Ubuntu Manpage: btrfs - a toolbox to manage btrfs filesystems

NAME

       btrfs - a toolbox to manage btrfs filesystems

SYNOPSIS

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

DESCRIPTION

       The  btrfs  utility is a toolbox for managing btrfs filesystems.  There are command groups
       to work with subvolumes, devices, for whole filesystem  or  other  specific  actions.  See
       section COMMANDS.

       There  are  also standalone tools for some tasks like btrfs-convert or btrfstune that were
       separate historically and/or  haven't  been  merged  to  the  main  utility.  See  section
       STANDALONE TOOLS for more details.

       For other topics (mount options, etc) please refer to the separate manual page btrfs(5).

COMMAND SYNTAX

Any command name can be shortened so long as the shortened form is unambiguous, however,
it is recommended to use full command names in scripts. All command groups have their
manual page named btrfs-<group>.

For example: it is possible to run btrfs sub snaps instead of btrfs subvolume snapshot.
But btrfs file s is not allowed, because file s may be interpreted both as filesystem show
and as filesystem sync.

If the command name is ambiguous, the list of conflicting options is printed.

Sizes, both upon input and output, can be expressed in either SI or IEC-I units (see
numfmt(1)) with the suffix B appended. All numbers will be formatted according to the
rules of the C locale (ignoring the shell locale, see locale(7)).

For an overview of a given command use btrfs command --help or btrfs [command...] --help
--full to print all available options.

There are global options that are passed between btrfs and the group name and affect
behaviour not specific to the command, e.g. verbosity or the type of the output.

--format <format>
if supported by the command, print subcommand output in that format (text, json)

-v|--verbose
increase verbosity of the subcommandn"

-q|--quiet
print only errorsn"

--log <level>
set log level (default, info, verbose, debug, quiet)n"

The remaining options are relevant only for the main tool:

--help print condensed help for all subcommands

--version
print version string

COMMANDS

       balance
              Balance   btrfs   filesystem   chunks   across  single  or  several  devices.   See
              btrfs-balance(8) for details.

       check  Do off-line check on a btrfs filesystem.  See btrfs-check(8) for details.

       device Manage devices  managed  by  btrfs,  including  add/delete/scan  and  so  on.   See
              btrfs-device(8) for details.

       filesystem
              Manage   a   btrfs  filesystem,  including  label  setting/sync  and  so  on.   See
              btrfs-filesystem(8) for details.

       inspect-internal
              Debug tools for developers/hackers.  See btrfs-inspect-internal(8) for details.

       property
              Get/set a property from/to a btrfs object.  See btrfs-property(8) for details.

       qgroup Manage quota group(qgroup) for btrfs filesystem.  See btrfs-qgroup(8) for details.

       quota  Manage quota on btrfs filesystem like enabling/rescan and etc.  See  btrfs-quota(8)
              and btrfs-qgroup(8) for details.

       receive
              Receive  subvolume  data from stdin/file for restore and etc.  See btrfs-receive(8)
              for details.

       replace
              Replace btrfs devices.  See btrfs-replace(8) for details.

       rescue Try to rescue damaged btrfs filesystem.  See btrfs-rescue(8) for details.

       restore
              Try to restore files from a damaged btrfs  filesystem.   See  btrfs-restore(8)  for
              details.

       scrub  Scrub a btrfs filesystem.  See btrfs-scrub(8) for details.

       send   Send  subvolume  data  to  stdout/file  for  backup and etc.  See btrfs-send(8) for
              details.

       subvolume
              Create/delete/list/manage btrfs subvolume.  See btrfs-subvolume(8) for details.

STANDALONE TOOLS

       New functionality could be provided using a standalone tool. If the  functionality  proves
       to  be  useful,  then  the  standalone  tool is declared obsolete and its functionality is
       copied to the main tool. Obsolete tools are removed  after  a  long  (years)  depreciation
       period.

       Tools that are still in active use without an equivalent in btrfs:

       btrfs-convert
              in-place conversion from ext2/3/4 filesystems to btrfs

       btrfstune
              tweak some filesystem properties on a unmounted filesystem

       btrfs-select-super
              rescue tool to overwrite primary superblock from a spare copy

       btrfs-find-root
              rescue helper to find tree roots in a filesystem

       For   space-constrained  environments,  it's  possible  to  build  a  single  binary  with
       functionality of several standalone tools. This is following the concept of busybox  where
       the  file  name  selects the functionality. This works for symlinks or hardlinks. The full
       list can be obtained by btrfs help --box.

EXIT STATUS

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

AVAILABILITY

       btrfs   is   part   of   btrfs-progs.    Please   refer   to    the    documentation    at
       https://btrfs.readthedocs.io or wiki http://btrfs.wiki.kernel.org for further information.