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Mount Amiga filesystem images on macOS/Linux/Windows using native AmigaOS filesystem handlers via FUSE.

AmiFUSE runs actual Amiga filesystem drivers (like PFS3) through m68k CPU emulation, allowing you to read Amiga hard disk images without relying on reverse-engineered implementations.

amifuse

Requirements

  • macOS: macFUSE 5.3.3 or newer
  • Linux: FUSE for Linux
  • Windows: WinFSP
  • Python 3.9+
  • 7z: Required for make unpack (install via brew install p7zip on macOS)
  • A filesystem handler: e.g. pfs3aio (or use make download)

Installation

Quick install (recommended)

The bootstrap scripts handle everything: Python, FUSE provider, virtual environment, pip dependencies, and amifuse doctor --fix.

# Clone the repository with submodules
git clone --recursive https://github.com/reinauer/AmiFUSE.git
cd AmiFUSE

Windows (PowerShell):

.\tools\install-windows.ps1

macOS / Linux:

./tools/install.sh

From source (for development)

Use this if you are contributing to the project or need a custom setup.

git clone --recursive https://github.com/reinauer/AmiFUSE.git
cd AmiFUSE
# Or if already cloned, initialize submodules
git submodule update --init
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate   # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -e './amitools[vamos]'   # Install amitools from submodule (includes machine68k)
pip install -e .                     # Install AmiFUSE
pip install -e '.[windows]'         # Windows only: adds pystray + Pillow for tray/shell integration

macOS-specific

Install macFUSE 5.3.3 or newer from https://osxfuse.github.io/ or via Homebrew/MacPorts. Earlier releases can crash because they initialize DiskArbitration and CoreFoundation state before daemonizing:

# Homebrew
brew install --cask macfuse
# MacPorts
port install macfuse +fs_link

You may need to reboot and allow the kernel extension in System Preferences > Security & Privacy.

Linux-specific

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install fuse libfuse-dev
# Fedora
sudo dnf install fuse fuse-devel

Running from source (without installing)

To run AmiFUSE directly from a local checkout (useful for development/debugging):

python3 -m amifuse mount disk.hdf

Quick Start

To download a test PFS3 disk image and the pfs3aio handler:

make download   # Downloads pfs.7z and pfs3aio to Downloads/
make unpack     # Extracts pfs.hdf and copies pfs3aio to current directory

Then mount with:

# macOS: auto-mounts to /Volumes/<partition_name>, uses embedded driver from RDB
amifuse mount pfs.hdf
# Linux: requires explicit mountpoint
mkdir -p ./mnt
amifuse mount pfs.hdf --mountpoint ./mnt
# Stay attached to the terminal if you want Ctrl+C to unmount
amifuse mount pfs.hdf --interactive

To compare this checkout against ../amifuse-0.2 using the bundled pfs.hdf and pfs3aio, run:

make bench-pfs

This benchmark bypasses macFUSE and measures the handler startup time, a full recursive directory walk equivalent to find, and a small set of file reads. You can override the defaults with PFS_BENCH_BASELINE, PFS_BENCH_IMAGE, PFS_BENCH_DRIVER, and PFS_BENCH_REPEAT.

Usage

amifuse uses subcommands for different operations:

amifuse inspect <image>                    # Inspect RDB partitions
amifuse mount <image>                      # Mount a filesystem
amifuse unmount <mountpoint>               # Unmount a filesystem
amifuse doctor                             # Check dependencies and configuration
amifuse register                           # Add Windows Explorer context menu entries
amifuse unregister                         # Remove Windows Explorer context menu entries

Inspecting Disk Images

View partition information and embedded filesystem drivers:

# Show partition summary
amifuse inspect /path/to/disk.hdf
# Show full partition details
amifuse inspect --full /path/to/disk.hdf
Argument Description
image Path to the RDB image file
--block-size Block size in bytes (default: auto-detect or 512)
--full Show full partition details

Mounting Filesystems

amifuse mount /path/to/disk.hdf
Argument Required Description
image Yes Path to the Amiga hard disk image file
--driver No Path to filesystem handler binary (default: extract from RDB if available)
--mountpoint macOS/Windows: No, Linux: Yes Mount location (macOS: /Volumes/<partition>, Windows: first free drive letter)
--partition No Partition name (e.g., DH0) or index (default: first partition)
--block-size No Override block size (default: auto-detect or 512)
--volname No Override the volume name shown in Finder
--daemon No Detach after mounting (default on macOS/Linux)
--interactive / --foreground No Stay attached to the terminal; Ctrl+C unmounts
--debug No Enable debug logging of FUSE operations
--profile No Enable cProfile profiling and write stats to profile.txt on exit
--write No Enable read-write mode (experimental, use with caution)
--icons No Convert Amiga .info icons to native icons (experimental, macOS only)

Mount lifecycle:

  • macOS and Linux default to daemon mode. The mount keeps running after the command returns, and you normally tear it down with amifuse unmount <mountpoint>.
  • --interactive / --foreground keeps AmiFUSE attached to the terminal. Use this for debugging or when you want Ctrl+C to unmount from the same shell.
  • Windows defaults to daemon mode. Double-click .hdf/.adf files to mount and open Explorer (requires amifuse register). Unmount from the system tray icon or with amifuse unmount <drive>:. The WinFSP "Eject" action does not perform a clean unmount — use the tray or CLI instead.
  • --profile implies interactive mode.

Diagnosing Issues

amifuse doctor checks that all dependencies (Python, FUSE provider, handlers) are correctly installed and configured.

amifuse doctor            # Human-readable report
amifuse doctor --json     # Machine-readable JSON output
amifuse doctor --fix      # Auto-fix what it can (PATH, shell registration)

Examples

# macOS: Mount using embedded filesystem driver from RDB (simplest)
amifuse mount disk.hdf
# macOS: Mount with explicit driver
amifuse mount pfs.hdf --driver pfs3aio
# Mount a specific partition by name
amifuse mount multi-partition.hdf --partition DH0
# Mount a specific partition by index
amifuse mount multi-partition.hdf --partition 2
# Linux: Explicit mountpoint required
mkdir -p ./mnt
amifuse mount disk.hdf --mountpoint ./mnt
# Mount an ADF floppy image (requires explicit driver)
amifuse mount workbench.adf --driver L/FastFileSystem
# Enable native icons (macOS only, converts Amiga .info files)
amifuse mount disk.hdf --icons
# Keep the mount attached for debugging
amifuse mount disk.hdf --interactive
# Browse the filesystem
ls /Volumes/PDH0   # macOS
ls ./mnt           # Linux
# Unmount a daemon mount when done
amifuse unmount /Volumes/PDH0   # macOS
amifuse unmount ./mnt           # Linux

Additional Tools

rdb-inspect

Inspect RDB (Rigid Disk Block) images to view partition information and embedded filesystem drivers.

# Show partition summary
rdb-inspect /path/to/disk.hdf
# Show full partition details
rdb-inspect --full /path/to/disk.hdf
# Output as JSON
rdb-inspect --json /path/to/disk.hdf
# Extract embedded filesystem driver #0 to a file
rdb-inspect --extract-fs 0 --out pfs3.bin /path/to/disk.hdf
Argument Description
image Path to the RDB image file
--block-size Block size in bytes (default: auto-detect or 512)
--full Show full partition details
--json Output parsed RDB as JSON
--extract-fs N Extract filesystem entry N (0-based) to a file
--out Output path for extracted filesystem (default: auto-derived)

driver-info

Inspect Amiga filesystem handler binaries to verify they can be relocated and display segment information.

# Inspect a filesystem handler
driver-info pfs3aio
# Use a custom base address
driver-info --base 0x200000 pfs3aio
Argument Description
binary Path to the filesystem handler binary
--base Base address for relocation (default: 0x100000)
--padding Padding between segments when relocating

Supported Image Formats

  • HDF/RDB - Hard disk images with Rigid Disk Block. Filesystem drivers can be embedded in the RDB or specified via --driver.
  • Emu68-style MBR images - Disk images with MBR partition table containing an RDB partition, as used by Emu68 on Raspberry Pi.
  • ADF - Amiga Disk File floppy images (DD and HD). Requires --driver since ADFs don't contain embedded drivers.

Supported Filesystems

Currently tested with:

  • FFS/OFS (Fast/Old File System) via L:FastFileSystem from Workbench (tested with 3.2)
  • CDFileSystem via L:CDFileSystem from Workbench (tested with 3.2)
  • PFS3 (Professional File System 3) via pfs3aio handler
  • SFS (Smart File System 1.279) via SmartFileSystem handler
  • BFFS (Berkeley Fast File System) via Chris Hooper's BFFSFilesystem handler
  • ODFileSystem (Optical Disc Filesystem) via Stefan Reinauer's ODFileSystem handler

Other Amiga filesystem handlers may work but have not been tested. Reports are welcome.

Icon Support

The --icons flag enables conversion of Amiga .info icon files to native Finder icons:

  • Folder and file icons from .info files are displayed in Finder
  • Supports Traditional, NewIcons, and GlowIcons formats
  • The .info files are hidden in directory listings
  • Volume icons are displayed on the Desktop

*** This feature is experimental and macOS-only. ***

Windows Shell Integration

On Windows, AmiFUSE can integrate with Explorer for double-click mounting, right-click context menus, and a system tray mount manager.

Context menu registration

amifuse register      # Add "Mount with AmiFUSE" to .hdf/.adf context menus
amifuse unregister    # Remove the context menu entries

Registration writes to HKCU (current user only) — no administrator privileges are required.

After registering:

  • Double-click an .hdf or .adf file to mount it and open Explorer at the mounted drive
  • Right-click for "Mount with AmiFUSE" (read-only) or "Mount Read-Write with AmiFUSE"

Tray mount manager

When a filesystem is mounted in daemon mode on Windows, the amifuse-tray helper appears in the system tray. From the tray icon you can see active mounts and unmount them cleanly. Each mount shows its drive letter, image name, and provides Inspect/Unmount actions.

The tray requires optional dependencies: install them with pip install amifuse[windows] (provides pystray and Pillow).

Removing shell integration

amifuse unregister

Or use the installer's uninstall mode:

.\tools\install-windows.ps1 -Uninstall

Notes

  • The filesystem is mounted read-only by default; use --write for experimental read-write support
  • macOS and Linux default to daemon mode; use --interactive if you want Ctrl+C to unmount from the same terminal
  • Use amifuse unmount <mountpoint> to tear down daemon mounts
  • Windows defaults to daemon mode; unmount via the system tray icon or amifuse unmount <mountpoint>
  • macOS Finder/Spotlight indexing is automatically disabled to improve performance
  • First directory traversal may be slow as the handler processes each path; subsequent accesses are cached

Read the original on github.com ↗