Compatibility

What are the limitations of Apple File System in macOS Sierra?

macOS Sierra includes a Developer Preview release of Apple File System. As a Developer Preview, it has several limitations:

• Startup Disk: An APFS-formatted volume cannot be used as a startup disk.

• Case Sensitivity: Filenames are case-sensitive only.

• Time Machine: Time Machine backups are not supported.

• FileVault: APFS-formatted volumes cannot be encrypted using FileVault.

• Fusion Drive: Apple File System cannot use Fusion Drives.

Can I use Apple File System with my existing hard disk drive?

Yes. Apple File System is optimized for Flash/SSD storage, but can also be used with traditional hard disk drives (HDD), Fusion Drives, and external, direct-attached storage.

Can I reshare APFS-formatted volumes using a network file-sharing protocol?

Yes, you can share APFS-formatted volumes using the SMB or NFS network file-sharing protocol.

You cannot share APFS-formatted volumes using AFP. The AFP protocol is deprecated.

Can I use my third-party disk utilities with an APFS-formatted hard disk?

Existing third-party utilities will need to be updated to support Apple File System. Consult the utility's documentation, or contact the vendor for compatibility information.

Can I boot macOS Sierra from an APFS-formatted hard disk?

No. macOS Sierra supports Apple File System for data volumes only. You cannot boot macOS Sierra from a APFS-formatted volume. 

Upgrading

How do I upgrade to Apple File System?

Apple will offer nondestructive in-place upgrades from HFS+ to APFS for all boot volumes when Apple File System ships in 2017. Tools will be available to convert external volumes from HFS+ to APFS format.

If I convert a volume to APFS, can I later revert to HFS+?

You can use Disk Utility to erase an APFS-formatted volume and reformat as HFS+. However, your data will not be preserved when you reformat the volume as HFS+.

Implementation

Why did Apple develop APFS?

Apple File System is uniquely designed to meet the needs of Apple’s products and ecosystem. Apple File System provides strong encryption, ultra-low latencies and limited memory overhead. It is optimized for Flash/SSD storage and can be used on everything from an Apple Watch to a Mac Pro.

Can RAID be used with Apple File System?

Yes. Apple File System does not directly implement software RAID; however APFS-formatted volumes can be combined with an Apple RAID volume to support Striping (RAID 0), Mirroring (RAID 1), and Concatenation (JBOD). APFS-formatted volumes can also be used with direct-attached hardware RAID solutions.

Does Apple File System support directory hard links?

Directory hard links are not supported by Apple File System. All directory hard links are converted to symbolic links or aliases when you convert from HFS+ to APFS volume formats on macOS.

Does Apple File System support ditto blocks?

Ditto blocks are primarily used to protect against corrupted sectors in large storage arrays with unreliable hard disk drives. Apple File System takes advantage of modern hardware with strong checksums and error correction in firmware, and does not depend on ditto blocks.

Does Apple File System support redundant metadata?

With modern Flash/SSD storage, writing two blocks of data to different locations does not guarantee that the blocks will be written to separate locations. The Flash translation layer typically groups writes together into the same NAND block. Therefore it affords no extra protection to write a second copy at the same time the first copy is written.

What has Apple done to ensure the reliability of my data?

Apple products are designed to prevent data corruption and protect against data loss.

To protect data from hardware errors, all Flash/SSD and hard disk drives used in Apple products use Error Correcting Code (ECC). ECC checks for transmission errors, and when necessary, corrects on the fly. Apple File System uses a unique copy-on-write scheme to protect against data loss that can occur during a crash or loss of power. And to further ensure data integrity, Apple File System uses the Fletcher's checksum algorithm for metadata operations.

Does Apple File System use journaling?

Apple File System uses copy-on-write to avoid in-place changes to file data, which ensures that file system updates are crash protected without the write-twice overhead of journaling.

Does Apple File System support data deduplication?

No. With Apple File System individual extents can be encrypted, making it impossible to examine and deduplicate files and their content. Apple File System uses clone files to minimize data storage and data duplication.

Does Apple File System support TRIM operations?

Yes. TRIM operations are issued asynchronously from when files are deleted or free space is reclaimed, which ensures that these operations are performed only after metadata changes are persisted to stable storage.

Is APFS open source?

An open source implementation is not available at this time. Apple plans to document and publish the APFS volume format specification when Apple File System is released for macOS in 2017.