Cross-platform considerations
RAM File System works the same way on Windows and macOS: the same volumes, compression, image files and folder mirroring, managed by the same application and the same ramfsctl command line tool. A few things differ between the platforms, summarised below.
| Feature | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Mounted as | Drive letter, such as R: |
Folder under /Volumes |
| Reflink copies | Automatic on Windows 11 24H2+ | Finder copies and cp -c |
| Security model | NTFS-style per-file ACLs | POSIX permissions and ACLs |
| Temporary folder redirection tool | Yes | Not applicable |
| Hide the volume from the file manager | No | Yes, optional |
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.
Image files are platform-specific
An image file saved on one platform cannot be loaded on the other. Keep Windows and macOS volumes 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.