Access a Linux Btrfs drive on a Windows PC without reformatting it, reading and writing files as normal
Use WSL on a Btrfs volume that preserves Linux file permissions and symlinks correctly
Create Btrfs snapshots and subvolumes directly from Windows File Explorer using the right-click shell extension
Transfer drives between a Linux server and a Windows workstation while keeping RAID and compression intact
| maharmstone/btrfs | libfuse/sshfs | openmathlib/openblas | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stars | 7,423 | 7,417 | 7,430 |
| Language | C | C | C |
| Setup difficulty | easy | easy | hard |
| Complexity | 3/5 | 2/5 | 4/5 |
| Audience | developer | ops devops | developer |
Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.
Secure Boot users may need a registry change before the driver loads, keeping backups of Btrfs drives is strongly recommended.
WinBtrfs is a driver for Windows that lets the operating system read and write drives formatted with Btrfs, a filesystem type that is standard in many Linux environments. By default, Windows cannot see Btrfs-formatted partitions at all. With this driver installed, those drives appear and work like any other Windows disk. The driver is a complete reimplementation written from scratch and contains no code borrowed from the Linux kernel. The project supports most of the significant capabilities that Btrfs offers on Linux. This includes several RAID configurations, which are ways of spreading data across multiple drives for redundancy or speed, from simpler setups like RAID0 and RAID1 through more complex ones like RAID5 and RAID6. It also supports three types of compression for storing data more compactly, disk health checks through scrubbing, the ability to create snapshots and subvolumes, and sending or receiving subvolume data between systems. On the access control side, the driver maps between Linux-style user identifiers and Windows-style identifiers so that file permissions carry over correctly. It also supports Windows Subsystem for Linux, allowing WSL to use a Btrfs volume and preserve Linux metadata like permissions and symlinks. A Windows shell extension integrates with File Explorer so you can create subvolumes and snapshots through right-click menus without using the command line. Installation is straightforward: download the release, right-click the included .inf file, and choose Install. The driver is signed so it loads without special configuration on most systems. It is also available through the Chocolatey and Scoop package managers. For Secure Boot users, a registry change may be needed, though the README suggests turning Secure Boot off as the simpler option. The driver is released under the GNU Lesser General Public Licence. The README includes a clear disclaimer that you use it at your own risk and should keep backups of any data on the drives you mount through it. It has been in development long enough to cover most day-to-day use cases, but a few features such as defragmentation and quota support are still noted as not yet implemented.
WinBtrfs is a Windows driver that lets you read and write Linux Btrfs-formatted drives on Windows, with support for RAID, snapshots, compression, and WSL integration, installed in seconds via a right-click.
Mainly C. The stack also includes C, Windows Driver Kit, Btrfs.
GNU Lesser General Public Licence (LGPL), free to use and link in your own software, modifications to WinBtrfs itself must be shared under the same license.
Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.
Mainly developer.
This repo across BitVibe Labs
Verify against the repo before relying on details.