exFAT

E40785

computer file system file system

exFAT is a Microsoft-developed file system optimized for flash drives and SD cards, designed to handle large files and volumes with broad cross-platform compatibility.

Aliases (1)

Microsoft published exFAT specification in 2019 ×1

Statements (51)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	computer file system → file system →
advantageOver	FAT32 for large files →
comparedTo	NTFS →
compatibleWith	FAT file system family →
designedFor	consumer electronics → embedded devices → removable storage →
developer	Microsoft →
directoryStructure	B+ tree-like directory layout →
disadvantageComparedTo	NTFS in security features →
fileSystemType	lightweight → non-journaled by design →
intendedAs	replacement for FAT32 on flash media →
introducedBy	Microsoft Windows CE 6.0 →
introducedYear	2006 →
licensing	originally proprietary → patent-encumbered by Microsoft →
licensingChange	Microsoft published exFAT specification in 2019 → Microsoft supported exFAT in Linux kernel in 2019 →
operatingSystemSupport	Android → Linux → Windows → iOS → macOS →
optimizedFor	SD cards → USB flash drives → flash drives → memory cards →
predecessor	FAT32 →
standardizedBy	SD Association →
supportsFeature	Unicode file names → access control lists via implementations → allocation bitmap → cluster sizes up to 32 MB → file size larger than 4 GB → file size up to 16 EB (theoretical) → free space bitmap → journaling optional via implementations → large files → large volumes → time stamps → up to 2,796,202 files per directory (implementation-dependent) → volume size up to 128 PB (theoretical) →
typicalClusterSizeRange	4 KB to 32 MB →
useCase	external hard drives → high-capacity SDXC cards → interoperable storage between Windows and macOS → solid-state drives →
usedBy	SDUC specification → SDXC specification →

Referenced by (3)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
exFAT ("Microsoft published exFAT specification in 2019") →	licensingChange
ChromeOS →	supportsFileSystem
Finder →	supportsFileSystems