Ubuntu Manpage: btrfs - a toolbox to manage btrfs filesystems

name
synopsis
description
command syntax
commands
standalone tools
exit status
availability
see also

Provided by: btrfs-progs_6.6.3-1.2_amd64

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(8) or btrfstune(8) 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 subcommand

-q|--quiet
print only errors

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

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.