DUMPFS(8)

DUMPFS(8) — dump UFS file system information 💅

Manual page alert: this one is DUMPFS(8), bestie, and it is all about spilling the tea on your UFS file system ✨

---

🌸 NAME 🌸

dumpfs — dump UFS file system information, no cap 💖

---

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

dumpfs [-f] [-l] [-m] [-s] filesys | device

---

💫 DESCRIPTION 💫

Okay so the dumpfs utility prints out the UFS super block and cylinder group information for the file system or special device you specify — unless you pass the -f, -l, -m, or -s flag, because then it does that specific thing instead. The listing is very long and detailed. Like, very. It is useful mostly for finding out certain file system information such as the file system block size and minimum free space percentage. Iconic little detective tool, honestly 🔍

Here are the flags and what they do:

• -f — prints a sorted list of all free fragments and free fragment ranges, as represented in cylinder group block free lists. If the flag is specified twice, contiguous free fragments are not collapsed into ranges and instead printed in a simple list. Fragment numbers may be converted to raw byte offsets by multiplying by the fragment size, which may be useful when recovering deleted data. Tiny math moment, but make it forensics 💀
• -l — prints the pathname to the file system’s container derived from its unique identifier. It’s giving “where does this file system actually live” energy 🏡
• -m — prints a newfs(8) command that can be used to generate a new file system with equivalent settings. Please note that newfs(8) options -E, -R, -S, and -T are not handled and -p is not useful in this case so is omitted. Also, the newfs(8) options -n and -r are neither checked for nor output but should be. The -r flag is needed if the filesystem uses gjournal(8). Read that caveat twice, bestie, because it is important 🫶
• -s — prints only the super block information. Short and sweet, a little minimal queen moment 👑

And the thing at the end of the synopsis, filesys | device, is literally your file system or special device. Give the command one of those and it will do its thing ✨

---

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

• fs(5)
• fsck(8)
• gpart(8)
• newfs(8)
• tunefs(8)

Go read those too, iykyk 📚💅

---

🦋 HISTORY 🦋

The dumpfs utility appeared in 4.2BSD. Vintage behavior, honestly 🌈

---

💖 Debian, July 2, 2021 — DUMPFS(8) signing off, bestie, stay slay and check your super block 🫶✨