On any Linux system, one of the directories that will surely grow in size has to be the /home
directory. This is because system accounts (users) directories will reside in /home except root account – here users will continuously store documents and other files.
Another important directory with the same behavior is /var
, it contains log files whose size will gradually increase as the system continues to run such as log files, web files, print spool files etc.
When these directories fill up, this can cause critical problems on the root file system resulting into system boot failure or some other related issues. However, sometimes you can only notice this after installing your system and configuring all directories on the root file system/partition.
Suggested Read: Linux Directory Structure and Important Files Paths Explained
In this guide, we will show how to move the home directory into a dedicated partition possibly on a new storage disk in Linux.
Installing and Partitioning a New Hard Disk in Linux
Before we proceed any further, we’ll briefly explain how to add a new hard disk to an existing Linux server.
Note: If you already have a partition ready for the operation, move to the section which explains the steps for moving /home
directory in a partition of its own below.
We’ll assume you have attached the new disk to the system. On a hard disk, the number of partitions to be created as well as the partition table is normally determined by disk label type and the first few bytes of space will define the MBR (Master Boot Record) which stores the partition table as well as the boot loader (for bootable disks).
Although there are many label types, Linux only accepts two: MSDOS MBR (516 bytes in size) or GPT (GUID Partition Table) MBR.
Let’s also assume that the new new hard disk (/dev/sdb of size 270 GB used for the purpose of this guide, you probably need a bigger capacity on a server for large user base.
First you need to set the disk label type using fdisk or parted; we have used GPT label name in this example.
# parted /dev/sdb mklabel gpt
Note: fdisk only supports MSDOS MBR for now and parted supports both labels.
Now create the first partition (/dev/sdb1) with size 106GB. We have reserved 1024MB of space for the MBR.
# parted -a cylinder /dev/sdb mkpart primary 1074MB 107GB
Explaining the command above:
- a – option to specify the partition alignment.
- mkpart – sub command to create the partition.
- primary – sets partition type as primary on the hard disk (other values are logical or extended).
- 1074MB – beginning of partition.
- 107GB – end of partition.
Now check the free space on the disk as follows.
# parted /dev/sdb print free
We will create another partition (/dev/sdb2) with size 154GB.
# parted -a cylinder /dev/sdb mkpart primary 115GB 268GB
Next, let’s set the filesystem type on each partition.
# mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb1 # mkfs.xfs /dev/sdb2
To view all storage devices attached on the system, type.
# parted -l

Moving Home Directory into a Dedicated Partition
Now we have added the new disk and created the necessary partition; it’s now time to move the home folder into one of the partitions. To use a fileysystem, it has to be mounted to the root filesystem at a mount point: the target directory such as /home.
First list the filesystem usage using df command on the system.
# df -l

We will start by creating a new directory /srv/home where we can mount /dev/sdb1 for the time being.
# mkdir -p /srv/home # mount /dev/sdb1 /srv/home
Then move the content of /home into /srv/home (so they will be practically stored in /dev/sdb1) using rsync command or cp command.
# rsync -av /home/* /srv/home/ OR # cp -aR /home/* /srv/home/
After that, we will find the difference between the two directories using the diff tool, if all is well, continue to the next step.
# diff -r /home /srv/home
Afterwards, delete all the old content in the /home as follows.
# rm -rf /home/*
Next unmount /srv/home.
# umount /srv/home
Finally, we have to mount the filesystem /dev/sdb1 to /home for the mean time.
# mount /dev/sdb1 /home # ls -l /home
The above changes will last only for the current boot, add the line below in the /etc/fstab to make the changes permanent.
Use following command to get the partition UUID.
# blkid /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdb1: UUID="e087e709-20f9-42a4-a4dc-d74544c490a6" TYPE="ext4" PARTLABEL="primary" PARTUUID="52d77e5c-0b20-4a68-ada4-881851b2ca99"
Once you know the partition UUID, open /etc/fstab file add following line.
UUID=e087e709-20f9-42a4-a4dc-d74544c490a6 /home ext4 defaults 0 2
Explaining the field in the line above:
- UUID – specifies the block device, you can alternatively use the device file /dev/sdb1.
- /home – this is the mount point.
- etx4 – describes the filesystem type on the device/partition.
- defaults – mount options, (here this value means rw, suid, dev, exec, auto, nouser, and async).
- 0 – used by dump tool, 0 meaning don’t dump if filesystem is not present.
- 2 – used by fsck tool for discovering filesystem check order, this value means check this device after root filesystem.
Save the file and reboot the system.
You can run following command to see that /home directory has been successfully moved into a dedicated partition.
# df -hl

That’s It for now! To understand more about Linux file-system, read through these guides relating to filesystem management on Linux.
- How to Delete User Accounts with Home Directory in Linux
- What is Ext2, Ext3 & Ext4 and How to Create and Convert Linux File Systems
- 7 Ways to Determine the File System Type in Linux (Ext2, Ext3 or Ext4)
- How to Mount Remote Linux Filesystem or Directory Using SSHFS Over SSH
In this guide, we explained you how to move the /home directory into a dedicated partition in Linux. You can share any thoughts concerning this article via the comment form below.
Great instructions except that I not having faith in the process did not delete the original home folder and wonder where it went and if it is wasting space somewhere. I have successfully moved my home to a new partition but not sure if and where the old users are under filesystem
etx4 – describes the filesystem type on the device/partition and it is confusing to noobs.
Perhaps that should be ‘ext4’?
thanks for sharing this
Hi, I got as far as /mount /dev/sdb1 to /home/jud.
The result was a home folder which showed the contents of sdb1, but there are some problems with rights, e.g. sudo gedit /etc/fstab worked before the change, but not after, and gparted ran before, not after.
Also, I have two different Linux Mint installs, a version 18.3 and a 19, and would like both to share a single /home.
thanks for a clear and informed post
@Jud
We have to test first whether you can use the same home directory for two same distro installs, before we can give you a solution. But, thanks for liking the guide and giving us feedback.
After posting prior comment, I modified fstab on two different installs of Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon, which appear successful, no rights problems so far. I know that is anecdotal and in no way a test, but am encouraged by results [and Home is separately backed up in case it all goes away]. Thanks again.
Wouldn’t it be simpler to use the GNOME Disks program?
@James
Sure, you can use it, if it can do the job.
and otherwayround?
how to change it back tothe main harddrive root?
Thank you for this post.
To get the partition in the FSTAB file you can use this command:
@Fan
Many thanks for sharing this, we are grateful for your contribution.
Thanks for the steps and the explanations, it helped me on more than one occasion.
@Amar
Welcome, that’s great and don’t forget to share.
Hi Aaron,
Thank you for this detailed post.
I am following your post to move my
/
directory to a new raid 1 HD. I have managed to set up my raid HD till now. I wish to move the whole/
rather than/home
directory.My difficulty comes when mounting my new HD. I cannot mount my HD within my
/
directory if I understand correctly. What do you suggest, please? This is what I have on the server. Of course, /dev/md3, which is my new raid needs to be unmounted from /srv/home.Many thanks for your advice.
Thanks a lot for this post, it worked perfectly. I have only one suggestion to improve it:
At the very end, when you have added the new partition to
/etc/fstab
, it is a good idea to execute ‘mount -a‘, which will try to mount the stuff in the file.This ensures that your fstab file is fine. I had a typo in it, and that can be quite annoying if you do not discover it in time and only find out at the next reboot…
@Tim
Welcome, and many thanks for the useful addition.