Linux function to get mount points

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Is there a function (or interface; ioctl, netlink etc) in the standard Linux libs that will return the current mounts directly from the kernel without parsing /proc? straceing the mount command, it looks like it parses files in /proc

asked Feb 14 '12 at 16:47

tMC

8,07094991

stackoverflow.com/questions/5095976/mount-system-call

– Satish
Feb 14 '12 at 17:14

1

@Satish that mounts a filesystem- it does not return current mounts

– tMC
Feb 14 '12 at 18:25

4

Why do you want to avoid /proc/ ?? under linux, it is the preferred way to retrieve such information! And it is very simple too!!

– Basile Starynkevitch
Feb 14 '12 at 21:38

add a comment |

asked Feb 14 '12 at 16:47

tMC

8,07094991

stackoverflow.com/questions/5095976/mount-system-call

– Satish
Feb 14 '12 at 17:14

1

@Satish that mounts a filesystem- it does not return current mounts

– tMC
Feb 14 '12 at 18:25

4

Why do you want to avoid /proc/ ?? under linux, it is the preferred way to retrieve such information! And it is very simple too!!

– Basile Starynkevitch
Feb 14 '12 at 21:38

add a comment |

asked Feb 14 '12 at 16:47

tMC

8,07094991

c linux mount libc

asked Feb 14 '12 at 16:47

tMC

8,07094991

asked Feb 14 '12 at 16:47

tMC

8,07094991

asked Feb 14 '12 at 16:47

tMC

8,07094991

asked Feb 14 '12 at 16:47

tMC

8,07094991

asked Feb 14 '12 at 16:47

tMC

8,07094991

stackoverflow.com/questions/5095976/mount-system-call

– Satish
Feb 14 '12 at 17:14

1

@Satish that mounts a filesystem- it does not return current mounts

– tMC
Feb 14 '12 at 18:25

4

Why do you want to avoid /proc/ ?? under linux, it is the preferred way to retrieve such information! And it is very simple too!!

– Basile Starynkevitch
Feb 14 '12 at 21:38

add a comment |

stackoverflow.com/questions/5095976/mount-system-call

– Satish
Feb 14 '12 at 17:14

1

@Satish that mounts a filesystem- it does not return current mounts

– tMC
Feb 14 '12 at 18:25

4

Why do you want to avoid /proc/ ?? under linux, it is the preferred way to retrieve such information! And it is very simple too!!

– Basile Starynkevitch
Feb 14 '12 at 21:38

stackoverflow.com/questions/5095976/mount-system-call

– Satish
Feb 14 '12 at 17:14

@Satish that mounts a filesystem- it does not return current mounts

– tMC
Feb 14 '12 at 18:25

Why do you want to avoid /proc/ ?? under linux, it is the preferred way to retrieve such information! And it is very simple too!!

– Basile Starynkevitch
Feb 14 '12 at 21:38

add a comment |

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

Please see the clarification at the bottom of the answer for the reasoning being used in this answer.

Is there any reason that you would not use the getmntent libc library call? I do realize that it's not the same as an 'all in one' system call, but it should allow you to get the relevant information.

#include <stdio.h>

#include <stdlib.h>

#include <mntent.h>



int main(void)

{

  struct mntent *ent;

  FILE *aFile;



  aFile = setmntent("/proc/mounts", "r");

  if (aFile == NULL) {

    perror("setmntent");

    exit(1);

  }

  while (NULL != (ent = getmntent(aFile))) {

    printf("%s %sn", ent->mnt_fsname, ent->mnt_dir);

  }

  endmntent(aFile);

}

Clarification

Considering that the OP clarified about trying to do this without having /proc mounted, I'm going to clarify:

There is no facility outside of /proc for getting the fully qualified list of mounted file systems from the linux kernel. There is no system call, there is no ioctl. The /proc interface is the agreed upon interface.

With that said, if you don't have /proc mounted, you will have to parse the /etc/mtab file - pass in /etc/mtab instead of /proc/mounts to the initial setmntent call.

It is an agreed upon protocol that the mount and unmount commands will maintain a list of currently mounted filesystems in the file /etc/mtab. This is detailed in almost all linux/unix/bsd manual pages for these commands. So if you don't have /proc you can sort of rely on the contents of this file. It's not guaranteed to be a source of truth, but conventions are conventions for these things.

So, if you don't have /proc, you would use /etc/mtab in the getmntent libc library call below to get the list of file systems; otherwise you could use one of /proc/mounts or /proc/self/mountinfo (which is recommended nowadays over /proc/mounts).

edited Nov 23 '18 at 17:10

answered Feb 15 '12 at 8:41

Petesh

70.6k37497

I have an embedded system that could have made use of this info during boot; before /proc was mounted.

– tMC
Feb 15 '12 at 14:46

1

Both df and mount use /proc/self/mountinfo instead of /proc/mounts, but result is the same.

– Ivan Black
Feb 27 '16 at 19:58

1

Keep in mind that getmntent is not thread safe. There is getmntent_r (GNU extension).

– Ivan Black
Feb 28 '16 at 11:04

1

Yes, well aware of all the limitations of the entire API cluster of *ent calls. Reading from the per process mountinfo file is now preferred.

– Petesh
Feb 28 '16 at 11:10

add a comment |

There is no syscall to list this information; instead, you can find it in the file /etc/mtab

answered Feb 15 '12 at 8:25

Aaron Digulla

250k87482701

mtab is just a symlink to /proc/mounts on most systems.

– tMC
Sep 14 '12 at 18:16

symlink or hard link? I remember that in the old days mtab was not reliable...

– Alexis Wilke
Oct 21 '14 at 8:32

@tMC: /proc/mounts is an implementation detail. /etc/mtab is a standard file which you will find on almost any Unix-like system. I didn't check but I think it's part of the standard. So you can rely on it. And I wouldn't say "on most system". In my Ubuntu and OpenSuSE systems, it's a plain file. I do have /proc/mounts but it's a link :-)

– Aaron Digulla
Oct 21 '14 at 9:08

I can confirm that /etc/mtab is not a file but a link to /proc/mounts on Raspbian Jessie.

– Zimano
May 4 '17 at 8:32

add a comment |

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2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

Please see the clarification at the bottom of the answer for the reasoning being used in this answer.

#include <stdio.h>

#include <stdlib.h>

#include <mntent.h>



int main(void)

{

  struct mntent *ent;

  FILE *aFile;



  aFile = setmntent("/proc/mounts", "r");

  if (aFile == NULL) {

    perror("setmntent");

    exit(1);

  }

  while (NULL != (ent = getmntent(aFile))) {

    printf("%s %sn", ent->mnt_fsname, ent->mnt_dir);

  }

  endmntent(aFile);

}

Clarification

Considering that the OP clarified about trying to do this without having /proc mounted, I'm going to clarify:

There is no facility outside of /proc for getting the fully qualified list of mounted file systems from the linux kernel. There is no system call, there is no ioctl. The /proc interface is the agreed upon interface.

With that said, if you don't have /proc mounted, you will have to parse the /etc/mtab file - pass in /etc/mtab instead of /proc/mounts to the initial setmntent call.

edited Nov 23 '18 at 17:10

answered Feb 15 '12 at 8:41

Petesh

70.6k37497

I have an embedded system that could have made use of this info during boot; before /proc was mounted.

– tMC
Feb 15 '12 at 14:46

1

Both df and mount use /proc/self/mountinfo instead of /proc/mounts, but result is the same.

– Ivan Black
Feb 27 '16 at 19:58

1

Keep in mind that getmntent is not thread safe. There is getmntent_r (GNU extension).

– Ivan Black
Feb 28 '16 at 11:04

1

Yes, well aware of all the limitations of the entire API cluster of *ent calls. Reading from the per process mountinfo file is now preferred.

– Petesh
Feb 28 '16 at 11:10

add a comment |

Please see the clarification at the bottom of the answer for the reasoning being used in this answer.

#include <stdio.h>

#include <stdlib.h>

#include <mntent.h>



int main(void)

{

  struct mntent *ent;

  FILE *aFile;



  aFile = setmntent("/proc/mounts", "r");

  if (aFile == NULL) {

    perror("setmntent");

    exit(1);

  }

  while (NULL != (ent = getmntent(aFile))) {

    printf("%s %sn", ent->mnt_fsname, ent->mnt_dir);

  }

  endmntent(aFile);

}

Clarification

Considering that the OP clarified about trying to do this without having /proc mounted, I'm going to clarify:

There is no facility outside of /proc for getting the fully qualified list of mounted file systems from the linux kernel. There is no system call, there is no ioctl. The /proc interface is the agreed upon interface.

With that said, if you don't have /proc mounted, you will have to parse the /etc/mtab file - pass in /etc/mtab instead of /proc/mounts to the initial setmntent call.

edited Nov 23 '18 at 17:10

answered Feb 15 '12 at 8:41

Petesh

70.6k37497

I have an embedded system that could have made use of this info during boot; before /proc was mounted.

– tMC
Feb 15 '12 at 14:46

1

Both df and mount use /proc/self/mountinfo instead of /proc/mounts, but result is the same.

– Ivan Black
Feb 27 '16 at 19:58

1

Keep in mind that getmntent is not thread safe. There is getmntent_r (GNU extension).

– Ivan Black
Feb 28 '16 at 11:04

1

Yes, well aware of all the limitations of the entire API cluster of *ent calls. Reading from the per process mountinfo file is now preferred.

– Petesh
Feb 28 '16 at 11:10

add a comment |

Please see the clarification at the bottom of the answer for the reasoning being used in this answer.

#include <stdio.h>

#include <stdlib.h>

#include <mntent.h>



int main(void)

{

  struct mntent *ent;

  FILE *aFile;



  aFile = setmntent("/proc/mounts", "r");

  if (aFile == NULL) {

    perror("setmntent");

    exit(1);

  }

  while (NULL != (ent = getmntent(aFile))) {

    printf("%s %sn", ent->mnt_fsname, ent->mnt_dir);

  }

  endmntent(aFile);

}

Clarification

Considering that the OP clarified about trying to do this without having /proc mounted, I'm going to clarify:

There is no facility outside of /proc for getting the fully qualified list of mounted file systems from the linux kernel. There is no system call, there is no ioctl. The /proc interface is the agreed upon interface.

With that said, if you don't have /proc mounted, you will have to parse the /etc/mtab file - pass in /etc/mtab instead of /proc/mounts to the initial setmntent call.

edited Nov 23 '18 at 17:10

answered Feb 15 '12 at 8:41

Petesh

70.6k37497

Please see the clarification at the bottom of the answer for the reasoning being used in this answer.

#include <stdio.h>

#include <stdlib.h>

#include <mntent.h>



int main(void)

{

  struct mntent *ent;

  FILE *aFile;



  aFile = setmntent("/proc/mounts", "r");

  if (aFile == NULL) {

    perror("setmntent");

    exit(1);

  }

  while (NULL != (ent = getmntent(aFile))) {

    printf("%s %sn", ent->mnt_fsname, ent->mnt_dir);

  }

  endmntent(aFile);

}

Clarification

Considering that the OP clarified about trying to do this without having /proc mounted, I'm going to clarify:

There is no facility outside of /proc for getting the fully qualified list of mounted file systems from the linux kernel. There is no system call, there is no ioctl. The /proc interface is the agreed upon interface.

With that said, if you don't have /proc mounted, you will have to parse the /etc/mtab file - pass in /etc/mtab instead of /proc/mounts to the initial setmntent call.

edited Nov 23 '18 at 17:10

answered Feb 15 '12 at 8:41

Petesh

70.6k37497

edited Nov 23 '18 at 17:10

answered Feb 15 '12 at 8:41

Petesh

70.6k37497

answered Feb 15 '12 at 8:41

Petesh

70.6k37497

answered Feb 15 '12 at 8:41

Petesh

70.6k37497

I have an embedded system that could have made use of this info during boot; before /proc was mounted.

– tMC
Feb 15 '12 at 14:46

1

Both df and mount use /proc/self/mountinfo instead of /proc/mounts, but result is the same.

– Ivan Black
Feb 27 '16 at 19:58

1

Keep in mind that getmntent is not thread safe. There is getmntent_r (GNU extension).

– Ivan Black
Feb 28 '16 at 11:04

1

Yes, well aware of all the limitations of the entire API cluster of *ent calls. Reading from the per process mountinfo file is now preferred.

– Petesh
Feb 28 '16 at 11:10

add a comment |

I have an embedded system that could have made use of this info during boot; before /proc was mounted.

– tMC
Feb 15 '12 at 14:46

1

Both df and mount use /proc/self/mountinfo instead of /proc/mounts, but result is the same.

– Ivan Black
Feb 27 '16 at 19:58

1

Keep in mind that getmntent is not thread safe. There is getmntent_r (GNU extension).

– Ivan Black
Feb 28 '16 at 11:04

1

Yes, well aware of all the limitations of the entire API cluster of *ent calls. Reading from the per process mountinfo file is now preferred.

– Petesh
Feb 28 '16 at 11:10

I have an embedded system that could have made use of this info during boot; before /proc was mounted.

– tMC
Feb 15 '12 at 14:46

Both df and mount use /proc/self/mountinfo instead of /proc/mounts, but result is the same.

– Ivan Black
Feb 27 '16 at 19:58

Keep in mind that getmntent is not thread safe. There is getmntent_r (GNU extension).

– Ivan Black
Feb 28 '16 at 11:04

Yes, well aware of all the limitations of the entire API cluster of *ent calls. Reading from the per process mountinfo file is now preferred.

– Petesh
Feb 28 '16 at 11:10

add a comment |

There is no syscall to list this information; instead, you can find it in the file /etc/mtab

answered Feb 15 '12 at 8:25

Aaron Digulla

250k87482701

mtab is just a symlink to /proc/mounts on most systems.

– tMC
Sep 14 '12 at 18:16

symlink or hard link? I remember that in the old days mtab was not reliable...

– Alexis Wilke
Oct 21 '14 at 8:32

@tMC: /proc/mounts is an implementation detail. /etc/mtab is a standard file which you will find on almost any Unix-like system. I didn't check but I think it's part of the standard. So you can rely on it. And I wouldn't say "on most system". In my Ubuntu and OpenSuSE systems, it's a plain file. I do have /proc/mounts but it's a link :-)

– Aaron Digulla
Oct 21 '14 at 9:08

I can confirm that /etc/mtab is not a file but a link to /proc/mounts on Raspbian Jessie.

– Zimano
May 4 '17 at 8:32

add a comment |

There is no syscall to list this information; instead, you can find it in the file /etc/mtab

answered Feb 15 '12 at 8:25

Aaron Digulla

250k87482701

mtab is just a symlink to /proc/mounts on most systems.

– tMC
Sep 14 '12 at 18:16

symlink or hard link? I remember that in the old days mtab was not reliable...

– Alexis Wilke
Oct 21 '14 at 8:32

@tMC: /proc/mounts is an implementation detail. /etc/mtab is a standard file which you will find on almost any Unix-like system. I didn't check but I think it's part of the standard. So you can rely on it. And I wouldn't say "on most system". In my Ubuntu and OpenSuSE systems, it's a plain file. I do have /proc/mounts but it's a link :-)

– Aaron Digulla
Oct 21 '14 at 9:08

I can confirm that /etc/mtab is not a file but a link to /proc/mounts on Raspbian Jessie.

– Zimano
May 4 '17 at 8:32

add a comment |

There is no syscall to list this information; instead, you can find it in the file /etc/mtab

answered Feb 15 '12 at 8:25

Aaron Digulla

250k87482701

There is no syscall to list this information; instead, you can find it in the file /etc/mtab

answered Feb 15 '12 at 8:25

Aaron Digulla

250k87482701

answered Feb 15 '12 at 8:25

Aaron Digulla

250k87482701

answered Feb 15 '12 at 8:25

Aaron Digulla

250k87482701

answered Feb 15 '12 at 8:25

Aaron Digulla

250k87482701

mtab is just a symlink to /proc/mounts on most systems.

– tMC
Sep 14 '12 at 18:16

symlink or hard link? I remember that in the old days mtab was not reliable...

– Alexis Wilke
Oct 21 '14 at 8:32

@tMC: /proc/mounts is an implementation detail. /etc/mtab is a standard file which you will find on almost any Unix-like system. I didn't check but I think it's part of the standard. So you can rely on it. And I wouldn't say "on most system". In my Ubuntu and OpenSuSE systems, it's a plain file. I do have /proc/mounts but it's a link :-)

– Aaron Digulla
Oct 21 '14 at 9:08

I can confirm that /etc/mtab is not a file but a link to /proc/mounts on Raspbian Jessie.

– Zimano
May 4 '17 at 8:32

add a comment |

mtab is just a symlink to /proc/mounts on most systems.

– tMC
Sep 14 '12 at 18:16

symlink or hard link? I remember that in the old days mtab was not reliable...

– Alexis Wilke
Oct 21 '14 at 8:32

@tMC: /proc/mounts is an implementation detail. /etc/mtab is a standard file which you will find on almost any Unix-like system. I didn't check but I think it's part of the standard. So you can rely on it. And I wouldn't say "on most system". In my Ubuntu and OpenSuSE systems, it's a plain file. I do have /proc/mounts but it's a link :-)

– Aaron Digulla
Oct 21 '14 at 9:08

I can confirm that /etc/mtab is not a file but a link to /proc/mounts on Raspbian Jessie.

– Zimano
May 4 '17 at 8:32

mtab is just a symlink to /proc/mounts on most systems.

– tMC
Sep 14 '12 at 18:16

symlink or hard link? I remember that in the old days mtab was not reliable...

– Alexis Wilke
Oct 21 '14 at 8:32

@tMC: /proc/mounts is an implementation detail. /etc/mtab is a standard file which you will find on almost any Unix-like system. I didn't check but I think it's part of the standard. So you can rely on it. And I wouldn't say "on most system". In my Ubuntu and OpenSuSE systems, it's a plain file. I do have /proc/mounts but it's a link :-)

– Aaron Digulla
Oct 21 '14 at 9:08

I can confirm that /etc/mtab is not a file but a link to /proc/mounts on Raspbian Jessie.

– Zimano
May 4 '17 at 8:32

add a comment |

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