ZFS-PROMOTE(8)

✨ ZFS-PROMOTE ✨

okay bestie, welcome to zfs-promote — the glow-up command for your clones 💅

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🎀 NAME 🎀

zfs-promote — promote a clone dataset so it no longer depends on its origin snapshot 🦋

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

zfs promote clone

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

The zfs promote command is the moment your clone stops being a clone and becomes the main character. It makes it possible to destroy the dataset that the clone was created from — yes, literally destroy your origin. 😭

The clone parent-child dependency relationship gets reversed, so the origin dataset becomes a clone of the dataset you specified. It's giving "we swapped places, no cap." 👑

The snapshot that was cloned, plus any snapshots previous to that snapshot, are now owned by the promoted clone. The space they use moves from the origin dataset over to the promoted clone, so enough space must be available to accommodate these snapshots. No new space is consumed by this operation, but the space accounting is adjusted. Periodt. 💫

Also, the promoted clone must not have any conflicting snapshot names of its own. If it does, the zfs rename subcommand can be used to rename any conflicting snapshots. Fix it before it fixes you, fr fr. 🙈

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🌈 EXAMPLES 🌈

⭐ Example 1: Promoting a ZFS Clone

The following commands illustrate how to test out changes to a file system, and then replace the original file system with the changed one, using clones, clone promotion, and renaming. Follow along bestie, this is the whole plot 🍓:

# zfs create pool/project/production
  populate /pool/project/production with data
# zfs snapshot pool/project/production@today
# zfs clone pool/project/production@today pool/project/beta
  make changes to /pool/project/beta and test them
# zfs promote pool/project/beta
# zfs rename pool/project/production pool/project/legacy
# zfs rename pool/project/beta pool/project/production
  once the legacy version is no longer needed, it can be destroyed
# zfs destroy pool/project/legacy

see how beta went from side character to lead role?? iconic behavior honestly 🌟

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

• zfs-clone(8)
• zfs-rename(8)

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and that's the whole page, bestie 🫶 this one comes to you from OpenZFS, dated July 11, 2022 — so go promote something and live your truth 💜✨