Editing Tmpfs (section)

{{Short description|Temporary file system on Unix-like systems}}
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'''tmpfs''' (short for '''T'''e'''mp'''orary '''F'''ile '''S'''ystem) is a [[temporary file]] storage paradigm implemented in many [[Unix-like]] operating systems.  It is intended to appear as a mounted [[file system]], but data is stored in [[volatile memory]] instead of a persistent storage device.

The idea behind tmpfs is similar in concept to a [[RAM disk]], in that both provide a file system stored in volatile memory; however, the implementations are different. While tmpfs is implemented at the ''logical file system'' layer, a RAM disk is implemented at the ''[[File system#Architecture|physical file system]]'' layer. In other words, a RAM disk is a virtual block device with a normal file system running on top of it, while tmpfs is a virtual file system without any underlying block device.