blockdev - call block device ioctls from the command line
Contents
Availability
The blockdev command is part of the util-linux package which can be downloaded from Linux Kernel Archive
<https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux/>.
util-linux 2.41 2025-02-26 BLOCKDEV(8)
Commands
It is possible to give multiple devices and multiple commands.
--flushbufs
Flush buffers.
--getalignoff
Get alignment offset.
--getbsz
Print the blocksize in bytes. This size does not describe device topology. Itβs the size used
internally by the kernel and it may be modified (for example) by filesystem driver on mount.
--getdiscardzeroes
Get discard zeroes support status.
--getdiskseq
Get disk sequence number.
--getzonesz
Get zone size in 512-byte sectors.
--getfra
Get filesystem readahead in 512-byte sectors.
--getiomin
Get minimum I/O size.
--getioopt
Get optimal I/O size.
--getmaxsect
Get max sectors per request.
--getpbsz
Get physical block (sector) size.
--getra
Print readahead (in 512-byte sectors).
--getro
Get read-only. Print 1 if the device is read-only, 0 otherwise.
--getsize64
Print device size in bytes.
--getsize
Print device size (32-bit!) in sectors. Deprecated in favor of the --getsz option.
--getss
Print logical sector size in bytes - usually 512.
--getsz
Get size in 512-byte sectors.
--rereadpt
Reread partition table.
--setbszbytes
Set blocksize. Note that the block size is specific to the current file descriptor opening the block
device, so the change of block size only persists for as long as blockdev has the device open, and is
lost once blockdev exits.
--setfrasectors
Set filesystem readahead (same as --setra on 2.6 kernels).
--setrasectors
Set readahead (in 512-byte sectors).
--setro
Set read-only. The currently active access to the device may not be affected by the change. For
example, a filesystem already mounted in read-write mode will not be affected. The change applies
after remount.
--setrw
Set read-write.
Description
The utility blockdev allows one to call block device ioctls from the command line.
Name
blockdev - call block device ioctls from the command line
Options
-q
Be quiet.
-v
Be verbose.
--report
Print a report for the specified device. It is possible to give multiple devices. If none is given,
all devices which appear in /proc/partitions are shown. Note that the partition StartSec is in
512-byte sectors.
-h, --help
Display help text and exit.
-V, --version
Display version and exit.
Reporting Bugs
For bug reports, use the issue tracker <https://github.com/util-linux/util-linux/issues>.
Synopsis
blockdev [-q] [-v] command [command...] device [device...]
blockdev--report [device...]
blockdev-h|-V