Bcachefs Installation¶

Since bcachefs was removed from the mainline kernel in Linux 6.18, installation requires building the DKMS module from source.

Prerequisites¶

Kernel Headers¶

Install headers matching your running kernel:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install linux-headers-$(uname -r)

Build Dependencies¶

sudo apt install build-essential git pkg-config liblz4-dev \
    libzstd-dev libuuid-dev libblkid-dev libkeyutils-dev \
    liburcu-dev libsodium-dev liburing-dev

Installation Methods¶

Method 1: bcachefs-tools PPA (Recommended)¶

The bcachefs project maintains a PPA with pre-built packages:

# Add the PPA
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:bcachefs/ppa
sudo apt update

# Install tools and DKMS module
sudo apt install bcachefs-tools bcachefs-dkms

Method 2: Build from Source¶

Clone and build the kernel module and userspace tools:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/koverstreet/bcachefs-tools.git
cd bcachefs-tools

# Build userspace tools
make
sudo make install

# Build and install DKMS module
cd ../
git clone https://github.com/koverstreet/bcachefs.git
cd bcachefs
sudo dkms add .
sudo dkms build bcachefs/$(cat VERSION)
sudo dkms install bcachefs/$(cat VERSION)

Loading the Module¶

Manual Loading¶

sudo modprobe bcachefs

Verify Module Loaded¶

lsmod | grep bcachefs

Load at Boot¶

echo 'bcachefs' | sudo tee /etc/modules-load.d/bcachefs.conf

Verify Installation¶

Check that bcachefs tools are available:

# Check version
bcachefs version

# List available commands
bcachefs help

Updating Bcachefs¶

PPA Updates¶

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade bcachefs-tools bcachefs-dkms

Source Updates¶

cd bcachefs-tools
git pull
make clean
make
sudo make install

After kernel updates, rebuild the DKMS module:

sudo dkms autoinstall

Troubleshooting¶

Module Won't Load¶

Check for build errors in DKMS:

dkms status
cat /var/lib/dkms/bcachefs/*/build/make.log

Missing Kernel Headers¶

Ensure headers match your kernel exactly:

uname -r
apt list --installed | grep linux-headers

Secure Boot Issues¶

If Secure Boot is enabled, you may need to sign the module:

# Generate signing key (if not already done)
sudo mokutil --generate-key
sudo mokutil --import MOK.der

# Reboot and enroll the key in MOK manager
# Then sign the module
sudo /usr/src/kernels/$(uname -r)/scripts/sign-file sha256 \
    /path/to/MOK.priv /path/to/MOK.der \
    /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/updates/dkms/bcachefs.ko

Next Steps¶

After installation, proceed to Usage to create your first bcachefs filesystem.