Linsk

Linsk is a utility that allows you to access Linux-native file system infrastructure, including LVM and LUKS on Windows and macOS. Unlike other solutions created to access Linux filesystems on unsupported operating systems, Linsk does not reimplement any file system. Instead, Linsk utilizes a lightweight Alpine Linux VM (~130 MB only) combined with network share technologies like SMB, AFP, and FTP.

Because Linsk uses a native Linux VM, there are no limitations on what you can access. Anything that works on Linux will work under Linsk too (hence the Linux+Disk name).

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💻 Supported platforms

CPU architectures

Linsk natively supports both x86_64 (aka amd64, Intel, AMD, etc.) and aarch64 (aka arm64, Apple M1/M2, and others).

Although Linsk uses a virtual machine, the CPU is never emulated but the hardware accelerators like HVF (macOS), WHPX (Windows), and KVM (Linux) are used.

Operating systems

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux (for development purposes, mostly)

Network file share backends

Linsk relies on network file shares to expose files to the host machine. Below are the types of network shares Linsk supports:

• SMB - The default for Windows.
• AFP - The default for macOS.
• FTP - An alternative backend.

💿 Installation

• Windows - See INSTALL_WINDOWS.md.
• macOS - See INSTALL_MACOS.md.
• Linux - Refer to LINUX_DEV_ENV.md.

🔧 Usage

• Windows - See USAGE_WINDOWS.md.
• macOS - See USAGE_MACOS.md.

⚠️ Serious bug disclosures (Obsolete versions)

Linsk versions below v0.2.0 are considered obsolete UNLESS:

• The use of Linsk was limited exclusively to devices with a 512-byte logical block (sector) size; or
• The experimental USB passthrough was used.

More information: serious-bug-disclosures/README.md

👨‍💻 Contributing

Please see CONTRIBUTING.md.

©️ Copyright and License

Copyright (c) 2023 The Linsk Authors.

Provided under the GNU General Public License v3. The copy of the license is included in the LICENSE file.

Use this git command to view the list of Linsk Authors:

git log --format='%aN <%aE>' | sort -uf