nbdkit-null-plugin(1)

📦
version 1.48.1 · 14 versions
, in fedora 44

💖 nbdkit-null-plugin 💖

okay bestie, you're reading the manual page for nbdkit-null-plugin, from the NBDKIT manual set, section 1. pull up a chair, it's short and it's iconic 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

nbdkit-null-plugin — nbdkit's very own bitbucket plugin 💅

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

nbdkit null [[size=]SIZE]

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so nbdkit-null-plugin is a null plugin for nbdkit(1). like, everything you write to the virtual device? gone. discarded. poof 💀 and anything you read back comes back as zeroes. that's it, that's the whole vibe.

most NBD consumers are gonna be so confused by this device. ngl. trying to make filesystems and stuff on it will likely fail badly 😭 and if the client is caching writes locally, then the reads you get back will be inconsistent. messy behaviour, no cap.

the null plugin also gets used when probing for installed filters — see "Detect if a filter is installed" in nbdkit-probing(1) 👑

✨ PARAMETERS ✨

  • [size=]SIZE — say how big the virtual disk image should be 🦋

this parameter is optional. if you skip it, you get a zero-sized device. (yes, really. tiny. baby. 🍓)

the size= prefix can be left out in most cases — see "Magic parameters" in nbdkit(1) ✨

✨ FILES ✨

  • $plugindir/nbdkit-null-plugin.so — the plugin itself 🫶

wanna find where $plugindir lives? run nbdkit --dump-config and it'll tell you 💖

✨ VERSION ✨

nbdkit-null-plugin first appeared in nbdkit 1.2. an OG 🌈

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

nbdkit(1), nbdkit-plugin(3), nbdkit-full-plugin(1), nbdkit-ones-plugin(1), nbdkit-pattern-plugin(1), nbdkit-random-plugin(1). nbdkit-sparse-random-plugin(1), nbdkit-zero-plugin(1).

the whole friend group fr fr 👯‍♀️

✨ AUTHORS ✨

Richard W.M. Jones 💜

Copyright Red Hat

✨ LICENSE ✨

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

  • Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
  • Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
  • Neither the name of Red Hat nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY RED HAT AND CONTRIBUTORS ''AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL RED HAT OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

and that's the whole page bestie!! this one came out of nbdkit-1.48.1, dated 2026-08-29, and it's filed under nbdkit-null-plugin(1) 💅✨ slay, go forth and write into the void 🦋💖

📦 where this page comes from