PROLOG

       This  manual  page  is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The Linux implementation of
       this interface may differ (consult the corresponding Linux  manual  page  for  details  of
       Linux behavior), or the interface may not be implemented on Linux.

NAME

       fsync — synchronize changes to a file

SYNOPSIS

       #include <unistd.h>

       int fsync(int fildes);

DESCRIPTION

       The  fsync()  function  shall  request that all data for the open file descriptor named by
       fildes is to be transferred to the storage device associated with the  file  described  by
       fildes.   The nature of the transfer is implementation-defined. The fsync() function shall
       not return until the system has completed that action or until an error is detected.

       If _POSIX_SYNCHRONIZED_IO is defined, the  fsync()  function  shall  force  all  currently
       queued  I/O operations associated with the file indicated by file descriptor fildes to the
       synchronized I/O completion state. All I/O operations shall be completed  as  defined  for
       synchronized I/O file integrity completion.

RETURN VALUE

       Upon  successful  completion,  fsync() shall return 0. Otherwise, −1 shall be returned and
       errno set to indicate the error. If the fsync() function fails, outstanding I/O operations
       are not guaranteed to have been completed.

ERRORS

       The fsync() function shall fail if:

       EBADF  The fildes argument is not a valid descriptor.

       EINTR  The fsync() function was interrupted by a signal.

       EINVAL The fildes argument does not refer to a file on which this operation is possible.

       EIO    An I/O error occurred while reading from or writing to the file system.

       In  the  event  that any of the queued I/O operations fail, fsync() shall return the error
       conditions defined for read() and write().

       The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES

       None.

APPLICATION USAGE

       The fsync() function should be used by programs which require modifications to a  file  to
       be completed before continuing; for example, a program which contains a simple transaction
       facility might use it to ensure that all modifications to a file  or  files  caused  by  a
       transaction are recorded.

RATIONALE

       The  fsync() function is intended to force a physical write of data from the buffer cache,
       and to assure that after a system crash or other failure that all data up to the  time  of
       the fsync() call is recorded on the disk. Since the concepts of ``buffer cache'', ``system
       crash'', ``physical write'', and  ``non-volatile  storage''  are  not  defined  here,  the
       wording has to be more abstract.

       If  _POSIX_SYNCHRONIZED_IO  is  not defined, the wording relies heavily on the conformance
       document to tell the user what can be expected from the system. It is explicitly  intended
       that  a null implementation is permitted. This could be valid in the case where the system
       cannot assure non-volatile storage under any circumstances or when the  system  is  highly
       fault-tolerant  and  the functionality is not required. In the middle ground between these
       extremes, fsync() might or might not actually cause data to be written where  it  is  safe
       from  a  power  failure.  The  conformance  document  should  identify  at  least that one
       configuration exists (and how to obtain that configuration) where this can be assured  for
       at  least some files that the user can select to use for critical data. It is not intended
       that an exhaustive list is required, but rather sufficient information is provided so that
       if  critical  data  needs  to  be  saved,  the  user can determine how the system is to be
       configured to allow the data to be written to non-volatile storage.

       It is reasonable to assert that the key aspects of fsync() are unreasonable to test  in  a
       test  suite.  That  does  not  make the function any less valuable, just more difficult to
       test. A formal conformance test should probably force  a  system  crash  (power  shutdown)
       during  the  test for this condition, but it needs to be done in such a way that automated
       testing does not require this to be done except when a formal record  of  the  results  is
       being  made. It would also not be unreasonable to omit testing for fsync(), allowing it to
       be treated as a quality-of-implementation issue.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

       None.

SEE ALSO

       sync()

       The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2008, <unistd.h>

COPYRIGHT

       Portions of this text are reprinted and  reproduced  in  electronic  form  from  IEEE  Std
       1003.1,  2013  Edition,  Standard  for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System
       Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, Copyright (C) 2013  by  the
       Institute  of  Electrical  and  Electronics  Engineers,  Inc and The Open Group.  (This is
       POSIX.1-2008 with the  2013  Technical  Corrigendum  1  applied.)  In  the  event  of  any
       discrepancy  between  this  version and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the
       original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The  original  Standard
       can be obtained online at http://www.unix.org/online.html .

       Any  typographical  or  formatting errors that appear in this page are most likely to have
       been introduced during the conversion of the source files to man page  format.  To  report
       such errors, see https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .