File Storage - Quickstart

Reviewed on July 23, 2025

Scaleway File Storage allows you to create file systems to easily share files across multiple Instances within the same region. File systems are network-attached storage structures that can be accessed by Scaleway Instances to easily share files within your cloud infrastructure.

Each file system can be attached to several Instances, and each Instance can have several file systems attached to it.

This guide teaches you how to quickly create, attach, mount, unmount, detach, and delete a file system using the Scaleway console.

Before you start

To complete the actions presented below, you must have:

• A Scaleway account logged into the console
• Owner status or IAM permissions allowing you to perform actions in the intended Organization

How to create a file system

1. Click File Storage in the Storage section of the side menu. The File Storage dashboard displays.

2. Click + Create file system. The file system creation page displays.

3. Complete the following steps:

   • Select the region in which your file system will be created. It will be accessible by Instances within the same region.
   • Enter a name for your file system, or use the automatically generated one. The name of your file system can only contain alphanumeric characters, spaces, and dashes.
   • Configure the provisioned size of your file system.
     Note

     File systems are billed based on the provisioned space, and not on actual usage.

4. Review the estimated cost.

5. Click Create file system.

A list of your file systems displays, showing your newly created resource.

How to manage a file system

1. Click File Storage in the Storage section of the side menu. A list of your file systems displays.

2. Click the name of the file system you want to manage. The Overview page displays.

3. From this page, you can:

   • Resize your file system
   • Attach your file system to one or several Instance(s)
   • Retrieve the command to mount your file system on your Instance(s)
   • Delete your file system

How to attach a file system to one or more Instance(s)

1. Click File Storage in the Storage section of the side menu. A list of your file systems displays.

2. Click the name of the file system you want to attach. The Overview page displays.

3. Open the Attached Instance(s) tab. A list of currently attached Instances displays.

4. Click Attach an Instance. A pop-up displays.

5. Select one Instance or more from the drop-down list, then click Attach to confirm.

   Important

   File systems can only be attached to POP2 Instances within the same region.

Your file system is now attached to the selected Instance(s) and can now be mounted to a Scaleway Instance.

How to mount a file system to a Scaleway Instance

1. Click File Storage in the Storage section of the side menu. A list of your file systems displays.

2. Click the name of the file system you want to mount. The Overview page displays.

3. From the Mount section of the Overview page, copy the mounting command:

   mount -t virtiofs <file_system_id> /mnt

4. Open a terminal and connect via SSH to the Instances you have attached to your file system.

5. Create a dedicated directory at the desired location (e.g. /mnt/my_fs) to use as a mount point.

6. Run the previously copied mount command to mount your file system. Make sure to specify the appropriate mount point:

   mount -t virtiofs <file_system_id> /mnt/my_fs

   Important

   For safety reasons, we do not recommend mounting your file system directly to the /mnt directory, but rather to a dedicated sub-folder (such as /mnt/my_fs).

7. Run the following command to display the file systems of your Instance:

   df -h

   A list of your file systems displays, containing the one you just mounted:

   Filesystem                            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
   tmpfs                                 794M  992K  793M   1% /run
   /dev/sda1                             8.0G  2.1G  6.0G  26% /
   /dev/sda2                             881M   61M  758M   8% /boot
   2933ea63-example-file-system-c05fe2    94G     0   94G   0% /mnt/my_fs

Your file system is now mounted and accessible from the specified mount point in your Instance.

How to unmount a file system from a Scaleway Instance

1. Click File Storage in the Storage section of the side menu. A list of your file systems displays.

2. Click the name of the file system you want to unmount. The Overview page displays.

3. Copy the ID of your file system.

4. Open a terminal and connect via SSH to the Instances you previously attached to your file system.

5. Run the following command. Make sure to replace the placeholder and mount point with the appropriate values:

   umount /mnt/my_fs

Your file system is now unmounted from the specified Instance.

How to detach a file system from an instance

1. Click File Storage in the Storage section of the side menu. A list of your file systems displays.

2. Click the name of the file system you want to detach. The Overview page displays.

3. Open the Attached Instances tab. A list of Instances attached to the selected file system displays.

4. Click the more icon icon next to the Instance you want to detach, then click Detach from the drop-down menu. A confirmation pop-up appears.

5. Click Detach Instance to confirm your action.

Your Instance is now detached, and no longer appears in the list.

How to delete a file system

1. Click File Storage in the Storage section of the side menu. A list of your file systems displays.

2. Click the name of the file system you want to delete. The Overview page displays.

3. Click Delete file system at the bottom of the page. A confirmation pop-up displays.

4. Type DELETE to confirm your action.

5. Click Delete file system to confirm.