Case study

linux-apfs-rw: reconstructing APFS support in a Linux kernel module

linux-apfs-rw reconstructs support for Apple's APFS filesystem in a Linux kernel module using reverse-engineered format knowledge and an incomplete official specification. It mounts APFS volumes read-only by default and offers experimental writes, snapshot mounting and metadata checksum checking.

Targets: Binary
Category: Independent reconstruction cases
Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
Sources reviewed: 2026-11-09

Stars: 814
Last commit: 2026-11-09
Language: C
License (GitHub): GPL-2.0

GitHub data as of 2026-11-09

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Requirements & limits

Prerequisites: Linux kernel 4.12 or later, matching kernel headers, and an APFS device or filesystem image.
Limits: Write support is experimental and may corrupt data; encryption is not implemented.
License: GPL-2.0 license.

Cite

BibTeX

@misc{linux-apfs-rw-case,
  title = {{linux-apfs-rw: reconstructing APFS support in a Linux kernel module}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://github.com/linux-apfs/linux-apfs-rw}},
  url = {https://github.com/linux-apfs/linux-apfs-rw},
  urldate = {2026-11-09},
  note = {Awesome REA entry: \url{https://awesomerea.org/resources/linux-apfs-rw-case/}}
}

Plain text

linux-apfs-rw: reconstructing APFS support in a Linux kernel module. https://github.com/linux-apfs/linux-apfs-rw (accessed 2026-11-09). Awesome REA entry: https://awesomerea.org/resources/linux-apfs-rw-case/

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Primary sources

README.rst GitHub · linux-apfs/linux-apfs-rw · Revision cb9c0a0