1BTRFS(8)                             BTRFS                            BTRFS(8)
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NAME

6       btrfs - a toolbox to manage btrfs filesystems
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SYNOPSIS

9       btrfs [global] <group> [<group>...] <command> [<args>]
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DESCRIPTION

12       The  btrfs  utility is a toolbox for managing btrfs filesystems.  There
13       are command groups to work with subvolumes, devices, for whole filesys‐
14       tem or other specific actions. See section COMMANDS.
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16       There are also standalone tools for some tasks like btrfs-convert(8) or
17       btrfstune(8) that were separate historically and/or haven't been merged
18       to the main utility. See section STANDALONE TOOLS for more details.
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20       For other topics (mount options, etc) please refer to the separate man‐
21       ual page btrfs(5).
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COMMAND SYNTAX

24       Any command name can be shortened so long as the shortened form is  un‐
25       ambiguous,  however,  it  is  recommended  to use full command names in
26       scripts.   All  command   groups   have   their   manual   page   named
27       btrfs-<group>.
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29       For  example:  it  is  possible to run btrfs sub snaps instead of btrfs
30       subvolume snapshot.  But btrfs file s is not allowed,  because  file  s
31       may be interpreted both as filesystem show and as filesystem sync.
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33       If  the  command  name is ambiguous, the list of conflicting options is
34       printed.
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36       Sizes, both upon input and output, can be expressed  in  either  SI  or
37       IEC-I  units  (see  numfmt(1)) with the suffix B appended.  All numbers
38       will be formatted according to the rules of the C locale (ignoring  the
39       shell locale, see locale(7)).
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41       For  an  overview  of a given command use btrfs command --help or btrfs
42       [command...] --help --full to print all available options.
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44       There are global options that are passed between btrfs  and  the  group
45       name  and  affect behaviour not specific to the command, e.g. verbosity
46       or the type of the output.
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48       --format <format>
49              if supported by the command, print  subcommand  output  in  that
50              format (text, json)
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52       -v|--verbose
53              increase verbosity of the subcommand
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55       -q|--quiet
56              print only errors
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58       --log <level>
59              set log level (default, info, verbose, debug, quiet)
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61       The remaining options are relevant only for the main tool:
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63       --help print condensed help for all subcommands
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65       --version
66              print version string
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COMMANDS

69       balance
70              Balance  btrfs  filesystem  chunks  across single or several de‐
71              vices.  See btrfs-balance(8) for details.
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73       check  Do off-line check on a btrfs filesystem.  See btrfs-check(8) for
74              details.
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76       device Manage  devices  managed by btrfs, including add/delete/scan and
77              so on.  See btrfs-device(8) for details.
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79       filesystem
80              Manage a btrfs filesystem, including label setting/sync  and  so
81              on.  See btrfs-filesystem(8) for details.
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83       inspect-internal
84              Debug       tools       for       developers/hackers.        See
85              btrfs-inspect-internal(8) for details.
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87       property
88              Get/set   a   property   from/to   a    btrfs    object.     See
89              btrfs-property(8) for details.
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91       qgroup Manage   quota   group(qgroup)   for   btrfs   filesystem.   See
92              btrfs-qgroup(8) for details.
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94       quota  Manage quota on btrfs filesystem like enabling/rescan  and  etc.
95              See btrfs-quota(8) and btrfs-qgroup(8) for details.
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97       receive
98              Receive subvolume data from stdin/file for restore and etc.  See
99              btrfs-receive(8) for details.
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101       replace
102              Replace btrfs devices.  See btrfs-replace(8) for details.
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104       rescue Try to rescue damaged btrfs filesystem.  See btrfs-rescue(8) for
105              details.
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107       restore
108              Try  to  restore  files  from  a  damaged btrfs filesystem.  See
109              btrfs-restore(8) for details.
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111       scrub  Scrub a btrfs filesystem.  See btrfs-scrub(8) for details.
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113       send   Send subvolume data to stdout/file  for  backup  and  etc.   See
114              btrfs-send(8) for details.
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116       subvolume
117              Create/delete/list/manage       btrfs       subvolume.       See
118              btrfs-subvolume(8) for details.
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STANDALONE TOOLS

121       New functionality could be provided using a  standalone  tool.  If  the
122       functionality proves to be useful, then the standalone tool is declared
123       obsolete and its functionality is copied to  the  main  tool.  Obsolete
124       tools are removed after a long (years) depreciation period.
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126       Tools that are still in active use without an equivalent in btrfs:
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128       btrfs-convert
129              in-place conversion from ext2/3/4 filesystems to btrfs
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131       btrfstune
132              tweak some filesystem properties on a unmounted filesystem
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134       btrfs-select-super
135              rescue tool to overwrite primary superblock from a spare copy
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137       btrfs-find-root
138              rescue helper to find tree roots in a filesystem
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140       For space-constrained environments, it's possible to build a single bi‐
141       nary with functionality of several standalone tools. This is  following
142       the  concept  of busybox where the file name selects the functionality.
143       This works for symlinks or hardlinks. The full list can be obtained  by
144       btrfs help --box.
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EXIT STATUS

147       btrfs  returns  a zero exit status if it succeeds. Non zero is returned
148       in case of failure.
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AVAILABILITY

151       btrfs is part of btrfs-progs.  Please refer  to  the  documentation  at
152       https://btrfs.readthedocs.io.
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SEE ALSO

155       btrfs(5),     btrfs-balance(8),    btrfs-check(8),    btrfs-convert(8),
156       btrfs-device(8),    btrfs-filesystem(8),     btrfs-inspect-internal(8),
157       btrfs-property(8),  btrfs-qgroup(8),  btrfs-quota(8), btrfs-receive(8),
158       btrfs-replace(8),  btrfs-rescue(8),  btrfs-restore(8),  btrfs-scrub(8),
159       btrfs-send(8), btrfs-subvolume(8), btrfstune(8), mkfs.btrfs(8)
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1646.6.2                            Nov 24, 2023                         BTRFS(8)
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