> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.openiam.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.openiam.com/installation/rpm/rpm-single-node/separate-partition.md).
# Install on a separate partition
OpenIAM installs into /usr/local/openiam on the root filesystem — how to put it on a different partition instead, and what the free-space check still reads.
**By default OpenIAM installs into `/usr/local/openiam`, which is on the root filesystem.**
Many organisations provision application capacity elsewhere — a dedicated `/opt`, a mounted data volume, or an LVM volume sized for applications — and keep the root filesystem small. This page puts OpenIAM on that partition instead, in two commands.
**Do this between installing the package and running the initialisation.** Once the deployment is initialised, paths are recorded throughout and relocating it is no longer a matter of moving a directory.
## What this covers, and how long it takes
You get
OpenIAM installed on the partition of your choosing
Time
5 minutes, inserted into the normal installation
Hosts
The host you are installing on
Downtime
None beyond the normal installation
Reversible
Yes, before initialisation
## Before you start
* The target partition has the free space for your environment from [*System requirements*](/installation/system-requirements.md) — 80 GB non-production, 200 GB production.
* **`/` also has that much free.** The initialisation reads free space on `/` directly and does not follow the symlink, so relocating the install directory does not change what the check measures. **This is behaviour of the installation, not a sizing recommendation** — the platform's own data will live on your chosen partition, but `/` must still show the free space above for the installation to proceed. Size the root filesystem accordingly, or the installation stops before it starts.
* You have installed the OpenIAM package and the host has restarted, per [*Install*](/installation/rpm/rpm-single-node/install.md) steps 1 and 2.
***
## Build it
### 1. Confirm the package is installed and the platform is not yet initialised
{% code overflow="wrap" %}
```bash
rpm -q openiam
ls /usr/local/openiam/initialized
```
{% endcode %}
**Expected:** the package version, and `No such file or directory` for the marker.
### 2. Move the directory to the target partition
{% code overflow="wrap" %}
```bash
mv /usr/local/openiam /opt/
```
{% endcode %}
Replace `/opt` with your partition's mount point.
**What you should see:** no output, and the directory present at its new location.
### 3. Link it back
{% code overflow="wrap" %}
```bash
ln -s /opt/openiam /usr/local/openiam
chown -h openiam:openiam /usr/local/openiam
```
{% endcode %}
`-h` sets ownership on the link itself.
### 4. Confirm the link resolves
{% code overflow="wrap" %}
```bash
ls -la /usr/local/openiam
ls /usr/local/openiam/env.conf
```
{% endcode %}
**Expected:** the symlink pointing at your partition, and `env.conf` readable through it.
### 5. Continue the installation
Return to [*Install*](/installation/rpm/rpm-single-node/install.md) at step 4 and continue as normal. Everything after this point behaves exactly as a standard installation.
***
## Verify it
After the installation completes:
{% code overflow="wrap" %}
```bash
df -h /opt
du -sh /opt/openiam
```
{% endcode %}
**Expected:** the OpenIAM directory consuming space on the target partition, with room to spare — and `/` largely untouched:
{% code overflow="wrap" %}
```bash
df -h /
```
{% endcode %}
## If it goes wrong
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
| -------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| The installation reports insufficient space on `/` | The free-space check reads `/` itself, whichever partition OpenIAM is installed on | Free space on `/` to the figure in [*System requirements*](/installation/system-requirements.md), or provision a larger root filesystem |
| Permission errors during installation | The link or the target is not owned by `openiam` | `chown -h openiam:openiam /usr/local/openiam` and `chown -R openiam:openiam /opt/openiam` |
| Services fail to start | The target partition is not mounted at boot | Confirm the mount is in `/etc/fstab` and mounts before the platform starts |
## What this procedure does not cover
Choosing the storage the partition sits on, volume management beyond the mount, and backup of that volume. Sizing is in [*System requirements*](/installation/system-requirements.md), and what to back up is in [*Back up and restore*](/installation/rpm/rpm-single-node/back-up-and-restore.md).
## Related
* [*Install*](/installation/rpm/rpm-single-node/install.md)
* [*System requirements*](/installation/system-requirements.md)
*Applies to OpenIAM 2026.8.1.*
---
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