NAME

     zfs-create — create ZFS dataset

SYNOPSIS

     zfs create [-Pnpuv] [-o property=value]… filesystem
     zfs create [-ps] [-b blocksize] [-o property=value]… -V size volume

DESCRIPTION

     zfs create [-Pnpuv] [-o property=value]… filesystem
       Creates a new ZFS file system.  The file system is automatically mounted according to the
       mountpoint property inherited from the parent, unless the -u option is used.

       -o property=value
           Sets the specified property as if the command zfs set property=value was invoked at
           the same time the dataset was created.  Any editable ZFS property can also be set at
           creation time.  Multiple -o options can be specified.  An error results if the same
           property is specified in multiple -o options.

       -p  Creates all the non-existing parent datasets.  Datasets created in this manner are
           automatically mounted according to the mountpoint property inherited from their
           parent.  Any property specified on the command line using the -o option is ignored.
           If the target filesystem already exists, the operation completes successfully.

       -n  Do a dry-run ("No-op") creation.  No datasets will be created.  This is useful in
           conjunction with the -v or -P flags to validate properties that are passed via -o
           options and those implied by other options.  The actual dataset creation can still
           fail due to insufficient privileges or available capacity.

       -P  Print machine-parsable verbose information about the created dataset.  Each line of
           output contains a key and one or two values, all separated by tabs.  The
           create_ancestors and create keys have filesystem as their only value.  The
           create_ancestors key only appears if the -p option is used.  The property key has two
           values, a property name that property's value.  The property key may appear zero or
           more times, once for each property that will be set local to filesystem due to the use
           of the -o option.

       -u  Do not mount the newly created file system.

       -v  Print verbose information about the created dataset.

     zfs create [-ps] [-b blocksize] [-o property=value]… -V size volume
       Creates a volume of the given size.  The volume is exported as a block device in
       /dev/zvol/path, where path is the name of the volume in the ZFS namespace.  The size
       represents the logical size as exported by the device.  By default, a reservation of equal
       size is created.

       size is automatically rounded up to the nearest multiple of the blocksize.

       -b blocksize
           Equivalent to -o volblocksize=blocksize.  If this option is specified in conjunction
           with -o volblocksize, the resulting behavior is undefined.

       -o property=value
           Sets the specified property as if the zfs set property=value command was invoked at
           the same time the dataset was created.  Any editable ZFS property can also be set at
           creation time.  Multiple -o options can be specified.  An error results if the same
           property is specified in multiple -o options.

       -p  Creates all the non-existing parent datasets.  Datasets created in this manner are
           automatically mounted according to the mountpoint property inherited from their
           parent.  Any property specified on the command line using the -o option is ignored.
           If the target filesystem already exists, the operation completes successfully.

       -s  Creates a sparse volume with no reservation.  See volsize in the Native Properties
           section of zfsprops(7) for more information about sparse volumes.

       -n  Do a dry-run ("No-op") creation.  No datasets will be created.  This is useful in
           conjunction with the -v or -P flags to validate properties that are passed via -o
           options and those implied by other options.  The actual dataset creation can still
           fail due to insufficient privileges or available capacity.

       -P  Print machine-parsable verbose information about the created dataset.  Each line of
           output contains a key and one or two values, all separated by tabs.  The
           create_ancestors and create keys have volume as their only value.  The
           create_ancestors key only appears if the -p option is used.  The property key has two
           values, a property name that property's value.  The property key may appear zero or
           more times, once for each property that will be set local to volume due to the use of
           the -b or -o options, as well as refreservation if the volume is not sparse.

       -v  Print verbose information about the created dataset.

   ZFS for Swap
     Swapping to a ZFS volume is prone to deadlock and not recommended.  See OpenZFS FAQ.

     Swapping to a file on a ZFS filesystem is not supported.

EXAMPLES

   Example 1: Creating a ZFS File System Hierarchy
     The following commands create a file system named pool/home and a file system named
     pool/home/bob.  The mount point /export/home is set for the parent file system, and is
     automatically inherited by the child file system.
           # zfs create pool/home
           # zfs set mountpoint=/export/home pool/home
           # zfs create pool/home/bob

   Example 2: Promoting a ZFS Clone
     The following commands illustrate how to test out changes to a file system, and then replace
     the original file system with the changed one, using clones, clone promotion, and renaming:
           # zfs create pool/project/production
             populate /pool/project/production with data
           # zfs snapshot pool/project/production@today
           # zfs clone pool/project/production@today pool/project/beta
             make changes to /pool/project/beta and test them
           # zfs promote pool/project/beta
           # zfs rename pool/project/production pool/project/legacy
           # zfs rename pool/project/beta pool/project/production
             once the legacy version is no longer needed, it can be destroyed
           # zfs destroy pool/project/legacy

SEE ALSO

     zfs-destroy(8), zfs-list(8), zpool-create(8)