Cross-platform considerations
RAM File System works the same way on Windows, macOS and Linux: the same volumes, compression, image files and folder mirroring, managed by the same application and a ramfsctl command line tool on each. A few things differ between the platforms, summarised below.
| Feature | Windows | macOS | Linux |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mounted as | Drive letter, such as R: |
Folder under /Volumes |
Folder under /mnt/ramfs |
| Reflink copies | Automatic on Windows 11 24H2+ | Finder copies and cp -c |
cp and cp --reflink |
| Security model | NTFS-style per-file ACLs | POSIX permissions and ACLs | POSIX permissions and ACLs |
| Temporary folder redirection tool | Yes | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Do not attach file system filters | Windows 11 | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Hide the volume from the file manager | No | Yes, optional | No |
| ramfsctl syntax | Drive letters and keywords | Mount points and flags, see Command line tool | Mount points and flags, as on macOS |
Where volumes appear
On Windows, a volume is assigned a drive letter and appears in File Explorer. On macOS, it is mounted as a folder under /Volumes, named after the volume, and appears in Finder like any other drive; a mirrored folder mounts at its own path instead. The optional Do not show this volume in the Finder setting keeps a working volume out of Finder and Spotlight. On Linux, a volume is mounted as a folder under /mnt/ramfs, or at any other path you choose, and appears in the file manager like any other mounted file system.
Image files are platform-specific
An image file saved on one platform cannot be loaded on another. Keep the volumes of each platform bound to their own images; to move the data itself, copy the files between mounted volumes in the usual way.
User access
By default any user can create and manage volumes. To restrict this to administrators on a shared machine, turn off Allow standard users to modify settings on Windows, or run ramfsctl settings admin_only=yes on macOS and Linux.