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<h1>Move /home Folder</h1>
<section class="postMetadata">
<dl>
<dt>tags</dt>
<dd><span></span>
<a href="/tags/linux/">#Linux</a></dd>
<dt>published</dt>
<dd><time datetime="2025-01-29">January 29, 2025</time></dd>
<dt>reading time</dt>
<dd>2 minutes</dd>
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</section>
<div>
<p>You can move the <code>/home</code> folder on Ubuntu, but you must do it carefully to avoid breaking your system. Below are the steps to safely move <code>/home</code> to a new location.</p>
<hr>
<h2 id="1-create-a-backup-recommended"><strong>1. Create a Backup (Recommended)</strong></h2>
<p>Before proceeding, create a backup of your home folder in case anything goes wrong.</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" style="color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#272822;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash"><span style="display:flex;"><span>sudo tar -czvf /home_backup.tar.gz /home</span></span></code></pre></div>
<h2 id="2-create-a-new-partition-or-mount-point-if-needed"><strong>2. Create a New Partition or Mount Point (If Needed)</strong></h2>
<p>If you’re moving /home to a different partition or disk, make sure it’s properly formatted and mounted.</p>
<p>For example, if you want to use a new disk (e.g., <code>/dev/sdb1</code>):</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" style="color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#272822;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash"><span style="display:flex;"><span>sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb1
</span></span><span style="display:flex;"><span>sudo mkdir /mnt/newhome
</span></span><span style="display:flex;"><span>sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/newhome</span></span></code></pre></div>
<h2 id="3-copy-the-home-folder"><strong>3. Copy the Home Folder</strong></h2>
<p>Copy all user data to the new location while preserving permissions:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" style="color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#272822;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash"><span style="display:flex;"><span>sudo rsync -aXS /home/ /mnt/newhome/</span></span></code></pre></div>
<hr>
<h2 id="4-update-fstab"><strong>4. Update fstab</strong></h2>
<p>Edit /etc/fstab to mount the new home directory at boot.</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" style="color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#272822;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash"><span style="display:flex;"><span>sudo nano /etc/fstab</span></span></code></pre></div>
<p>Add this line at the end (adjust the path accordingly):</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" style="color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#272822;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash"><span style="display:flex;"><span>/dev/sdb1 /home ext4 defaults <span style="color:#ae81ff">0</span> <span style="color:#ae81ff">2</span></span></span></code></pre></div>
<p>If you prefer using the UUID, first find it:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" style="color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#272822;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash"><span style="display:flex;"><span>sudo blkid</span></span></code></pre></div>
<p>Then, add this line instead:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" style="color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#272822;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;"><code class="language-arduino" data-lang="arduino"><span style="display:flex;"><span>UUID<span style="color:#f92672">=</span>your<span style="color:#f92672">-</span>uuid <span style="color:#f92672">/</span><span style="color:#a6e22e">home</span> ext4 defaults <span style="color:#ae81ff">0</span> <span style="color:#ae81ff">2</span></span></span></code></pre></div>
<hr>
<h2 id="5-unmount-old-home-and-mount-new-one"><strong>5. Unmount Old Home and Mount New One</strong></h2>
<p>Switch to a different session (e.g., TTY):</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" style="color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#272822;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash"><span style="display:flex;"><span>Ctrl + Alt + F3</span></span></code></pre></div>
<p>Log in and stop processes using <code>/home</code>:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" style="color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#272822;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash"><span style="display:flex;"><span>sudo systemctl stop gdm <span style="color:#75715e"># For GNOME (or use sddm/lightdm if applicable)</span></span></span></code></pre></div>
<p>Unmount and remount:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" style="color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#272822;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash"><span style="display:flex;"><span>sudo umount /home
</span></span><span style="display:flex;"><span>sudo mount /home</span></span></code></pre></div>
<hr>
<h2 id="6-verify-and-reboot"><strong>6. Verify and Reboot</strong></h2>
<p>Check that everything is in place:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" style="color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#272822;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash"><span style="display:flex;"><span>ls /home</span></span></code></pre></div>
<p>If everything looks good, reboot:</p>
<div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" style="color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#272822;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash"><span style="display:flex;"><span>sudo reboot</span></span></code></pre></div>
<hr>
<h1 id="things-to-keep-in-mind">Things to Keep in Mind</h1>
<ul>
<li>
<p>If you’re logged in as a regular user, switch to a root shell (sudo -i) or use a temporary user with administrative privileges.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>If you face permission issues, you might need to reapply ownership:</p>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" style="color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#272822;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash"><span style="display:flex;"><span>sudo chown -R username:username /home/username</span></span></code></pre></div>
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