NVME-WRITE(1)

💖 NAME 💖

Okay bestie, welcome to NVME-WRITE(1), straight from the NVMe Manual — this one sends an NVMe write command and gives you results. Storage main character energy, no cap ✨

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

nvme [<global-options>] write <device>
                        [--start-block=<slba> | -s <slba>]
                        [--block-count=<nlb> | -c <nlb>]
                        [--block-size=<size> | -b <size>]
                        [--data-size=<size> | -z <size>]
                        [--metadata-size=<size> | -y <size>]
                        [--ref-tag=<reftag> | -r <reftag>]
                        [--data=<data-file> | -d <data-file>]
                        [--metadata=<metadata-file> | -M <metadata-file>]
                        [--prinfo=<prinfo> | -p <prinfo>]
                        [--app-tag-mask=<appmask> | -m <appmask>]
                        [--app-tag=<apptag> | -a <apptag>]
                        [--limited-retry | -l] [--force-unit-access | -f]
                        [--dir-type=<type> | -T <type>]
                        [--dir-spec=<spec> | -S <spec>] [--dsm=<dsm> | -D <dsm>]
                        [--show-command | -V] [--dry-run | -w] [--latency | -t]
                        [--storage-tag<storage-tag> | -g <storage-tag>]
                        [--storage-tag-check | -C] [--force]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

The Write command writes the logical blocks specified by the command to the medium from the data data buffer provided. If you don’t provide a file, it will use stdin by default, bestie 💅

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

• -s <slba>, --start-block=<slba> — Start block. That’s the starting point, periodt.
• -c, --block-count — The number of blocks to transfer. This is a zeroes based value to align with the kernel’s use of this field. (ie. 0 means transfer 1 block). Yes, zero really means one here — iconic behavior 😭
• -b <size>, --block-size=<size> — If specified, the logical block size in bytes, with metasize also describing the metadata size for an individual block. Discovered by identify namespace otherwise.
• -z <size>, --data-size=<size> — Size of data, in bytes.
• -y <size>, --metadata-size=<size> — Size of metadata in bytes.
• -d <data-file>, --data=<data-file> — Data file. If none provided, contents are sent from STDIN.
• -M <metadata-file>, --metadata=<metadata-file> — Metadata file, if necessary.
• -p <prinfo>, --prinfo=<prinfo> — Protection Information field definition.
  • Bit 3 — PRACT: Protection Information Action. When set to 1, PI is stripped/inserted on read/write when the block format’s metadata size is 8. When set to 0, metadata is passes.
  • Bits 2:0 — PRCHK: Protection Information Check:
    • Bit 2 — Set to 1 enables checking the guard tag.
    • Bit 1 — Set to 1 enables checking the application tag.
    • Bit 0 — Set to 1 enables checking the reference tag.
• -r <reftag>, --ref-tag=<reftag> — Optional reftag when used with protection information.
• -m <appmask>, --app-tag-mask=<appmask> — Optional application tag mask when used with protection information.
• -a <apptag>, --app-tag=<apptag> — Optional application tag when used with protection information.
• -l, --limited-retry — Sets the limited retry flag.
• -f, --force-unit-access — Set the force-unit access flag.
• -T <type>, --dir-type=<type> — Optional directive type. The nvme-cli only enforces the value be in the defined range for the directive type, though the NVMe specification (1.3a) defines only one directive, 01h, for write stream identifiers.
• -S <spec>, --dir-spec=<spec> — Optional field for directive specifics. When used with write streams, this value is defined to be the write stream identifier. The nvme-cli will not validate the stream requested is within the controller’s capabilities.
• -D <dsm>, --dsm=<dsm> — The optional data set management attributes for this command. The argument for this is the least significant 8 bits of the DSM field in a write command; the most significant 16 bits of the field come from the directive specific field, if used. This may be used to set attributes for the LBAs being written, like access frequency, type, latency, among other things, as well as yet to be defined types. Please consult the NVMe specification for detailed breakdown of how to use this field.
• -V, --show-cmd — Print out the command to be sent. (The synopsis says --show-command; yep, that’s literally what’s printed up there, bestie 💀)
• -w, --dry-run — Do not actually send the command. If you want to use --dry-run, the --show-cmd option must be set. Otherwise --dry-run will be ignored.

🫶 Real talk: local --dry-run needs --show-cmd, or it gets ignored. That’s the rule.

• -t, --latency — Print out the latency the IOCTL took (in us).
• -g <storage-tag>, --storage-tag=<storage-tag> — Variable Sized Expected Logical Block Storage Tag(ELBST).
• -C, --storage-tag-check — This flag enables Storage Tag field checking as part of end-to-end data protection processing.
• --force — Ignore namespace is currently busy and performed the operation even though. Yes, she’s pushing through anyway 💅

🌈 GLOBAL OPTIONS 🌈

The following options are defined at the top-level nvme command and are available to this subcommand:

• --dry-run — Print the command that would be executed, but do not actually execute it.
• --no-ioctl-probing — Disable probing for 64-bit IOCTL support.
• --no-retries — Disable retry logic on transient errors.
• -o <fmt>, --output-format=<fmt> — Set the reporting format to normal, tabular, 'json, or binary. Only one output format may be used at a time.
• --output-format-version=<version> — Select the output format version. Version 1 uses the original field naming, while version 2 (default) provides more consistent and script-friendly field names. Other versions are rejected.
• --quiet — Suppress informational messages. Errors are still reported, and --quiet cancels any --verbose for the library log level.
• --set-options=<key=value>[,<key=value>...] — Set libnvme library options for this invocation. Supported keys are force-4k, mi-probe-enabled, test-base-dir and test-sysfs-dir.
• --timeout=<ms> — Set the timeout for the command in milliseconds. infinite or -1 waits without a time limit (0xffffffff).
• -v, --verbose — Increase the level of detail in the output. May be specified multiple times to further increase verbosity.

These options can also be set as machine-wide defaults in nvme-cli.conf(5). A command-line flag always overrides the file.

💅 EXAMPLES 💅

The page literally says: No examples yet. We’re not inventing any — manifesting examples for later though 💜

👑 NVME 👑

Part of the nvme-user suite.

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That’s the whole manual page, bestie 🫶 This one’s from the NVMe source/version, dated 10/30/2026. Mwah 💋