1CDRSKIN(1) General Commands Manual CDRSKIN(1)
2
6 cdrskin - burns preformatted data to CD, DVD, and BD via libburn.
7
9 cdrskin [options|track_source_addresses]
10
12 cdrskin is a program that provides some of cdrecord's options in a com‐
13 patible way for CD media. With DVD and BD it has its own ways. You do
14 not need to be superuser for its daily usage.
15 Overview of features:
17 Blanking of CD-RW and DVD-RW.
18 Formatting of DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, BD.
19 Burning of data or audio tracks to CD,
20 either in versatile Track at Once mode (TAO)
21 or in Session at Once mode for seamless tracks.
22 Multi session on CD (follow-up sessions in TAO only)
23 or on DVD-R[W] (in Incremental mode) or DVD+R[/DL] or BD-R.
24 Single session Disk-at-once on DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-R DL.
25 Single session or emulated ISO-9660 multi-session
26 on overwriteable DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, BD-RE
27 or on data file or block device.
28 Bus scan, burnfree, speed options, retrieving media info, padding,
29 fifo.
30 See section EXAMPLES at the end of this text.
31 General information paragraphs:
33 Track recording model
34 Write mode selection
35 Recordable CD Media
36 Sequentially Recordable DVD or BD Media
37 Overwriteable DVD or BD Media
38 Drive preparation and addressing
39 Emulated drives
40 Track recording model:
42 The input-output entities which get processed are called tracks. A
43 track stores a stream of bytes.
44 More than one track can be burned by a single run of cdrskin. In the
45 terms of the MMC standard all tracks written by the same run constitute
46 a session.
47 Normally, each track is initiated by one track source address argument,
48 which may either be "-" for standard input or the address of a readable
49 file. Alternatively, option cuefile= may be used to read a session
50 description from a text file and to read the session content from a
51 single data file.
52 If no write mode is given explicitly then one will be chosen which
53 matches the peculiarities of track sources and the state of the output
54 media.
55 Some media types can be kept appendable so that further tracks can be
57 written to them in subsequent runs of cdrskin (see option -multi).
58 Info about the addresses of burned tracks is kept in a table of content
59 (TOC) on media and can be retrieved via cdrskin option -toc. This
60 information is also used by the operating systems' CD-ROM read drivers.
61 In general there are two types of tracks: data and audio. They differ
63 in sector size, throughput and readability via the systems' CD-ROM
64 drivers resp. by music CD players. With DVD and BD there is only type
65 data.
66 If not explicitly option -audio is given, then any track is burned as
67 type data, unless the track source is a file with suffix ".wav" or
68 ".au" and has a header part which identifies it as MS-WAVE resp. SUN
69 Audio with suitable parameters. Such files are burned as audio tracks
70 by default.
71 While audio tracks just contain a given time span of acoustic vibra‐
73 tions, data tracks may have an arbitray meaning. Nevertheless, ISO-9660
74 filesystems are established as a format which can represent a tree of
75 directories and files on all major operating systems. Such filesystem
76 images can be produced by programs mkisofs or genisoimage or xorriso.
77 They can also be extended by follow-up tracks if prepared properly.
78 See the man pages of said programs. cdrskin is able to fulfill the
79 needs about their option -C.
80 Another type of data track content are archive formats which originally
81 have been developed for magnetic tapes. Only formats which mark a
82 detectable end-of-archive in their data are suitable, though. Well
83 tested are the archivers afio and star. Not suitable seems GNU tar.
84 Write mode selection:
86 In general there are two approaches for writing media:
87 A permissive mode depicted by option -tao which needs no predicted
88 track size and allows to make use of eventual multi-session capabili‐
89 ties.
90 A more restrictive mode -sao (alias -dao) which usually demands a pre‐
91 dictable track size and is not necessarily capable of multi-session. It
92 can be used to write CD-TEXT and it is the only one that works with
93 option cuefile=.
94 If none of the options -dao, -tao or -sao is given then the program
95 will try to choose a write mode which matches the defined recording
96 job, the capabilities of the drive and the state of the present media.
97 So the mentioning of write modes in the following paragraphs and in the
98 examples is not so much a demand that the user shall choose one explic‐
99 itly, but rather an illustration of what to expect with particular
100 media types.
101 Recordable CD Media:
103 CD-R can be initially written only once and eventually extended until
104 they get closed (or are spoiled because they are overly full). After
105 that they are read-only. Closing is done automatically unless option
106 -multi is given which keeps the media appendable.
107 Write mode -tao allows to use track sources of unpredictable length
108 (like stdin) and allows to write further sessions to appendable media.
109 -sao produces audio sessions with seamless tracks but needs predicted
110 track sizes and cannot append sessions to media.
111 CD-RW media can be blanked to make them re-usable for another round of
112 overwriting. Usually blank=fast is the appropriate option. Blanking
113 damages the previous content but does not make it completely unread‐
114 able. It is no effective privacy precaution. Multiple cycles of blank‐
115 ing and overwriting with random numbers might be needed.
116 Sequentially Recordable DVD or BD Media:
118 Currently DVD-RW, DVD-R[DL], DVD+R[DL], and BD-R can be used for the
119 Sequential recording model. It resembles the model of CD media. Only
120 DVD-RW can be blanked and re-used from scratch.
121 DVD-RW are sequential media if they are in state "Sequential Record‐
122 ing". The media must be either blank or appendable. Newly purchased
123 DVD-RW and DVD-R media are in this state. Used DVD-RW get into blank
124 sequential state by option blank=deformat_sequential .
125 With DVD-R[W] two write modes may be available:
126 Mode DAO has many restrictions. It does not work with appendable media,
127 allows no -multi and only a single track. The size of the track needs
128 to be known in advance. So either its source has to be a disk file of
129 recognizable size or the size has to be announced explicitly by options
130 tsize= or tao_to_sao_tsize= .
131 DAO is the only mode for DVD-R media which do not offer feature 21h
132 Incremental Streaming (e.g. DVD-R DL). DAO may also be selected explic‐
133 itly by option -sao . Program growisofs uses DAO on sequential DVD-
134 R[W] media for maximum DVD-ROM/-Video compatibility.
135 The other mode, Incremental Streaming, is the default write mode if it
136 is available and if the restrictions of DAO would prevent the job.
137 Incremental Streaming may be selected explicitly by option -tao as it
138 resembles much CD TAO by allowing track sources of unpredicted length
139 and to keep media appendable by option -multi . It does not work with
140 DVD-R DL and minimally blanked DVD-RW. The only restriction towards
141 CD-R[W] is the lack of support for -audio tracks. Multiple tracks per
142 session are permissible.
143 The write modes for DVD+R[/DL] and BD-R resemble those with DVD-R
144 except that each track gets wrapped in an own session. There is no
145 -dummy writing with DVD+R[/DL] or BD-R.
146 Quite deliberately write mode -sao insists in the tradition of a pre‐
147 dicted track size and blank media, whereas -tao writes the tracks open
148 ended and allows appendable media.
149 BD-R may be formatted before first use to enable the Defect Management
150 which might catch and repair some bad spots at the expense of slow
151 speed even with flawless media.
152 Note: Option -multi might make DVD media unreadable in some DVD-ROM
153 drives. Best reader compatibility is achieved without it (i.e. by sin‐
154 gle session media).
155 Overwriteable DVD or BD Media:
157 Currently types DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM and BD-RE can be overwritten
158 via cdrskin.
159 Option -audio is not allowed. Only one track is allowed. Option -multi
160 cannot mark a recognizable end of overwriteable media. Therefore
161 -multi is banned unless ISO-9660 images shall be expandable by help of
162 option --grow_overwriteable_iso . Without this option or without an
163 ISO-9660 filesystem image present on media, -toc does not return infor‐
164 mation about the media content and media get treated as blank regard‐
165 less wether they hold data or not.
166 Currently there is no difference between -sao and -tao. If ever, then
167 -tao will be the mode which preserves the current behavior.
168 DVD+RW and DVD-RAM media need no special initial formatting. They offer
170 a single continuous data area for blockwise random access. BD-RE need
171 explicit formatting before use. See blank=as_needed or blank=for‐
172 mat_defectmgt .
173 DVD-RW are sold in state "Sequential Recording". To become suitable for
174 the Overwriteable DVD recording model they need to get formatted to
175 state "Restricted Overwrite". Then they behave much like DVD+RW. This
176 formatting can be done by option blank=format_overwrite .
177 Several programs like dvd+rw-format, cdrecord, wodim, or cdrskin can
178 bring a DVD-RW out of overwriteable state so that it has to be format‐
179 ted again. If in doubt, just give it a try.
180 Drive preparation and addressing:
182 The drives, CD, DVD, or BD burners, are accessed via addresses which
183 are specific to libburn and the operating system. Those addresses get
184 listed by a run of cdrskin --devices or cdrskin --device_links.
185 On Linux, they are device files which traditionally do not offer w-per‐
186 missions for normal users. Because libburn needs rw-permission, it
187 might be only the superuser who is able to get this list without fur‐
188 ther precautions.
189 It is consensus that chmod a+rw /dev/sr0 or chmod a+rw /dev/hdc is less
190 security sensitive than chmod u+s,a+x /usr/bin/cdrskin. The risk for
191 the drive is somewhat higher but the overall system is much less at
192 stake. Consider to restrict rw-access to a single group which bundles
193 the users who are allowed to use the burner drive (like group
194 "floppy").
195 For drive permission examples on Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris, see
196 cdrskin/README.
197 If you only got one CD capable drive then you may leave out cdrskin
199 option dev=. Else you should use this option to address the drive you
200 want.
201 cdrskin option dev= not only accepts the listed addresses but also tra‐
202 ditional cdrecord SCSI addresses which consist of three numbers:
203 Bus,Target,Lun. On Linux there is also a related address family "ATA"
204 which accesses IDE drives not under control of Linux SCSI drivers:
205 ATA:Bus,Target,Lun.
206 See option -scanbus for getting a list of cdrecord style addresses.
207 Further are accepted: links to libburn-suitable device files, device
208 files which have the same major and minor device number, and device
209 files which have the same SCSI address parameters (e.g. /dev/sg0).
210 Emulated drives:
212 Option --allow_emulated_drives enables addressing of pseudo-drives
213 which get emulated on top of filesystem objects. Regular data files and
214 block devices result in pseudo-drives which behave much like DVD-RAM.
215 If the given address does not exist yet but its directory exists, then
216 it gets created as regular file. Other file types like character
217 devices or pipes result in pseudo-drives which behave much like blank
218 DVD-R. The target file address is given after prefix "stdio:".
219 E.g.: dev=stdio:/tmp/my_pseudo_drive
220 Addresses of the form "stdio:/dev/fd/<number>" are treated special. The
221 number is read literally and used as open file descriptor. With
222 dev="stdio:/dev/fd/1" the normal standard output of the program is
223 redirected to stderr and the stream data of a burn run will appear on
224 stdout.
225 Not good for terminals ! Redirect it.
226 Pseudo-drives allow -dummy. Their reply with --tell_media_space can be
227 utopic. -dummy burn runs touch the file but do not modify its data
228 content.
229 Note: --allow_emulated_drives is restricted to stdio:/dev/null if
230 cdrskin is run by the superuser or if it has changed user identity via
231 the setuid bit of its access permissions. The ban for the superuser can
232 be lifted by a skillfully created file. See section FILES below.
233
235 --help Show non-cdrecord compatible options.
236 -help Show cdrecord compatible options.
238 Note that some of the help texts are quite wrong - for cdrecord
239 as well as for cdrskin (e.g. -format, blank=, -load). They are,
240 nevertheless, traditional indicators for the availability of the
241 listed options. Some frontend programs make decisions after
242 reading them.
243 -version
245 Print cdrskin id line, compatibility lure line, libburn version,
246 cdrskin version, version timestamp, build timestamp (if avail‐
247 able), and then exit.
248 Alphabetical list of options which are intended to be compatible with
250 original cdrecord by Joerg Schilling:
251 -atip Retrieve some info about media state. With CD-RW print "Is
253 erasable". With DVD media print "book type:" and a media type
254 text. With BD media print "Mounted Media:" and media type text.
255 -audio Announces that the subsequent tracks are to be burned as audio.
257 The source is supposed to be uncompressed headerless PCM, 44100
258 Hz, 16 bit, stereo. For little-endian byte order (which is usual
259 on PCs) use option -swab. Unless marked explicitly by option
260 -data, input files with suffix ".wav" are examined wether they
261 have a header in MS-WAVE format confirming those parameters and
262 eventually raw audio data get extracted and burned as audio
263 track. Same is done for suffix ".au" and SUN Audio.
264 Option -audio may be used only with CD media and not with DVD or
265 BD.
266 blank=type
268 Blank a CD-RW, DVD-RW, or format a DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, BD.
269 This is combinable with burning in the same run of cdrskin. The
270 type given with blank= selects the particular behavior:
271 as_needed
273 Try to make the media ready for writing from scratch. If
274 it needs formatting, then format it. If it is not blank,
275 then try to apply blank=fast. It is a reason to abort if
276 the media cannot assume thoroughly writeable state, e.g.
277 if it is non-blank write-once.
278 This leaves unformatted DVD-RW in unformatted blank
279 state. To format DVD-RW use blank=format_overwriteable.
280 Blank unformatted BD-R stay unformatted.
281 (Note: blank=as_needed is not an original cdrecord
282 option.)
283 The following blank types are specific to particular media
285 familes. Use them if special features are desired.
286 all Blank an entire CD-RW or an unformatted DVD-RW. (See
288 also --prodvd_cli_compatible, --grow_overwriteable_iso)
289 fast Minimally blank an entire CD-RW or blank an unformatted
291 DVD-RW. (See also --prodvd_cli_compatible, --grow_over‐
292 writeable_iso)
293 deformat_sequential
295 Like blank=all but with the additional ability to blank
296 overwriteable DVD-RW. This will destroy their formatting
297 and make them sequentially recordable. Another peculiar‐
298 ity is the ability to blank media which appear already
299 blank. This is similar to option -force but does not try
300 to blank media other than recognizable CD-RW and DVD-RW.
301 (Note: blank=deformat_* are not original cdrecord
302 options.)
303 deformat_sequential_quickest
305 Like blank=deformat_sequential but blanking DVD-RW only
306 minimally. This is faster than full blanking but may
307 yield media incapable of Incremental Streaming (-tao).
308 format_if_needed
310 Format a media if it is not formatted yet, and if cdrskin
311 supports formatting for the media type, and if formatting
312 will not happen automatically during write. This cur‐
313 rently applies to unformatted DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, BD-RE, and
314 blank unformatted BD-R. Eventually the appropriate
315 default formatting is chosen. If other media or states
316 are encountered then nothing happens.
317 The following formatting types are more specialized to
318 particular media families.
319 format_overwrite
321 Format a DVD-RW to "Restricted Overwrite". The user
322 should bring some patience.
323 (Note: blank=format_* are not original cdrecord options.)
324 format_overwrite_quickest
326 Like format_overwrite without creating a 128 MiB trail‐
327 blazer session. Leads to "intermediate" state which only
328 allows sequential write beginning from address 0. The
329 "intermediate" state ends after the first session of
330 writing data.
331 format_overwrite_full
333 For DVD-RW this is like format_overwrite but claims full
334 media size rather than just 128 MiB. Most traditional
335 formatting is attempted. No data get written. Much
336 patience is required.
337 This option treats already formatted media even if not
338 option -force is given.
339 For DVD+RW this is the only supported explicit formatting
340 type. It provides complete "de-icing" so no reader slips
341 on unwritten data areas.
342 format_defectmgt
344 Format DVD-RAM or BD to reserve the default amount of
345 spare blocks for defect management.
346 The following format_defectmgt_* allow to submit user
347 wishes which nevertheless have to match one of the avail‐
348 able formats. These formats are offered by the drive
349 after examining the media.
350 format_defectmgt_cert_off
352 Disable the usual media quality certification in order to
353 save time and format to default size. The certification
354 setting persists even if subsequent blank= options over‐
355 ride the size of the format selection.
356 Whether formatting without certification works properly
357 depends much on the drive. One should check the "Format
358 status:" from --list_formats afterwards.
359 format_defectmgt_cert_on
361 Re-enable the usual media quality certification and for‐
362 mat to default size. The certification setting persists
363 like with format_defectmgt_cert_off.
364 Whether there happens certification at all depends much
365 on the media state and the actually selected format
366 descriptor.
367 format_defectmgt_max
369 Format DVD-RAM or BD to reserve a maximum number of spare
370 blocks.
371 format_defectmgt_min
373 Format DVD-RAM or BD to reserve a minimum number of spare
374 blocks. It might be necessary to format format_defect‐
375 mgt_none first in order to get offered the most minmal
376 spare blocks sizes for format_defectmgt_min.
377 format_defectmgt_none
379 Format DVD-RAM or BD-RE to the largest available payload
380 in the hope to disable defect management at all. This may
381 or may not have a speed increasing effect. Unformatted
382 blank BD-R will be left unformatted.
383 format_defectmgt_payload_<size>
385 Format DVD-RAM or BD. The text after "format_defect‐
386 mgt_payload_" gives a number of bytes, eventually with
387 suffixes "s", "k", "m". The largest number of spare
388 blocks will be chosen which allows at least the given
389 payload size.
390 format_by_index_<number>
392 Format DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM or BD. The number after
393 "format_by_index_" is used as index to the list of avail‐
394 able format descriptors. This list can be obtained by
395 option --list_formats. The numbers after text "Format
396 idx" are the ones to be used with format_by_index_. For‐
397 mat descriptor lists are volatile. Do neither eject nor
398 write the media between the run of --list_formats and the
399 run of blank=format_by_index_ or else you may get a dif‐
400 ferent format than desired.
401 help Print this list of blanking types.
403 -checkdrive
405 Retrieve some info about the addressed drive and then exit.
406 Exits with non-zero value if the drive cannot be found and
407 opened.
408 -copy Create the subsequent tracks with permission for an unlimited
410 number of copies.
411 cuefile=path
413 Read a session description from a cue sheet file in CDRWIN for‐
414 mat. Base the tracks on a single file which is given in the
415 sheet by command FILE. To enable CD-TEXT from the cue sheet
416 file, cdrskin option -text has to be present.
417 cdrskin currently supports TRACK datatypes AUDIO and MODE1/2048
418 which may not be mixed. Data source may be of FILE type BINARY,
419 MOTOROLA, or WAVE.
420 Non-CDRWIN commands ARRANGER, COMPOSER, MESSAGE are supported.
421 Cue sheet file commands CATALOG and ISRC may be overridden by
422 option mcn= and by input_sheet_v07t= purpose specifiers "UPC /
423 EAN" and "ISRC". This does not affect their appearance in CD-
424 TEXT, but only on Q sub-channel.
425 The track numbers may be overridden by option cd_start_tno=.
426 -dao Alias for option -sao. Write CD in Session at Once mode or DVD-
428 R[W] in Disc-at-once mode.
429 -data Subsequent tracks are data tracks. This option is default and
431 only needed to mark the end of the range of an eventual option
432 -audio or -xa1.
433 Options -mode2, -xa, and -xa2 get mapped to -data, not using the
434 desired CD sector formats and thus not taking advantage of even‐
435 tual higher payload. -xa1 Subsequent tracks are data tracks
436 with input suitable for CD-ROM XA mode 2 form 1. This differs
437 from -data input by 8 additional header bytes per block.
438 cdrskin will not write CD-ROM XA but rather strip the header
439 bytes and write as -data tracks.
440 dev=target
442 Set the address of the drive to use. Valid are at least the
443 addresses listed with options --devices or --device_links, X,Y,Z
444 addresses listed with option -scanbus, ATA:X,Y,Z addresses
445 listed with options dev=ATA -scanbus, and volatile libburn drive
446 numbers (numbering starts at "0"). Other device file addresses
447 which lead to the same drive might work too.
448 If no dev= is given, volatile address "dev=0" is assumed. That
449 is the first drive found being available. Better avoid this
450 ambiguity on systems with more than one drive.
451 The special target "help" lists hints about available addressing
452 formats. Be aware that deprecated option --old_pseudo_scsi_adr
453 may change the meaning of Bus,Target,Lun addresses.
454 driveropts=opt
456 Set "driveropts=noburnfree" to disable the drive's eventual pro‐
457 tection mechanism against temporary lack of source data (i.e.
458 buffer underrun). A drive that announces no such capabilities
459 will not get them enabled anyway, even if attempted explicitly
460 via "driveropts=burnfree".
461 -dummy Try to perform the drive operations without actually affecting
463 the inserted media. There is no warranty that this will work
464 with a particular combination of drive, media, and write mode.
465 Blanking is prevented reliably, though. To avoid inadverted
466 real burning, -dummy refuses burn runs on anything but CD-R[W],
467 DVD-R[W], or emulated stdio-drives.
468 -eject Eject the disc after work is done.
470 -force Assume that the user knows better in situations when cdrskin or
472 libburn are insecure about drive or media state. This includes
473 the attempt to blank media which are classified as unknown or
474 unsuitable, and the attempt to use write modes which libburn
475 believes they are not supported by the drive.
476 Another application is to enforce blanking or re-formatting of
477 media which appear to be in the desired blank or format state
478 already.
479 This option enables a burn run with option -dummy even if lib‐
480 burn believes that drive and media will not simulate the write
481 mode but will write for real.
482 It enables a burn run where cdrskin expects to exceed the avail‐
483 able media capacity.
484 Caution: Use this only when in urgent need.
485 -format
487 Same as blank=format_overwrite_full -force but restricted to
488 DVD+RW.
489 fs=size
491 Set the fifo size to the given value. The value may have
492 appended letters which multiply the preceding number:
493 "k" or "K" = 1024 , "m" or "M" = 1024k , "g" or "G" = 1024m ,
494 "s" or "S" = 2048
495 Set size to 0 in order to disable the fifo (default is "4m").
496 The fifo buffers an eventual temporary surplus of track source
497 data in order to provide the drive with a steady stream during
498 times of temporary lack of track source supply. The larger the
499 fifo, the longer periods of poor source supply can be compen‐
500 sated. But a large fifo needs substantial time to fill up if
501 not curbed via option fifo_start_at=size.
502 gracetime=seconds
504 Set the grace time before starting to write. (Default is 0)
505 -immed Equivalent to:
507 modesty_on_drive=1:min_percent=75:max_percent=95
508 The name of this cdrecord option stems from the "Immed" bit
509 which can make some long running drive commands asynchronous and
510 thus eases the load on some wiring hardware types. Regardless of
511 option -immed, cdrskin uses asynchronous commands where possible
512 and appropriate.
513 index=list
515 Set a comma separated list of index start address numbers for
516 the next track. This applies to CD SAO sessions only.
517 The addresses count sectors from the start of the next track.
518 The first number is for index 1 and must be 0. The following
519 numbers have to be larger than their respective predecessors. Up
520 to 99 numbers are allowed.
521 Sector numbers are computed from Min:Sec:Frame addresses by
522 Sector = ((Min*60)+Sec)*75+Frame
523 E.g.: "0,7512,20408" sets index 2 to 01:40:12 and index 3 to
524 04:32:08.
525 -inq Print the identification of the drive and then exit.
527 -isosize
529 The next track following this option will try to obtain its
530 source size from the header information out of the first few
531 blocks of the source data. If these blocks indicate an ISO-9660
532 filesystem then its declared size will be used under the assump‐
533 tion that it is a single session filesystem.
534 If not, then the burn run will be aborted.
535 The range of -isosize is exactly one track. Further tracks may
536 be preceded by further -isosize options, though. At least 15
537 blocks of padding will be added to each -isosize track. But be
538 advised to rather use padsize=300k.
539 This option can be performed on track sources which are regular
540 files or block devices. For the first track of the session it
541 can be performed on any type of source if there is a fifo of at
542 least 64 kiB. See option fs= .
543 isrc=text
545 Set the ISRC for the next track source to the given text, which
546 must be exactly 13 characters long. It must comply to the format
547 CCOOOYYSSSSS.
548 CC is the country code. OOO is the owner code. Both may consist
549 of capital letters A to Z and of decimal digits 0 to 9. YY
550 depicts the year (00 to 99). SSSSS is the serial number (00000
551 to 99999).
552 This option does not affect CD-TEXT but only the Q sub-channel.
553 -load Load the media and exit. Exit value is 0 if any kind of media
555 was found, non zero else. Note: Option -eject will unload the
556 media even if -load is given.
557 -lock Like option -load but leave the drive's eject button disabled if
559 there is any media found and not option -eject is given.
560 Use program "eject" or cdrskin -eject to get the tray out of the
561 drive. Runs of programs like cdrecord, growisofs, wodim,
562 cdrskin will not be hampered and normally enable the drive's
563 eject button when they are done.
564 mcn=text
566 Set the CD Media Catalog Number to text, which must be exactly
567 13 characters long and should consist of decimal digits.
568 This option does not affect CD-TEXT but only the Q sub-channel.
569 minbuf=percentage
571 Equivalent to:
572 modesty_on_drive=1:min_percent=<percentage>:max_percent=95
573 Percentage is permissible between 25 and 95.
574 -minfo Print information about the loaded media. This includes media
576 type, writability state, and a quite readable table of content.
577 msifile=path
579 Run option -msinfo and copy the result line into the file given
580 by path. Unlike -msinfo this option does not redirect all nor‐
581 mal output away from standard output. But it may be combined
582 with -msinfo to achieve this.
583 Note: msifile=path is actually an option of wodim and not of
584 cdrecord.
585 -msinfo
587 Retrieve multi-session info for preparing a follow-up session by
588 option -C of programs mkisofs, genisoimage, or xorriso -as
589 mkisofs. Print result to standard output. This option redi‐
590 rects to stderr all message output except the one of option
591 --tell_media_space and its own result string, which consists of
592 two numbers. The result string shall be used as argument of
593 option -C with said programs. It gives the start address of the
594 most recent session and the predicted start address of the next
595 session to be appended. The string is empty if the most recent
596 session was not written with option -multi.
597 To have a chance for working on overwriteable media, this option
598 has to be accompanied by option --grow_overwriteable_iso.
599 -multi This option keeps CD, unformatted DVD-R[W], DVD+R, or BD-R
601 appendable after the current session has been written. Without
602 it the disc gets closed and may not be written any more -
603 unless it is a -RW and gets blanked which causes loss of its
604 content.
605 The following sessions can only be written in -tao mode. -multi
606 is prohibited with DVD-R[W] DAO write mode and on DVD-R DL
607 media. Option --prodvd_cli_compatible eventually makes -multi
608 tolerable but cannot make it work.
609 In order to have all filesystem content accessible, the eventual
610 ISO-9660 filesystem of a follow-up session needs to be prepared
611 in a special way by the filesystem formatter program. mkisofs
612 and genisoimage expect particular info about the situation which
613 can be retrieved by cdrskin option -msinfo.
614 To retrieve an archive file which was written as follow-up ses‐
615 sion, you may use option -toc to learn about the "lba" of the
616 desired track number. This lba is the address of the 2048 byte
617 block where the archive begins.
618 With overwriteable DVD or BD media, -multi cannot mark the end
619 of the session. So when adding a new session this end has to be
620 determined from the payload. Currently only ISO-9660 filesys‐
621 tems can be used that way. See option --grow_overwriteable_iso
622 for lifting the ban on -multi.
623 Note: -multi might make DVD media unreadable in some DVD-ROM
624 drives.
625 -nocopy
627 Create subsequent tracks with permission for a single level of
628 copies. I.e. those copies would then be marked by -scms as
629 offering no permission for further copies.
630 -nopad Do not add trailing zeros to the data stream. Nevertheless,
632 since there seems to be no use for audio tracks with incomplete
633 last sector, this option applies only to data tracks. There it
634 is default.
635 -nopreemp
637 Indicate for subsequent tracks that they were mastered without
638 pre-emphasis.
639 -pad Add 30 kiB of trailing zeros to each data track. (This is not
641 sufficient to avoid problems with various CD-ROM read drivers.)
642 padsize=size
644 Add the given amount of trailing zeros to the next data track.
645 This option gets reset to padsize=0 after that next track is
646 written. It may be set again before the next track argument.
647 About size specifiers, see option fs=.
648 -preemp
650 Indicate for subsequent tracks that they were mastered with pre-
651 emphasis.
652 -sao Write CD in Session At Once mode or sequential DVD-R[W] in Disc-
654 at-once (DAO) mode.
655 With CD this mode is able to put several audio tracks on media
656 without producing audible gaps between them.
657 With DVD-R[W] this mode can only write a single track. No
658 -multi is allowed with DVD-R[W] -sao.
659 -sao is permissible with overwriteable DVD, or DVD+R[/DL], or BD
660 but actually only imposes restrictions without providing known
661 advantages.
662 -sao can only be used for tracks of fixely predicted size. This
663 implies that track arguments which depict stdin or named pipes
664 need to be preceded by option tsize= or by option
665 tao_to_sao_tsize=.
666 -sao cannot be used on appendable media.
667 -scanbus
669 Scan the system for drives. On Linux the drives at /dev/s* and
670 at /dev/hd* are to be scanned by two separate runs. One without
671 dev= for /dev/s* and one with dev=ATA for /dev/hd* devices.
672 (Option --drives lists all available drives in a single run.)
673 Drives which are busy or which offer no rw-permission to the
674 user of cdrskin are not listed. Busy drives get reported in form
675 of warning messages.
676 The useful fields in a result line are:
677 Bus,Target,Lun Number) 'Vendor' 'Mode' 'Revision'
678 -scms Create subsequent tracks without permission for being copied.
680 This is usually done for tracks which are copies of tracks that
681 were marked with -nocopy (but not yet with -scms). So copies of
682 copies are prohibited.
683 This option gets reset by option -copy. Thus the combination
684 -copy -nocopy means -nocopy surely without -scms.
685 speed=number
687 Set speed of drive. With data CD, 1x speed corresponds to a
688 throughput of 150,000 bytes/second. With DVD, 1x = 1,385,000
689 bytes/second. With BD 1x = 4,495,625 bytes/second. It is not
690 an error to set a speed higher than is suitable for drive and
691 media. One should stay within a realistic speed range, though.
692 Special speed settings are:
693 0 = minimal speed , -1 = maximal speed (default), text "any" =
694 like -1.
695 -swab Announce that the raw audio data source of subsequent tracks is
697 byte swapped versus the expectations of cdrecord. This option is
698 suitable for audio where the least significant byte of a 16 bit
699 word is first (little-endian, Intel). Most raw audio data on PC
700 systems are available in this byte order. Less guesswork is
701 needed if track sources are in format MS-WAVE in a file with
702 suffix ".wav".
703 -tao Write CD in Track At Once (TAO) mode, sequential DVD-R[W] in
705 Incremental Streaming mode, or DVD+R[/DL] without traditional
706 -sao restrictions. This mode also applies pro-forma to over‐
707 writeable media
708 Mode -tao can be used with track sources of unpredictable size,
709 like standard input or named pipes. It is also the only mode
710 that can be used for writing to appendable media which already
711 hold data. With unformatted DVD-R[W] it is the only mode which
712 allows -multi.
713 Mode -tao is not usable for minimally blanked DVD-RW and for
714 DVD-R DL.
715 -text Enable writing of CD-TEXT attributes read by option cuefile=.
717 Without option -text, cue sheet file command CDTEXTFILE will be
718 ignored and no CD-TEXT attributes will be read from the file.
719 Nevertheless, CATALOG and ISRC will have the same effect as
720 options mcn= and isrc=.
721 textfile=path
723 Read CD-TEXT packs from the file depicted by path and put them
724 into the Lead-in of the emerging session. This session has to be
725 done by Session At Once (SAO) mode and may only contain audio
726 tracks.
727 path must lead to a regular file, which consists of an optional
728 header of four bytes and one or more text packs of 18 bytes
729 each. Suitable would be the file 'cdtext.dat' which gets
730 extracted from CD media by options -vv -toc and shown in human
731 readable form by -vvv -toc.
732 The header, if present, must tell the file size minus 2, encoded
733 as big-endian 16 bit word. The other two bytes must be 0.
734 If there is no 4-byte header, then a trailing 0-byte, as of Sony
735 specification, is tolerated and ignored.
736 A text pack consists of a pack type byte, a track number byte, a
737 counter byte, a Block Number and Character Indicator byte, 12
738 text characters or data bytes, two optional CRC bytes. For
739 details see libburn documentation file doc/cdtext.txt.
740 By default, the input file is checked for correct CRC bytes. If
741 all CRC bytes are 0, then the correct values get silently
742 inserted. If there are non-zero CRC bytes, then a mismatch
743 causes the abort of the burn run. This check can be disabled by
744 option -force.
745 Note that this option overrides option input_sheet_v07t= .
746 -toc Print the table of content (TOC) which describes the tracks
748 recorded on disc. The output contains all info from option
749 -atip plus lines which begin with "track:", the track number,
750 the word "lba:" and a number which gives the start address of
751 the track. Addresses are counted in CD sectors which with SAO or
752 TAO data tracks hold 2048 bytes each.
753 If verbosity is set to level 2 (-v -v) then the CD-TEXT packs
754 from the lead-in of an audio CD get extracted and written into
755 file 'cdtext.dat', if that file does not yet exist. Prepended is
756 a 4 byte header, followed by one or more packs of 18 bytes each.
757 Verbosity level 3 causes the CD-TEXT packs to be printed as hex
758 numbers to standard output. Bytes 4 to 15 of certain pack types
759 are printed as ASCII characters if they have values in the range
760 of 32 to 126.
761 See option textfile= for more information about the text pack
762 format.
763 Example. Retrieve an afio archive from track number 2:
765 tracknumber=2
766 lba=$(cdrskin dev=/dev/cdrom -toc 2>&1 | \
767 grep '^track:[ ]*[ 0-9][0-9]' | \
768 tail +"$tracknumber" | head -1 | \
769 awk '{ print $4}' )
770 dd if=/dev/cdrom bs=2048 skip="$lba" | \
771 afio -t - | less
772 tsize=size
774 Announces the exact size of the next track source. This is nec‐
775 essary with any write mode other than -tao if the track source
776 is not a regular disk file, but e.g. "-" (standard input) or a
777 named pipe. About size specifiers, see option fs=.
778 If the track source does not deliver the predicted amount of
779 bytes, the remainder of the track is padded with zeros. This is
780 not considered an error. If on the other hand the track source
781 delivers more than the announced bytes then the track on media
782 gets truncated to the predicted size and cdrskin exits with non-
783 zero value.
784 -v Increment verbosity level by one. Startlevel is 0 with only few
786 messages. Level 1 prints progress report with long running
787 operations and also causes some extra lines to be put out with
788 info retrieval options. Level 2 additionally reports about
789 option settings derived from arguments or startup files. Level 3
790 is for debugging and useful mainly in conjunction with somebody
791 who had a look into the program sourcecode.
792 -V Enable logging of SCSI commands to stderr. This allows expert
794 examination of the interaction between libburn and the drive.
795 The commands are specified in SCSI-3 standards SPC, SBC, MMC.
796 -waiti Wait until input data is available at stdin or EOF occurs at
798 stdin. Only then begin to access any drives.
799 One should use this if cdrskin is working at the end of a pipe
800 where the feeder process reads from the drive before it starts
801 writing its output into cdrskin. Example:
802 mkisofs ... -C 0,12800 -M /dev/sr0 | \
803 cdrskin dev=/dev/sr0 ... -waiti -
804 This option works even if stdin is not among the track sources.
805 If no process is piping in, then the Enter key of your terminal
806 will act as trigger for cdrskin. Note that this input line will
807 not be consumed by cdrskin if stdin is not among the track
808 sources. It will end up as shell command, usually.
809 Alphabetical list of options which are genuine to cdrskin and intended
811 for normal use:
812 --adjust_speed_to_drive
814 Curb explicitly given speed= values to the maximum which is
815 announced by the drive for the loaded media. By default, such an
816 adjustment is only made with pseudo-speeds 0 and -1 whereas
817 speed settings > 0 are sent unchanged to the drive which will
818 then choose an appropriate speed on its own.
819 --allow_emulated_drives
821 Enable drive addresses of the form dev=stdio:<path>. See above,
822 paragraph "Drive preparation and addressing".
823 --allow_setuid
825 Disable the loud warning about insecure discrepance between
826 login user and effective user which indicates application of
827 chmod u+s to the program binary. One should not do this chmod
828 u+s , but it is an old cdrecord tradition.
829 --any_track
831 Allow source_addresses to begin with "-" (plus further charac‐
832 ters) or to contain a "=" character. By default such arguments
833 are seen as misspelled options. It is nevertheless not possible
834 to use one of the options listed with --list_ignored_options.
835 assert_write_lba=block_number|byte_address
837 Abort if the write address given with this option is not the
838 same as predicted immediately before the write session starts.
839 This option can ensure that a start address which was presumed
840 by a formatter like mkisofs -C is really used by the drive for
841 writing. assert_write_lba=0 effectively demands blank media and
842 excludes appendables.
843 Block numbering is peculiar: If the last character of the option
844 string is a letter [a-zA-Z] then the usual unit scaling by "s",
845 "k", "m", etc. applies and the result is divided by 2048. Else
846 the number value of the string is taken as plain block number
847 with block size 2048 byte. (E.g ...=1000 or ...=1000s means
848 block 1000, ...=1m means block 512, ...=4096b means block number
849 2)
850 cd_start_tno=number
852 Set the number which shall be written as CD track number with
853 the first track of the session. The following tracks will then
854 get written with consecutive CD track numbers. The resulting
855 number of the last track must not exceed 99. The lowest possible
856 start number is 1, which is also the default.
857 This setting applies only to CD SAO writing. It overrides the
858 track number settings caused by options cuefile= or
859 input_sheet_v07t=.
860 --demand_a_drive
862 Exit with a nonzero value if no drive can be found during a bus
863 scan.
864 --devices
866 List the device file addresses of all accessible CD drives. In
867 order to get listed, a drive has to offer rw-permission for the
868 cdrskin user and it may not be busy. The superuser should be
869 able to see all idle drives listed and busy drives reported as
870 "SORRY" messages.
871 Each available drive gets listed by a line containing the fol‐
872 lowing fields:
873 Number dev='Devicefile' rw-Permissions : 'Vendor' 'Model'
874 Number and Devicefile can both be used with option dev=, but
875 number is volatile (numbering changes if drives become busy).
876 --device_links
878 Like --devices, but presenting the drives with addresses of sym‐
879 bolic links which point to the actual device files.
880 Modern GNU/Linux systems may shuffle drive addresses from boot
881 to boot. The udev daemon is supposed to create links which
882 always point to the same drive, regardless of its system
883 address. Option --device_links shows the addresses of such
884 links if they begin by "/dev/dvd" or "/dev/cd". Precedence is:
885 "dvdrw", "cdrw", "dvd", "cdrom", "cd".
886 direct_write_amount=size
888 Do not write a session with tracks but rather make an appropri‐
889 ate number of direct write operations with no preparations.
890 Flushing the drive buffer will be the only finalization. It is
891 advised to eject the media afterwards because the write opera‐
892 tions circumvent the usual system i/o with its caches and buf‐
893 fers. By ejecting, those invalid memory copies get surely dis‐
894 carded.
895 Only few media can be written this way: DVD-RAM, BD-RE, RVD+RW
896 and overwriteable DVD-RW. Writing is restricted to the already
897 formatted area of the media.
898 Writing starts at byte 0 of the media or at the address given by
899 option write_start_address= . Only the first track source is
900 used as input for the write operations. The fifo (fs=) is dis‐
901 abled.
902 Parameter size controls the amount of data to be written. Size 0
903 means that the track source shall be used up until EOF. In this
904 case, the last write transaction gets padded up to the necessary
905 size by zeros. Size -1 revokes direct writing and switches back
906 to normal session oriented writing.
907 Both, write_start_address and direct_write_amount size must be
908 aligned to a media dependend transaction size. With DVD-RAM, BD-
909 RE, DVD+RW this is 2k, with overwriteable DVD-RW it is 32k.
910 dvd_obs=default|32k|64k
912 Linux specific: Set the number of bytes to be transmitted with
913 each write operation to DVD or BD media. With most write types,
914 tracks get padded up to the next multiple of this write size
915 (see option --obs_pad). A number of 64 KB may improve through‐
916 put with systems which show latency problems. The default
917 depends on media type, option stream_recording=, and on compile
918 time options.
919 fallback_program=command
921 Set a command name to be executed if cdrskin encounters a known
922 cdrecord option which it does not yet support. If a non-empty
923 command is given with fallback_program=, and if no essential
924 options are given which are specific to cdrskin, then cdrskin
925 will delegate the job to said command.
926 The natural commands to be given are cdrecord or wodim but one
927 may well submit the address of an own program.
928 The fallback program will get all arguments of cdrskin which do
929 not match the shell patterns --?* or *_*=* . This eventually
930 suppresses path names of track sources which happen to match
931 those patterns. The options from the startup files are not
932 handed to the fallback program.
933 Fallback program execution is disabled if cdrskin is run setuid
934 and not option --allow_setuid is given. In general, the drive's
935 device files and the involved programs should be set up so that
936 each program runs under its advised conditions. (E.g. cdrskin as
937 member of group floppy, cdrecord setuid root.)
938 Two alias names for cdrskin are predefined with default fallback
939 programs:
940 unicord implies fallback_program=cdrecord
941 codim implies fallback_program=wodim
942 --four_channel
944 Indicate for subsequent tracks that they were mastered with four
945 channels.
946 fifo_start_at=size
948 Do not wait for full fifo but start burning as soon as the given
949 number of bytes is read. This option may be helpful to bring the
950 average throughput near to the maximum throughput of a drive. A
951 large fs= and a small fifo_start_at= combine a quick burn start
952 and a large savings buffer to compensate for temporary lack of
953 source data. At the beginning of burning, the software protec‐
954 tion against buffer underun is as weak as the size of
955 fifo_start_at= . So it is best if the drive offers hardware pro‐
956 tection which is enabled automatically if not driveropts=noburn‐
957 free is given.
958 --grow_overwriteable_iso
960 Enable emulation of multi-session writing on overwriteable media
961 which contain an ISO-9660 filesystem. This emulation is learned
962 from growisofs -M but adapted to the usage model of
963 cdrskin -msinfo
964 mkisofs -C -M | cdrskin -waiti [-multi] -
965 --grow_overwriteable_iso does not hamper the use of true multi-
966 session media. I.e. it is possible to use the same cdrskin
967 options with both kinds of media and to achieve similar results
968 if ISO-9660 filesystem images are to be written. This option
969 implies option -isosize and therefore demands that the track
970 source is a ISO-9660 filesystem image.
971 With overwriteable media and no option blank=fast|all present it
972 expands an eventual ISO-9660 filesystem on media. It is assumed
973 that this image's inner size description points to the end of
974 the valuable data. Overwriteable media with a recognizable
975 ISO-9660 size will be regarded as appendable rather than as
976 blank. I.e. options -msinfo and -toc will work. -toc will
977 always show a single session with its size increasing with every
978 added mkisofs image.
979 If not overridden by option write_start_address=, the track with
980 the new image will be placed behind the end of the old one. One
981 may use option assert_write_lba= to make sure that media state
982 and mkisofs job do match.
983 --grow_overwriteable_iso causes option blank=fast|all to invali‐
984 date an eventual ISO-9660 image by altering the first few bytes
985 of block 16 on overwriteable media. Option -multi is tolerated
986 in order not to hamper true multi-session media.
987 An equivalent of growisofs -Z for overwriteable media is:
988 mkisofs | cdrskin --grow_overwriteable_iso blank=fast [-multi] -
989 With multi-session DVD, blank=fast will act like dvd+rw-format
990 -blank=full .
991 growisofs -dvd-compat is roughly equivalent to cdrskin without
992 option -multi.
993 input_sheet_v07t=path
995 Read CD-TEXT definitions from a Sony Input Sheet version 0.7T.
996 Up to eight or seven such sheets can be read by multiple
997 input_sheet_v07t= options. Each will define a CD-TEXT language
998 block.
999 The information in such a sheet is given by text lines of the
1000 following form:
1001 purpose specifier [whitespace] = [whitespace] content text
1002 [whitespace] is zero or more ASCII 32 (space) or ASCII 9 (tab)
1003 characters. The purpose specifier tells the meaning of the con‐
1004 tent text. Empty content text does not cause a CD-TEXT
1005 attribute to be attached.
1006 The following purpose specifiers apply to the session as a
1007 whole:
1008 Purpose specifier | Content example
1009 -------------------------------------------------------------
1010 Text Code = 8859
1011 Language Code = English
1012 Album Title = Joyful Nights
1013 Artist Name = United Cat Orchestra
1014 Songwriter = Various Songwriters
1015 Composer = Various Composers
1016 Arranger = Tom Cat
1017 Album Message = For all our fans
1018 Catalog Number = 1234567890
1019 Genre Code = Classical
1020 Genre Information = Feline classic music
1021 Closed Information = This is not to be shown by CD players
1022 UPC / EAN = 1234567890123
1023 Text Data Copy Protection = OFF
1024 First Track Number = 1
1025 Last Track Number = 3
1026 The following purpose specifiers apply to particular tracks:
1027 Purpose specifier | Content example
1028 -------------------------------------------------------------
1029 Track 01 Title = Song of Joy
1030 Track 01 Artist = Felix and The Purrs
1031 Track 01 Songwriter = Friedrich Schiller
1032 Track 01 Composer = Ludwig van Beethoven
1033 Track 01 Arranger = Tom Cat
1034 Track 01 Message = Fritz and Louie once were punks
1035 ISRC 01 = XYCRR1101234
1036 Track numbers are decimal despite the leading 0. There should be
1037 as many track definitions as there are track source files given.
1038 See libburn's doc/cdtext.txt for a detailed definition of 0.7T
1039 and the possible values for Text Code, Language Code, Genre
1040 Code, Text Data Copy Protection.
1041 The Q sub-channel settings by "UPC / EAN" and "ISRC" may be
1042 overridden by options mcn= and isrc=. This will not affect
1043 their appearance as CD-TEXT. They may override cuefile= com‐
1044 mands CATALOG and ISRC in the same way.
1045 If options -text cuefile= are given and if the cue sheet file
1046 defines CD-TEXT, then only seven input_sheet_v07t= options may
1047 be given. They will then be used as CD-TEXT language blocks 1 to
1048 7.
1049 This option will get into effect only if no option textfile= is
1050 given. The write mode must be SAO on CD. All tracks must be
1051 -audio tracks.
1052 The track numbers may be overridden by option cd_start_tno=.
1053 --list_formats
1055 List the available format descriptors as reported by the drive
1056 for the loaded media. Each descriptor line begins with "Format
1057 idx" and the descriptor's list index, followed by a ":", the
1058 format type, the number of payload blocks and that same number
1059 converted to MiB.
1060 The meaning of the format types is defined by the MMC standard
1061 with command FORMAT UNIT. A user will more be interested in the
1062 sizes than in the types.
1063 --list_ignored_options
1065 List all ignored cdrecord options. The "-" options cannot be
1066 used as addresses of track sources. No track source address may
1067 begin with a text equal to an option which ends by "=". The list
1068 is ended by an empty line.
1069 --list_speeds
1071 Put out a list of speed values as reported by the output drive
1072 with the loaded medium. This does not necessarily mean that the
1073 medium is writable or that these speeds are actually achievable.
1074 Especially the lists reported with empty drive or with ROM media
1075 obviously advertise speeds for other media.
1076 It is not mandatory to use speed values out of the listed range.
1077 The drive is supposed to choose a safe speed that is as near to
1078 the desired speed as possible.
1079 At the end of the list, "Write speed L" and "Write speed H" are
1080 the best guesses for lower and upper speed limit. "Write speed
1081 l" and "Write speed h" may appear only with CD and eventually
1082 override the list of other speed offers.
1083 Only if the drive reports contradicting speed information there
1084 will appear "Write speed 0" or "Write speed-1", which tell the
1085 outcome of speed selection by options speed=0 resp. speed=-1, if
1086 it deviates from "Write speed L" resp. "Write speed H".
1087 --long_toc
1089 Like option -toc but marking each session start by a line
1090 "first: X last: Y" and each session end by "track:lout ...".
1091 --no_load
1093 When aquiring the optical drive, do not try to load its tray.
1094 This yields the same behavior for desktop drives with tray
1095 loader as is shown by laptop drives which usually lack a motor‐
1096 ized tray loader.
1097 --no_rc
1099 Only if used as first command line argument this option prevents
1100 reading and interpretation of eventual startup files. See sec‐
1101 tion FILES below.
1102 --prodvd_cli_compatible
1104 Activates behavior modifications with some DVD situations which
1105 bring cdrskin nearer to the behavior of cdrecord-ProDVD:
1106 Option -multi with unsuitable media is not an error but simply
1107 has no effect.
1108 Options blank=fast and blank=all deformat overwriteable DVD-RW
1109 media.
1110 Option blank=fast does indeed minmal blanking with DVD-RW. This
1111 may yield media which can only do DAO but not Incremental
1112 Streaming.
1113 --single_track
1115 Accept only the last argument of the command line as track
1116 source address.
1117 stdio_sync=on|off|number
1119 Set the number of bytes after which to force output to drives
1120 with prefix "stdio:". This forcing keeps the memory from being
1121 clogged with lots of pending data for slow devices. Default "on"
1122 is the same as "16m". Forced output can be disabled by "off".
1123 stream_recording=on|off|number
1125 By setting "on" request that compliance to the desired speed
1126 setting is preferred over management of write errors. With DVD-
1127 RAM and BD this can bring effective write speed near to the nom‐
1128 inal write speed of the media. But it will also disable the
1129 automatic use of replacement blocks if write errors occur. It
1130 might as well be disliked or ignored by the drive.
1131 If a number is given, then error management stays enabled for
1132 all byte addresses below that number. Any number below 16s is
1133 the same as "off".
1134 tao_to_sao_tsize=size
1136 Set an exact fixed size for the next track to be in effect only
1137 if the track source cannot deliver a size prediction and no
1138 tsize= was specified and an exact track size prediction is
1139 demanded by the write mode.
1140 This was the fallback from bad old times when cdrskin was unable
1141 to burn in mode -tao . It came back with minimally blanked DVD-
1142 RW which allow no Incremental Streaming (-tao) resp. with
1143 explicitly selected write mode -sao for best DVD-ROM compatibil‐
1144 ity.
1145 If the track source delivers less bytes than announced then the
1146 missing ones will be filled with zeros.
1147 --tell_media_space
1149 Prepare a recording session, do not perform it but rather
1150 inquire the maximum number of 2048 byte data blocks which may be
1151 written in the current state of media with the prepared setup.
1152 So this option disables recording of data. It does allow blank‐
1153 ing, though, and will measure space afterwards.
1154 It is not mandatory to give track sources but their nature may
1155 influence the available capacity. So for most realistic results
1156 one may set up the full burn session and add --tell_media_space.
1157 But if one has to expect a cdrskin version prior to 0.3.3 no
1158 track source should be given in order not to start an involun‐
1159 tary burn session. In this case set at least -sao or -tao
1160 explicitly.
1161 The result gets printed to standard output. It is 0 or empty if
1162 no writing is possible with the given options. This option
1163 redirects to stderr all message output except its own result
1164 string and eventual output of -msinfo.
1165 --two_channel
1167 Indicate for subsequent tracks that they were mastered with two
1168 channels.
1169 write_start_address=byte_offset
1171 Set the address on media where to start writing the track. With
1172 DVD+RW, DVD-RAM or BD-RE byte_offset must be aligned to 2 kiB
1173 blocks, but better is 32 kiB. With DVD-RW 32 kiB alignment is
1174 mandatory.
1175 Other media are not suitable for this option yet.
1176 Alphabetical list of options which are only intended for very special
1178 situations and not for normal use:
1179 --abort_handler
1181 Establish default signal handling not to leave a drive in busy
1182 state but rather to shut it down and to wait until it has ended
1183 the final operations. This option is only needed for revoking
1184 eventual --ignore_signals or --no_abort_handler.
1185 --allow_untested_media
1187 Enable the use of media profiles which have been implemented but
1188 not yet tested. Currently this option is without effect because
1189 no media types are under test reservation.
1190 (If you really test experimental media, then please report the
1191 outcome on libburn-hackers@pykix.org)
1192 --cdtext_dummy
1194 Prepare a burn run, report the effective array of CD-TEXT packs
1195 to stdout, and then end the program run without starting to burn
1196 the session. A blank CD-R or CD-RW has to be present in the
1197 drive, nevertheless.
1198 The output is formatted in lines which describe 18 bytes as
1199 2-digit hex numbers or as single printable characters. See lib‐
1200 burn document doc/cdtext.txt about the format of these records.
1201 --cdtext_verbose
1203 Like --cdtext_dummy but without preventing the burn run. Combin‐
1204 able with option -dummy to exercise a CD burn run with no per‐
1205 sistent impact on the medium.
1206 dev_translation=<sep><from><sep><to>
1208 Set drive address alias. This was necessary before cdrskin-0.2.4
1209 to manually translate cdrecord addresses into cdrskin addresses.
1210 <sep> is a single character which may not occur in the address
1211 string <from>. <from> is an address as expected to be given by
1212 the user via option dev=. <to> is the address to be used instead
1213 whenever <from> is given. More than one translation instruction
1214 can be given in one cdrskin run.
1215 E.g.: dev_translation=+ATA:1,0,0+/dev/sr1 dev_transla‐
1216 tion=+ATA:1,1,0+/dev/sr2
1217 --drive_abort_on_busy
1219 Linux specific: Abort process if a busy drive is encountered.
1220 --drive_blocking
1222 Linux specific: Try to wait for a busy drive to become free.
1223 This is not guaranteed to work with all drivers. Some need non‐
1224 blocking i/o.
1225 --drive_f_setlk
1227 Linux specific: Try to get exclusive lock on drive device file
1228 via fcntl(2).
1229 --drive_not_exclusive
1231 Linux specific: Combine --drive_not_f_setlk and
1232 --drive_not_o_excl.
1233 --drive_not_f_setlk
1235 Linux specific: Do not try to get exclusive lock on drive device
1236 file via fcntl(2).
1237 --drive_not_o_excl
1239 Linux specific: Do not ask the operating system to prevent open‐
1240 ing busy drives. Wether this leads to senseful behavior depends
1241 on operating system and kernel.
1242 drive_scsi_dev_family=sr|scd|sg
1244 Linux specific: Select a SCSI device file family to be scanned
1245 for by options --devices, --device_links and -scanbus. Normally
1246 this is /dev/sgN on kernel versions < 2.6 and /dev/srN on ker‐
1247 nels >= 2.6 . This option allows to explicitly override that
1248 default in order to meet other programs at a common device file
1249 for each drive. On kernel 2.4 families sr and scd will find no
1250 drives.
1251 Device file family /dev/hdX on kernel >= 2.6 is not affected by
1252 this setting.
1253 --drive_scsi_exclusive
1255 Linux specific: Try to exclusively reserve device files
1256 /dev/srN, /dev/scdM, /dev/sgK of drives. This would be helpful
1257 to protect against collisions with program growisofs. Regret‐
1258 tably on Linux kernel 2.4 with ide-scsi emulation this seems not
1259 to work. Wether it becomes helpful with new Linux systems has to
1260 be evaluated.
1261 --fifo_disable
1263 Disable fifo despite any fs=.
1264 --fifo_per_track
1266 Use a separate fifo for each track.
1267 --fill_up_media
1269 Expand the last track of the session to occupy all remaining
1270 free space on the media.
1271 This option overrides option -multi. It will not fill up media
1272 if option -sao is given with CD media.
1273 Caution: With multi-session media this option might increase
1274 readatibility on DVD-ROM drives but with some DVD recorders and
1275 media types it might also fail to produce readable media at all.
1276 "Your mileage may vary".
1277 You can expect the best possible read compatibility if you do
1278 not use -multi at all.
1279 grab_drive_and_wait=seconds
1281 Open the addressed drive, wait the given number of seconds,
1282 release the drive, and do normal work as indicated by the other
1283 options used. This option helps to explore the program behavior
1284 when faced with busy drives. Just start a second cdrskin with
1285 option --devices while grab_drive_and_wait= is still active.
1286 --ignore_signals
1288 Try to ignore any signals rather than to abort the program. This
1289 is not a very good idea. You might end up waiting a very long
1290 time for cdrskin to finish.
1291 modesty_on_drive=<mode>[:min_percent=<num>][:max_percent=<num>]
1293 Mode 1 keeps the program from trying to write to the burner
1294 drive while its buffer is in danger to be filled by more than
1295 max_percent. If this filling is exceeded then the program will
1296 wait until the filling is at most min_percent.
1297 This can ease the load on operating system and drive controller
1298 and thus help with achieving better input bandwidth if disk and
1299 burner are not on independent controllers (like hda and hdb).
1300 Unsufficient input bandwidth is indicated by output "(fifo
1301 xy%)" of option -v if xy is lower than 90 for some time. mod‐
1302 esty_on_drive= might hamper output bandwidth and cause buffer
1303 underruns.
1304 To have max_percent larger than the burner's best actual buffer
1305 fill has the same effect as min_percent==max_percent. Some burn‐
1306 ers do not use their full buffer with all media types. Watch
1307 output "[buf xy%]" of option -v to get an impression of the
1308 actual buffer usage. Some burners are not suitable because they
1309 report buffer fill with granularity too large in size or time.
1310 Mode 0 disables this feature. Mode -1 keeps it unchanged.
1311 Default is:
1312 modesty_on_drive=0:min_percent=65:max_percent=95
1313 Percentages are permissible in the range of 25 to 100.
1314 --no_abort_handler
1316 On signals exit even if the drive is in busy state. This is not
1317 a very good idea. You might end up with a stuck drive that
1318 refuses to hand out the media.
1319 --no_blank_appendable
1321 Refuse to blank appendable CD-RW or DVD-RW. This is a feature
1322 that was once builtin with libburn. No information available for
1323 what use case it was needed.
1324 --no_convert_fs_adr
1326 Do only literal translations of dev=. This prevents cdrskin from
1327 test-opening device files in order to find one that matches the
1328 given dev= specifier.
1329 Partly Linux specific: Such opening is needed for Bus,Target,Lun
1330 addresses unless option --old_pseudo_scsi_adr is given. It is
1331 also needed to resolve device file addresses which are not
1332 listed with cdrskin --devices but nevertheless point to a usable
1333 drive. (Like /dev/sg0 using the same SCSI address as /dev/sr0.)
1334 --obs_pad
1336 Pad the data of last write operation of a DVD-R[W] DAO session
1337 or stdio: pseudo-drive up to the full size of an output chunk.
1338 This padding has to be applied automatically to the other DVD
1339 and BD media types, where it causes e.g. ISO images to have
1340 trailing unclaimed blocks.
1341 Use this option if there is the suspicion that DAO sessions
1342 abort with your kernel and/or DVD drive, if their size is not a
1343 multiple of 16 blocks.
1344 This option may also get enabled at compile time of libburn.
1345 --old_pseudo_scsi_adr
1347 Linux specific: Use and report literal Bus,Target,Lun addresses
1348 rather than real SCSI and pseudo ATA addresses. This method is
1349 outdated and was never compatible with original cdrecord.
1350 sao_postgap=off|number
1352 Define whether a post-gap shall be written at the end of the
1353 track and how many sectors this gap shall have. A post-gap occu‐
1354 pies the range of an additional index of the track. It contains
1355 zeros. No bytes from the track source will be read for writing
1356 the post-gap.
1357 This setting affects only CD SAO write runs.
1358 sao_pregap=off|number
1360 Define whether a pre-gap shall be written before the track and
1361 how many sectors this pre-gap shall have. A pre-gap is written
1362 in the range of track index 0 and contains zeros resp. silence.
1363 No bytes from the track source will be read for writing the pre-
1364 gap.
1365 This setting affects only CD SAO write runs.
1366 The first track automatically gets a pre-gap of at least 150
1367 sectors. Its size can only be enlarged by this call.
1368 --xa1-ignore
1370 Silently interpret option -xa1 as -data. This may be necessary
1371 if a frontent does not prepare -xa1 block headers but insists in
1372 using option -xa1.
1373
1375 Get an overview of drives and their addresses:
1376 cdrskin -scanbus
1377 cdrskin dev=ATA -scanbus
1378 cdrskin --device_links
1379 Get info about a particular drive or loaded media:
1381 cdrskin dev=0,1,0 -checkdrive
1382 cdrskin dev=ATA:1,0,0 -v -atip
1383 cdrskin dev=/dev/hdc -minfo
1384 Prepare CD-RW or DVD-RW for re-use, DVD-RAM or BD-RE for first use:
1386 cdrskin -v dev=/dev/sg1 blank=as_needed -eject
1387 Format DVD-RW to avoid need for blanking before re-use:
1389 cdrskin -v dev=/dev/sr0 blank=format_overwrite
1390 De-format DVD-RW to make it capable of multi-session again:
1392 cdrskin -v dev=/dev/sr0 blank=deformat_sequential
1393 Write ISO-9660 filesystem image as only one to blank or formatted media:
1395 cdrskin -v dev=/dev/hdc speed=12 fs=8m \
1396 blank=as_needed -eject padsize=300k my_image.iso
1397 Write compressed afio archive on-the-fly (not possible with minimally
1399 blanked DVD-RW or DVD-R DL):
1400 find . | afio -oZ - | \
1401 cdrskin -v dev=0,1,0 fs=32m speed=8 \
1402 blank=as_needed padsize=300k -
1403 Write multi-session to the same CD, DVD-R[W], DVD+R[/DL], or BD-R:
1405 cdrskin dev=/dev/sr0 -v padsize=300k -multi 1.iso
1406 cdrskin dev=/dev/sr0 -v padsize=300k -multi 2.iso
1407 cdrskin dev=/dev/sr0 -v padsize=300k -multi 3.iso
1408 cdrskin dev=/dev/sr0 -v padsize=300k 4.iso
1409 Get multi-session info for option -C of program mkisofs:
1411 c_values=$(cdrskin dev=/dev/hdc -msinfo 2>/dev/null)
1412 mkisofs ... -C "$c_values" ...
1413 Inquire free space on media for a -multi run:
1415 x=$(cdrskin dev=/dev/sr0 -multi \
1416 --tell_media_space 2>/dev/null)
1417 echo "Available: $x blocks of 2048 data bytes"
1418 Write audio tracks to CD:
1420 cdrskin -v dev=ATA:1,0,0 speed=48 -sao \
1421 track1.wav track2.au -audio -swab track3.raw
1422
1424 Startup files:
1425 If not --no_rc is given as the first argument then cdrskin attempts on
1426 startup to read the arguments from the following files:
1427 /etc/default/cdrskin
1429 /etc/opt/cdrskin/rc
1430 /etc/cdrskin/cdrskin.conf
1431 $HOME/.cdrskinrc
1432 The files are read in the sequence given above, but none of them is
1434 required for cdrskin to function properly. Each readable line is
1435 treated as one single argument. No extra blanks. A first character '#'
1436 marks a comment, empty lines are ignored.
1437 Example content of a startup file:
1438 # This is the default device
1439 dev=0,1,0
1440 # Some more options
1441 fifo_start_at=0
1442 fs=16m
1443 Disabling superuser safety precautions:
1445 The superuser is normally banned from using any other emulated drive
1446 but /dev/null. This ban can be lifted by the existence of file
1447 /root/cdrskin_permissions/allow_emulated_drives
1449 where the directory must be owned by the superuser and must not offer
1451 w-permissions for group or others.
1452 Warning: Superusers must take care not to spoil their hard disk via its
1453 raw block device (like stdio:/dev/hda or stdio:/dev/sd0).
1454
1457 Formatting data track sources for cdrskin:
1458 mkisofs(8), genisoimage(8), xorriso(1), afio(1), star(1)
1459 Other CD/DVD/BD burn programs:
1461 cdrecord(1), wodim(1), xorriso(1)
1462 For DVD/BD burning (also tutor of libburn's DVD/BD capabilities):
1464 growisofs(1)
1465
1467 cdrskin was written by Thomas Schmitt <scdbackup@gmx.net>.
1468 This manual page was started by George Danchev <danchev@spnet.net> and
1470 is now maintained by Thomas Schmitt.
1471 Version 1.2.8, Mar 18, 2013 CDRSKIN(1)