Partitioning and formatting

For encryption, follow the encryption page instead of this page and the mounting page. It returns you to base installation.

Identify the disk

lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,TYPE,FSTYPE,MOUNTPOINTS,MODEL

The examples use /dev/nvme0n1, with partitions such as /dev/nvme0n1p1. SATA disks commonly use /dev/sda and /dev/sda1. Substitute your actual devices throughout.

Data loss

Partitioning and formatting can destroy existing data. Check the disk model, size and existing partitions before writing changes. Only format partitions intended for this installation.

Use the interactive terminal partition editor:

cfdisk /dev/nvme0n1

UEFI with GPT

For a new disk, create a GPT partition table and this layout:

Example partition	Size	Type	Mount point
/dev/nvme0n1p1	1 GiB	EFI System	/boot
/dev/nvme0n1p2	Remaining space	Linux filesystem	/

Both bootloaders in this guide use the ESP at /boot, so it holds the kernels and initramfs images too. If reusing an existing ESP, check its free space and do not format it. An undersized shared ESP needs a different layout; see EFI system partition.

For a new ESP only:

mkfs.fat -F32 -n EFI /dev/nvme0n1p1

Format the new root partition:

mkfs.ext4 -L ROOT /dev/nvme0n1p2

BIOS

Use GRUB. On a DOS/MBR partition table, create a Linux root partition; there is no ESP. On GPT, also create a 1 MiB BIOS boot partition (gdisk type ef02), leaving it unformatted and unmounted. Format only the Linux root partition with ext4, substituting its actual device in the command above.

See GRUB installation for firmware-specific requirements.

Optional home and swap partitions

A separate /home partition is optional. If creating one, format it with mkfs.ext4 and mount it after root. Do not format an existing home filesystem you intend to keep.

Swap size depends on workload and whether you need hibernation. You can start without disk swap and configure zram later. Zram cannot hold a hibernation image. For hibernation, plan disk-backed swap and resume configuration before choosing sizes.

If you created a swap partition, replace the example device below with that partition:

mkswap -L SWAP /dev/nvme0n1p3
swapon /dev/nvme0n1p3