# AXFS

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Compressed read-only file system

**AXFS** (**Advanced XIP Filesystem**) is a [compressed](/source/Data_compression) [read-only](/source/File_system_permissions) [file system](/source/File_system) for [Linux](/source/Linux_kernel), initially developed at [Intel](/source/Intel), and now maintained at [Numonyx](/source/Numonyx). It was designed to use [execute in place](/source/Execute_in_place) (XIP) alongside compression aiming to reduce [boot](/source/Boot) and program load times, while retaining a small [memory footprint](/source/Memory_footprint) for [embedded devices](/source/Embedded_devices). This is achieved by mixing compressed and uncompressed [pages](/source/Page_(computer_memory)) in the same executable file.[1] AXFS is [free software](/source/Free_software) licensed under the [GPL](/source/GNU_General_Public_License).

[Cramfs](/source/Cramfs) is another read-only [compressed file system](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Compressed_file_system&action=edit&redlink=1) that supports XIP (with patches); however, it uses a strategy of decompressing entire files, whereas AXFS supports XIP with page granularity.[2] - this access strategy allows for near-ideal performance in typical (for embedded/compressed filesystems starting an operating system and applications) scenarios.

## See also

- [Free and open-source software portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Free_and_open-source_software)

- [Squashfs](/source/Squashfs) is another read-only compressed file system

- [Cloop](/source/Cloop) is a compressed [loopback device](/source/Loop_device) module for the [Linux kernel](/source/Linux_kernel)

- [e2compr](/source/E2compr) provides compression for [ext2](/source/Ext2)

- [List of file systems](/source/List_of_file_systems)

- [Comparison of file systems](/source/Comparison_of_file_systems)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Jonathan Corbet, (August 26, 2008) *[AXFS: a compressed, execute-in-place filesystem](https://lwn.net/Articles/295545/)*, [lwn.net](/source/Lwn.net)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Justin Treon, (2008-05-09) *["Demystifying embedded code storage"](https://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/Linux-For-Devices-Articles/Demystifying-embedded-code-storage/).{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service))*, [LinuxDevices.com](/source/LinuxDevices.com), "There are two XIP-enabled Linux filing systems that can be used for a Balanced XIP implementation: Linear XIP CRAMFS and AXFS. The Linear XIP CRAMFS decompresses files on a file-by-file basis, whereas AXFS decompresses files on a page-by-page basis offering more optimal Flash usage."

## Further reading

- Tony Benavides, Justin Treon, Jared Hulbert and Weide Chang, *[The Enabling of an Execute-In-Place Architecture to Reduce the Embedded System Memory Footprint and Boot Time](https://web.archive.org/web/20100515124729/http://www.academypublisher.com/ojs/index.php/jcp/article/viewFile/03017989/370)*, Journal of Computers, Vol. 3, No. 1, Jan 2008, pp. 79–89

- Jared Hulbert, *[Introducing the Advanced XIP File System](https://ols.fedoraproject.org/OLS/Reprints-2008/hulbert-reprint.pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120113041854/https://ols.fedoraproject.org/OLS/Reprints-2008/hulbert-reprint.pdf) 2012-01-13 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)*, ([talk](http://free-electrons.com/pub/video/2008/ols/ols2008-jared-hulbert-xip-filesystem.ogg)) Proceedings of the 2008 [Linux Symposium](/source/Linux_Symposium)

## External links

- [AXFS website](https://github.com/jaredeh/axfs)

- Justin Treon (February 14, 2008) [Side by side comparison of launching applications stored in the AXFS, SquashFS, CRAMFS and JFFS2 read-only filing systems.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu6Yj7iKEiA) (video)

- ["Application eXecute-In-Place (XIP) with Linux and AXFS"](https://www.scribd.com/doc/19855245/Application-eXecuteInPlace-XIP-with-Linux-and-AXFS)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [AXFS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AXFS) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AXFS?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.