---
title: File Storage - Quickstart
description: Get started with Scaleway File Storage. This guide covers creating, attaching, and mounting File systems to your Instances for efficient data management.
tags: file storage overview get started
dates:
validation: 2026-07-13
posted: 2025-07-23
categories:
- file-storage
- storage
---
import Requirements from '@macros/iam/requirements.mdx'
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.
- A Scaleway account logged into the [console](https://console.scaleway.com)
- [Owner](/iam/concepts/#owner) status or [IAM permissions](/iam/concepts/#permission) allowing you to perform actions in the intended Organization
- Created a [compatible Instance](/file-storage/reference-content/file-system-instance-selection/#file-system-attachments-per-compatible-instance-type)
## How to create a file system
1. Click **File Storage** in the **Storage** section of the side menu. The [File Storage dashboard](https://console.scaleway.com/file-storage/) displays.
2. Click **+ Create file system**. The [file system creation page](https://console.scaleway.com/file-storage/create) displays.
3. Complete the following steps:
- Select the region in which your file system will be created. It will be accessible by [Instances](/instances/) within the same [region](/file-storage/concepts/#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.
File systems are billed based on the provisioned space, and not on actual usage.
The more capacity you provision for your file system, the higher the [performance](/file-storage/reference-content/performance-scaling/) will be.
4. Review the estimated performance related to the size you chose to provision.
5. Review the estimated cost.
6. 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)
To attach a file system to an Instance, you must have created a [compatible Instance](/file-storage/reference-content/file-system-instance-selection/#file-system-attachments-per-compatible-instance-type) beforehand.
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.
File systems can only be attached to [compatible Instances](/file-storage/reference-content/file-system-instance-selection/#file-system-attachments-per-compatible-instance-type) within the same [region](/file-storage/concepts/#region).
Your file system is now attached to the selected Instance(s) and can be [mounted](/file-storage/how-to/mount-file-system/) to a Scaleway Instance.
To attach a file system using the CLI or API, refer to the [dedicated documentation](/file-storage/how-to/attach-file-system/).
## How to mount a file system to a Scaleway Instance
To mount a file system to an Instance, you must have [attached your file system to an Instance](#how-to-attach-a-file-system-to-one-or-more-instances) beforehand. File systems can only be attached to [compatible Instances](/file-storage/reference-content/file-system-instance-selection/#file-system-attachments-per-compatible-instance-type).
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:
```bash
mount -t virtiofs /mnt/my_fs
```
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`).
4. Open a terminal and [connect via SSH to the Instance](/instances/how-to/connect-to-instance/) you have [attached to your file system](/file-storage/how-to/attach-file-system/).
5. Run the command below to create a dedicated directory at the desired location (e.g. `/mnt/my_fs`) to use as a mount point:
```bash
mkdir mnt/my_fs
```
6. Run the previously copied mount command to mount your file system. Make sure to specify the appropriate mount point:
```bash
mount -t virtiofs /mnt/my_fs
```
7. Run the following command to display the file systems of your Instance:
```bash
df -h
```
A list of your file systems displays, containing the one you just mounted:
```bash
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](/instances/how-to/connect-to-instance/) you previously [attached to your file system](/file-storage/how-to/attach-file-system/).
5. Run the following command. Make sure to replace the placeholder and mount point with the appropriate values:
```bash
umount /mnt/my_fs
```
Your file system is now unmounted from the specified Instance.
## How to detach a file system from an instance
You must [unmount](#how-to-unmount-a-file-system-from-a-scaleway-instance) your file system before detaching Instances from it.
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 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.