mkfs

Build a Linux filesystem

Description

The mkfs command is used to build a Linux filesystem on a device, usually a hard disk partition. mkfs itself is a front-end for the various filesystem builders (mkfs.fstype) available under Linux.

Syntax

mkfs [OPTION]... [-t TYPE] [FS-OPTIONS] DEVICE [SIZE]

Options

-t <type>：Specify the type of filesystem to be built (e.g., ext3, ext4, msdos).
-v：Produce verbose output, including all filesystem-specific commands that are executed.
-V：Display version information and exit.
-c：Check the partition for bad blocks before building the filesystem.

Parameters

• Device: The special file corresponding to the device (e.g., /dev/sda6).
• Size: The number of blocks for the filesystem.

Examples

Create an MS-DOS filesystem on /dev/hda5, checking for bad blocks and displaying verbose output:

mkfs -V -t msdos -c /dev/hda5

# Format a partition as ext3
mkfs -t ext3 /dev/sda6

# Format a partition as ext2
mkfs -t ext2 /dev/sda7