2fs-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | ext2/ext3/ext4 file system libraries - headers and static libraries | http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net - Debian apt - libext2fs2t64 - 1.47.2-3+b11: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libext2fs2t64 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | ext2/ext3/ext4 file system libraries | http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net - Debian apt - libss2 - 1.47.2-3+b11: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libss2 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | command-line interface parsing library | http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net - Debian apt - logsave - 1.47.2-3+b11: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: logsave from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | save the output of a command in a log file | http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net - Debian apt - ss-dev - 2.0-1.47.2-3+b11: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: ss-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | command-line interface parsing library - headers and static libraries | http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net - Nix - e2fsprogs: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/e2/e2fsprogs/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - comerr-dev - 2.1-1.47.0-2.4~exp1ubuntu4: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: comerr-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | common error description library - headers and static libraries | http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net - Ubuntu apt - e2fsck-static - 1.47.0-2.4~exp1ubuntu4: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: e2fsck-static from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | statically-linked version of the ext2/ext3/ext4 filesystem checker | http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net - Ubuntu apt - e2fsprogs - 1.47.0-2.4~exp1ubuntu4: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: e2fsprogs from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | ext2/ext3/ext4 file system utilities | http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net ## Related links - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [Homebrew utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew-utility-packages/) - Matched Homebrew package provider. - [gettext](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gettext/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [btrfs-progs](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/btrfs-progs/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [e2tools](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/e2tools/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [mender-artifact](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mender-artifact/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [dysk](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/dysk/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, filesystem, filesystems, linux, system. - [erofs-utils](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/erofs-utils/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, filesystem, filesystems, linux, system. - [ext4fuse](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ext4fuse/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, ext4, filesystem, filesystems, system. - [squashfs](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/squashfs/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, filesystem, filesystems, linux, system. - [btfs](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/btfs/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, filesystem, filesystems, system. - [dosfstools](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/dosfstools/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, filesystem, filesystems, system. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/e2fsprogs.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/e2fsprogs.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph