BTRFS(8)                             BTRFS                            BTRFS(8)

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.

SEE ALSO
       btrfs(5), btrfs-balance(8), btrfs-check(8), btrfs-convert(8),
       btrfs-device(8), btrfs-filesystem(8), btrfs-inspect-internal(8),
       btrfs-property(8), btrfs-qgroup(8), btrfs-quota(8), btrfs-receive(8),
       btrfs-replace(8), btrfs-rescue(8), btrfs-restore(8), btrfs-scrub(8),
       btrfs-send(8), btrfs-subvolume(8), btrfstune(8), mkfs.btrfs(8)

6.8                              April 5, 2024                        BTRFS(8)