ZPOOL-INITIALIZE(8)

💖 zpool-initialize — bestie, we're writing to the unallocated bits 💖

okay so this is zpool-initialize(8), from the System Manager's Manual, and it's genuinely one of the most satisfying pool ops, no cap. let's get into it ✨

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

zpool initialize [-c|-s |-u] [-w] -a|pool [device]…

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So basically: this starts initializing stuff by writing to every single unallocated region on the devices you point at. Or, if you don't name any individual devices, it does all the eligible devices in the pool. periodt.

heads up bestie — only leaf data</> or log devices can be initialized. that's the vibe check and only those pass. 💅

here's every flag, exactly as they come, no notes:

• -a, --all — begin, cancel, or suspend initializing on all pools. all of them. every last one. 👑
• -c, --cancel — cancel initializing on the devices you name, or on all the eligible devices if you didn't name any. and listen: if one or more target devices are invalid or aren't currently being initialized, the command fails and no cancellation happens on any device. it's giving all-or-nothing, fr fr. 😭
• -s, --suspend — suspend initializing on the named devices, or all eligible devices if you named none. same energy as above: if one or more target devices are invalid or not currently being initialized, the command fails and nothing gets suspended anywhere. then whenever you're ready, you resume by running zpool initialize with no flags on the relevant target devices. 🫶
• -u, --uninit — clears the initialization state on the named devices, or all eligible devices if you didn't name any. but if the devices are being actively initialized, the command will fail. 💀 once it's cleared, you can run zpool initialize with no flags to re-initialize all the unallocated regions on the relevant target devices. glow-up round two. ✨
• -w, --wait — wait until the devices have actually finished initializing before returning. yes it just sits there. yes it's patient. main character behavior. 🌈

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

zpool-add(8), zpool-attach(8), zpool-create(8), zpool-online(8), zpool-replace(8), zpool-trim(8)

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mwah 💜 that's the whole page. brought to you by OpenZFS, dated July 30, 2025 — the ZPOOL-INITIALIZE(8) era, and honestly? iconic. go initialize something responsibly, bestie 🎀