You might find yourself in a situation where you need to identify the file system type of a storage device connected to your Mac. This could be an external hard drive, USB flash drive, external SSD or HDD, SD card, or any similar device. Knowing the file system is important as it helps determine whether the drive is natively compatible with macOS or if it can be used across both Windows and Mac systems. There are several common file systems you may come across, such as FAT, FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, APFS, Ext, Ext2, Ext3, Ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS, and HFS .

So how do you check the file system of a storage device connected to a Mac? Below, we’ll guide you through two methods to accomplish this—using Disk Utility and using the Finder.

How to Check File System of Any Disk, Drive, or Volume on Mac Using Disk Utility

With Disk Utility, you can quickly view the file system format of any connected drive or disk.

Connect the storage device to your Mac and then open Disk Utility. Locate the device in the list and select it. You will see the file system type displayed under the device name, as shown in the screenshot below:

How to Determine File System of an External Drive or Volume on Mac Using Finder

Another simple way to find out the file system of any connected storage device is through the Finder.

Once the device is connected, right-click its name in the Finder sidebar and choose “Get Info.”

In the Get Info window, the file system format will be listed next to “Format:”, as illustrated in the image below:

These are the two easiest ways to identify the file system of any connected disk, drive, or volume on a Mac. Alternatively, advanced users can also use the Terminal command diskutil list to retrieve this information.

How Can You Change the File System of a Storage Device on a Mac?

To switch the file system of a device, you’ll need to erase and reformat the volume. If you want to change the file system on a Mac-connected drive—such as an external backup hard drive, external SSD, or USB flash drive—you can format it directly from your Mac by selecting the desired file system during the formatting process. Most Mac users typically opt for HFS or APFS for full compatibility with macOS, or NTFS or a FAT-based file system for cross-compatibility between Mac and Windows. Keep in mind that formatting a drive will erase all data stored on it.

Did you find this useful? Are there other ways you know to check file system types on drives or disks? Feel free to share them in the comments below.

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