mfsarchive(1)

✨ mfsarchive — MooseFS archive storage mode management tools ✨

okay bestie, come SIT. this is mfsarchive, part of the MooseFS family, and it's lowkey one of the most useful little squads of tools you'll ever meet. it's giving "tiny commands, big power" fr fr 💅

---

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

mfschkarchive [-?] [-n|-h|-H|-k|-m|-g] OBJECT...

mfsclrarchive [-?] [-n|-h|-H|-k|-m|-g] OBJECT...

mfssetarchive [-?] [-n|-h|-H|-k|-m|-g] OBJECT...

three little icons, one shared vibe check. every one of them takes the same options and the same OBJECT... list, so once you know one you know all three. no cap. 🎀

---

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so like, these tools all mess with one specific thing: the archive bit of a filesystem object. and "object" here means a file, a special file, or a directory. that's the whole target audience. 🫶

here's the tea on what that bit even does: normally it gets set automatically, following whatever the storage class definition says — that's the ARCH_DELAY situation. and then, depending on where the bit stands:

• if the archive bit is set, then ARCH_LABELS from the storage class definition get used ✨
• otherwise, KEEP_LABES are used 💖

(yes, the original spells it KEEP_LABES. we do not fix. we do not touch. we just love it. iconic behavior honestly.)

now, the three besties themselves:

• mfschkarchive — prints the current archive bit value of the given object(s). and if the OBJECT you hand it is a DIRECTORY? it prints the current archive bit value of all the contained files, recursively. it's thorough like that. 💅
• mfsclrarchive and mfssetarchive — these two clear and set (in that order, respectively) the current archive bit of the given object(s). and just like mfschkarchive: if OBJECT is a DIRECTORY, then the tool goes recursive. same energy, different direction.

heads up bestie: recursive means recursive. point them at a directory and they will absolutely walk the whole tree. that's not a bug, that's the design, but know it before you type it. 😭

---

💜 OPTIONS 💜

first, the group chat announcement: most MooseFS tools use -n, -h, -H, -k, -m and -g to pick the format of printed numbers. so let's go through the whole lineup, one by one:

• -n — prints exact numbers. plain, honest, no dressing. the default vibe.
• -h — uses binary prefixes: Ki, Mi, Gi, standing for 2^10, 2^20, etc. 🌈
• -H — uses SI prefixes: k, M, G, standing for 10^3, 10^6, etc. ⭐
• -k — shows plain numbers in kibis (binary kilo — 1024) 🎀
• -m — shows plain numbers in mebis (binary mega — 1024^2) 🦋
• -g — shows plain numbers in gibis (binary giga — 1024^3) 👑
• -? — displays the short usage message. your lil "help me" button. 🙈

and if flags aren't your thing (valid), you can get the exact same result by setting the MFSHRFORMAT environment variable instead. here's the mapping, write it down:

• 0 — exact numbers
• 1 or h — binary prefixes
• 2 or H — SI prefixes
• 3 or h+ — exact numbers and binary prefixes
• 4 or H+ — exact numbers and SI prefixes

the default is to print just exact numbers. so if you do nothing, you get exact numbers, and honestly? respecting that. 💖

---

🍓 REPORTING BUGS 🍓

found a bug? don't suffer in silence bestie, tell the devs:

bugs@moosefs.com

---

👑 COPYRIGHT 👑

Copyright (C) 2026 Jakub Kruszona-Zawadzki, Saglabs SA

This file is part of MooseFS.

MooseFS is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, version 2 (only).

MooseFS is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

---

🌟 SEE ALSO 🌟

• mfsmount(8)
• mfstools(1)
• mfssclass(1)

---

and that's the whole page, bestie!! you read it, you understood it, you're basically a MooseFS archivist now 🧚 this was MooseFS 4.59.2-1, dated May 2026 — so go forth, check those archive bits, set those archive bits, clear those archive bits, and slay 💅✨