Provided by: nvme-cli_2.11-1_amd64 
NAME
nvme-format - Format an NVMe device
SYNOPSIS
nvme format <device> [--namespace-id=<nsid> | -n <nsid>]
[--lbaf=<lbaf> | -l <lbaf>]
[--block-size=<block size | -b <block size>]
[--ses=<ses> | -s <ses>] [--pil=<pil> | -p <pil>]
[--pi=<pi> | -i <pi>] [--ms=<ms> | -m <ms>]
[--reset | -r] [--force]
[--timeout=<timeout> | -t <timeout>]
[--output-format=<fmt> | -o <fmt>] [--verbose | -v]
DESCRIPTION
For the NVMe device given, send an nvme Format Namespace admin command and provides the
results.
The <device> parameter is mandatory and may be either the NVMe character device (ex:
/dev/nvme0), or a namespace block device (ex: /dev/nvme0n1). If the character device is
given, and the controller does not support formatting of particular namespaces
(ID_CTRL.FNA bit 0 enabled), then all namespaces will be formatted. If FNA is disabled,
then the namespace identifier must be specified with the namespace-id option; specify a
value of 0xffffffff to send the format to all namespaces. If the block device is given,
the namespace identifier will default to the namespace ID of the block device given, but
can be overridden with the same option.
Note, the numeric suffix on the character device, for example the 0 in /dev/nvme0, does
NOT indicate this device handle is the parent controller of any namespaces with the same
suffix. The namespace handle’s numeral may be coming from the subsystem identifier, which
is independent of the controller’s identifier. Do not assume any particular device
relationship based on their names. If you do, you may irrevocably erase data on an
unintended device.
On success, the program will automatically issue BLKRRPART ioctl to force rescanning the
namespaces. If the driver is recent enough, this will automatically update the physical
block size. If it is not recent enough, you will need to remove and rescan your device
some other way for the new block size to be visible, if the size was changed with this
command.
OPTIONS
-n <nsid>, --namespace-id=<nsid>
Send the format command for the specified nsid. This can be used to override the
default value for either character device (unspecified) or the block device (result
from NVME_IOCTL_ID).
-l <lbaf>, --lbaf=<lbaf>
LBA Format: This field specifies the LBA format to apply to the NVM media. This
corresponds to the LBA formats indicated in the Identify Namespace command. Conflicts
with --block-size argument. Defaults to 0.
-b <block size>, --block-size=<block size>
Block Size: This field is used to specify the target block size to format to.
Potential lbaf values will be scanned and the lowest numbered will be selected for the
format operation. Conflicts with --lbaf argument.
-s <ses>, --ses=<ses>
Secure Erase Settings: This field specifies whether a secure erase should be performed
as part of the format and the type of the secure erase operation. The erase applies to
all user data, regardless of location (e.g., within an exposed LBA, within a cache,
within deallocated LBAs, etc). Defaults to 0.
┌──────┬──────────────────────────────────┐
│Value │ Definition │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────┤
│0 │ No secure erase operation │
│ │ requested │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────┤
│1 │ User Data Erase: All user data │
│ │ shall be erased, contents of the │
│ │ user data after the erase is │
│ │ indeterminate (e.g., the user │
│ │ data may be zero filled, one │
│ │ filled, etc). The controller may │
│ │ perform a cryptographic erase │
│ │ when a User Data Erase is │
│ │ requested if all user data is │
│ │ encrypted. │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────┤
│2 │ Cryptographic Erase: All user │
│ │ data shall be erased │
│ │ cryptographically. This is │
│ │ accomplished by deleting the │
│ │ encryption key. │
├──────┼──────────────────────────────────┤
│3–7 │ Reserved │
└──────┴──────────────────────────────────┘
-p <pil>, --pil=<pil>
Protection Information Location: If set to ‘1’ and protection information is enabled,
then protection information is transferred as the first bytes of metadata. If cleared
to ‘0’ and protection information is enabled, then protection information is
transferred as the last bytes of metadata. Defaults to 0.
-i <pi>, --pi=<pi>
Protection Information: This field specifies whether end-to-end data protection is
enabled and the type of protection information. Defaults to 0.
┌──────┬───────────────────────────────┐
│Value │ Definition │
├──────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│0 │ Protection information is not │
│ │ enabled │
├──────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│1 │ Protection information is │
│ │ enabled, Type 1 │
├──────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│2 │ Protection information is │
│ │ enabled, Type 2 │
├──────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│3 │ Protection information is │
│ │ enabled, Type 3 │
├──────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│4–7 │ Reserved │
└──────┴───────────────────────────────┘
-m <ms>, --ms=<ms>
Metadata Settings: This field is set to ‘1’ if the metadata is transferred as part of
an extended data LBA. This field is cleared to ‘0’ if the metadata is transferred as
part of a separate buffer. The metadata may include protection information, based on
the Protection Information (PI) field. Defaults to 0.
-r, --reset
Issue a reset after successful format. Must use the character device for this.
--force
Just send the command immediately without warning of the implications.
-t <timeout>, --timeout=<timeout>
Override default timeout value 600,000. In milliseconds.
-o <fmt>, --output-format=<fmt>
Set the reporting format to normal, json or binary. Only one output format can be used
at a time.
-v, --verbose
Increase the information detail in the output.
EXAMPLES
• Format the device using all defaults:
# nvme format /dev/nvme0n1
• Format namespace 1 with user data secure erase settings and protection information:
# nvme format /dev/nvme0 --namespace-id=1 --ses=1 --pi=1
NVME
Part of the nvme-user suite