btrfs-progs/Documentation/btrfs-check.rst

btrfs-check(8)
==============

SYNOPSIS
--------

**btrfs check** [options] <device>

DESCRIPTION
-----------

The filesystem checker is used to verify structural integrity of a filesystem
and attempt to repair it if requested.  It is recommended to unmount the
filesystem prior to running the check, but it is possible to start checking a
mounted filesystem (see :ref:`--force<man-check-option-force>`).

By default, :command:`btrfs check` will not modify the device but you can reaffirm that
by the option *--readonly*.

:command:`btrfsck` is an alias of :command:`btrfs check` command and is now deprecated.

.. note::
   Even though the filesystem checker requires a device argument, it scans for all
   devices belonging to the same filesystem, thus it should not cause a difference
   using different devices of the same filesystem.
   Furthermore `btrfs check` will automatically choose the good mirror, thus as long
   as there is a good copy for metadata, it will not report such case as an error.

.. warning::
   Do not use *--repair* unless you are advised to do so by a developer
   or an experienced user, and then only after having accepted that no *fsck*
   successfully repair all types of filesystem corruption. E.g. some other software
   or hardware bugs can fatally damage a volume.

The structural integrity check verifies if internal filesystem objects or
data structures satisfy the constraints, point to the right objects or are
correctly connected together.

There are several cross checks that can detect wrong reference counts of shared
extents, backreferences, missing extents of inodes, directory and inode
connectivity etc.

The amount of memory required can be high, depending on the size of the
filesystem, similarly the run time. Check the modes that can also affect that.


SAFE OR ADVISORY OPTIONS
------------------------

-b|--backup
        use the first valid set of backup roots stored in the superblock

        This can be combined with *--super* if some of the superblocks are damaged.

--check-data-csum
        verify checksums of data blocks

        This expects that the filesystem is otherwise OK, and is basically an offline
        *scrub* that does not repair data from spare copies.

--chunk-root <bytenr>
        use the given offset *bytenr* for the chunk tree root

-E|--subvol-extents <subvolid>
        show extent state for the given subvolume

--mode <MODE>
        select mode of operation regarding memory and IO

        The *MODE* can be one of:

        original
                The metadata are read into memory and verified, thus the requirements are high
                on large filesystems and can even lead to out-of-memory conditions.  The
                possible workaround is to export the block device over network to a machine
                with enough memory.
        lowmem
                This mode is supposed to address the high memory consumption at the cost of
                increased IO when it needs to re-read blocks.  This may increase run time.

-p|--progress
        indicate progress at various checking phases

-Q|--qgroup-report
        verify qgroup accounting and compare against filesystem accounting

-r|--tree-root <bytenr>
        use the given offset 'bytenr' for the tree root

--readonly
        (default)
        run in read-only mode, this option exists to calm potential panic when users
        are going to run the checker

-s|--super <N>
        use Nth superblock copy, valid values are 0, 1 or 2 if the
        respective superblock offset is within the device size

        This can be used to use a different starting point if some of the primary
        superblock is damaged.

DANGEROUS OPTIONS
-----------------

--repair
        enable the repair mode and attempt to fix problems where possible

        .. note::
                There's a warning and 10 second delay when this option is run without
                *--force* to give users a chance to think twice before running repair, the
                warnings in documentation have shown to be insufficient.

--init-csum-tree
        create a new checksum tree and recalculate checksums in all files

        .. warning::
                Do not blindly use this option to fix checksum mismatch problems.

--init-extent-tree
        build the extent tree from scratch

        .. warning::
                Do not use unless you know what you're doing.

.. _man-check-option-force:

--force
        allow work on a mounted filesystem and skip mount checks. Note that
        this should work fine on a quiescent or read-only mounted filesystem
        but may crash if the device is changed externally, e.g. by the kernel
        module.

        .. note::
		It is possible to run with --repair but on a mounted filesystem
                that will most likely lead to a corruption unless the filesystem
                is in a quiescent state which may not be possible to guarantee.

        This option also skips the delay and warning in the repair mode (see
        *--repair*).

DEPRECATED OR REMOVED OPTIONS
-----------------------------

--clear-space-cache v1|v2
        completely remove the free space cache of the given version

        See also the *clear_cache* mount option.

	.. warning::
		This option is deprecated, please use `btrfs rescue clear-space-cache`
		instead, this option would be removed in the future eventually.

EXIT STATUS
-----------

**btrfs check** 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 <https://btrfs.readthedocs.io>`_.

SEE ALSO
--------

:doc:`mkfs.btrfs`,
:doc:`btrfs-scrub`,
:doc:`btrfs-rescue`