btrfs

BTRFS(8) BTRFS BTRFS(8)

NAME

   btrfs - a toolbox to manage btrfs filesystems

SYNOPSIS

   btrfs [global options] <group> [<group>...] <command> [options] [<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 for all commands.

   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:

      btrfs -q subvolume create ...
      btrfs --dry-run subvolume create ...

   --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.