PRDB_CHECK(8)

💖 PRDB_CHECK — the vibe check for your Protection Database 💖

okay bestie, listen. this is prdb_check, and it lives in section 8 of the AFS Command Reference. it checks the integrity of the Protection Database. that's the whole thing. let's go 🦋

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✨ NAME ✨

prdb_check — Checks the integrity of the Protection Database 🩺

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

prdb_check -database <ptdb file> [-uheader] [-pheader]
    [-entries] [-verbose] [-help]

prdb_check -d <ptdb file> [-u] [-p] [-e] [-v] [-h]

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👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

so what does prdb_check actually do? it checks the integrity of the Protection Database, and it reports any errors or corruption it finds. that's it, that's the job 💅

⚠️ and if it does find problems? do not issue any pts commands until the database is repaired. like, not even one. put the terminal down. back away slowly 🙈

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🚨 CAUTIONS 🚨

the results can be unpredictable if the Protection Server makes changes to the Protection Database while this command is running. unpredictable results are giving chaos, not giving slay 😭

so here's the move: use the bos shutdown command to shutdown the local ptserver process before you run this command. or — do it before you create a second copy of the prdb.DB0 file (with a different name) on which to run the command. either way, ptserver is not invited to the party ✋

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💅 OPTIONS 💅

• -database <ptdb file> — names the Protection Database (a copy of the prdb.DB0 file) to check. if your current working directory is not the location of the file, hand over a pathname — either full or relative to the current working directory. yes, lowercase matters, this is Unix bestie 💜
• -uheader — displays information which Ubik maintains in the database's header ✨
• -pheader — displays information which the Protection Server maintains in the database's header 🌸
• -entries — outputs every entry in the database. some of that info is lowkey similar to what the pts examine command returns 👀
• -verbose — reports additional information about the database, including the number of entries in the database and a trace of the internal database structures the command is verifying. it's giving "let me tell you EVERYTHING" 🗣️
• -help — prints the online help for this command. all other valid options are ignored. periodt 💅

and for the short-flag girlies, the synopsis has your back: -d, -u, -p, -e, -v, -h 🌈

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📢 OUTPUT 📢

if there are errors in the database, the output always reports them on the standard error stream. no hiding, no filter, fr fr.

if any options other than -database or -help are provided, the output written to the standard output stream includes additional information, as described for each option in "OPTIONS".

and ngl, the output is intended for debugging purposes — it's meaningful to someone familiar with the internal structure of the Protection Database. so if it looks like alphabet soup to you, that's not you being bad at this, that's just what it is 🍓

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🔐 PRIVILEGE REQUIRED 🔐

the issuer must be logged in as the local superuser root. main character energy only 👑

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🫶 SEE ALSO 🫶

• prdb.DB0(5)
• bos_shutdown(8)
• pts_examine(1)
• ptserver(8)

go read those too, iykyk 📚

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©️ COPYRIGHT ©️

IBM Corporation 2000. <http://www.ibm.com/> All Rights Reserved.

This documentation is covered by the IBM Public License Version 1.0. It was converted from HTML to POD by software written by Chas Williams and Russ Allbery, based on work by Alf Wachsmann and Elizabeth Cassell.

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aaaand that's the whole page bestie 🎀 this one shipped with OpenAFS, dated 2026-07-27 — go check your database, stay iconic, and don't forget to shut down ptserver first 💖✨🦋