How to mount a disk or partition in Linux

Mounting a filesystem in Linux attaches a local disk or partition to a normal directory so applications, scripts, and users can reach the data through one stable path. This is the standard way to bring a new data volume, removable disk, or attached virtual disk into the active directory tree.

The kernel exposes local storage as block devices such as /dev/sdb1, /dev/vdb1, or /dev/nvme1n1p1. The mount command attaches that filesystem to a directory such as /mnt/data, while lsblk shows whether the target already has a mount point, blkid reads the filesystem metadata stored on the device, and findmnt confirms the active mount entry after the command succeeds.

The command flow below was verified on Ubuntu 24.04 with an ext4 filesystem, but the same manual mount pattern applies on current Linux distributions for other local filesystems. Root privileges are normally required, the mount point should be empty before use, and any manual mount disappears after reboot unless it is saved separately in /etc/fstab with a stable identifier such as a UUID.

1. Inspect the target block device first so the correct filesystem is mounted and any existing mount point is visible.

   $ lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,TYPE,MOUNTPOINTS /dev/loop4
   NAME  SIZE TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
   loop4  64M loop

   Replace /dev/loop4 with the actual partition or disk node on the system. In most day-to-day cases the target is a partition such as /dev/sdb1, /dev/vdb1, or /dev/nvme1n1p1 rather than the whole-disk node. If MOUNTPOINTS already shows a path, that filesystem is already mounted there.

2. Read the filesystem metadata on the device so the label, UUID, and filesystem type are known before mounting it.

   $ sudo blkid /dev/loop4
   /dev/loop4: LABEL="mountdemo" UUID="1d87688d-ce72-4192-b616-03ae3704c98d" BLOCK_SIZE="4096" TYPE="ext4"

   blkid reads filesystem metadata directly from the device when run as root. The TYPE field is usually detected automatically by mount, but it is useful to know in advance for minimal or rescue environments.

3. Create the directory that will hold the mounted filesystem.

   $ sudo mkdir -p /mnt/data

   Keep the mount point empty before using it. Files already present in the directory stay hidden until the filesystem is unmounted again.

4. Mount the filesystem on the chosen path.

   $ sudo mount /dev/loop4 /mnt/data

   mount usually detects the filesystem type automatically. If automatic detection fails, specify it explicitly, for example

   $ sudo mount -t ext4 /dev/loop4 /mnt/data

   .

5. Confirm that the filesystem is now attached to the expected directory.

   $ findmnt -M /mnt/data -o TARGET,SOURCE,FSTYPE,OPTIONS
   TARGET    SOURCE     FSTYPE OPTIONS
   /mnt/data /dev/loop4 ext4   rw,relatime

   This is the decisive success check for the manual mount. The -M option tells findmnt to check that exact mount point rather than walking up parent directories.

   Related: How to mount disk partitions using UUID in Linux