A practical guide to set and use filesystem labels so volumes are easy to identify and mount. 16.11.2025 | reading time: 2 min Labels turn cryptic device names into human-friendly identifiers; use them to mount by name, drive automated scripts and spot the right disk in a hurry. Hands-on Example: label an ext4 image Create a loop file, format it with an ext4 label and inspect the result with these commands and their expected outputs: ``` dd if=/dev/zero of=loop.img bs=1M count=64 mkfs.ext4 -L DATA_VOL loop.img # example output from mkfs.ext4 # mke2fs 1.45.5 (07-Jan-2020) # Creating filesystem with 16384 4k blocks and 4096 inodes e2label loop.img DATA_VOL blkid loop.img loop.img: LABEL=\"DATA_VOL\" UUID=\"e7c9f2a4-1234-5678-9abc-def012345678\" TYPE=\"ext4\" ``` Change, find and mount by label Change an ext filesystem label with `tune2fs -L newlabel /dev/sdXN` or `e2label`, set XFS with `xfs_admin -L`, and use `findfs LABEL=DATA_VOL` or an fstab entry like `LABEL=DATA_VOL /mnt/data ext4 defaults 0 2` to mount by name; remember labels are convenient but not guaranteed unique, so prefer UUID for scripts that require absolute uniqueness. Limits and gotchas to remember Different filesystems impose different label limits and rules: ext2/3/4 up to 16 characters, XFS about 12 characters, FAT up to 11 characters, btrfs allows longer names; labels are stored in filesystem metadata so relabeling generally requires unmounted devices or direct tools and may not update external metadata like LVM tags. Quick tool overview Use `blkid` and `lsblk -o NAME,LABEL,UUID` to discover labels, `tune2fs`/`e2label` for ext, `xfs_admin` for XFS, `btrfstune` or `btrfs filesystem label` for btrfs, and `mlabel`/`fatlabel` for FAT family filesystems to manage labels safely. Wrap-up and next steps Labels are a small change with a big payoff for clarity and automation; practice on loop files and VMs, then expand to real disks and fstab entries to solidify the habit, and consider formalizing your Linux skills with certifications like CompTIA Linux+ or LPIC-1 using intensive exam preparation at bitsandbytes.academy. Join Bits & Bytes Academy First class LINUX exam preparation. filesystem utilities storage setup troubleshooting
