.\" Copyright 2012 Davidlohr Bueso <dave@gnu.org>
.\" Copyright (C) 2013 Karel Zak <kzak@redhat.com>
.\" May be distributed under the GNU General Public License
-.TH FDISK 8 "September 2013" "util-linux" "System Administration"
+.TH FDISK 8 "February 2016" "util-linux" "System Administration"
.SH NAME
fdisk \- manipulate disk partition table
is able to optimize the disk layout for a 4K-sector size and use an alignment offset on
modern devices for MBR and GPT. It is always a good idea to follow \fBfdisk\fR's defaults
as the default values (e.g. first and last partition sectors) and partition
-sizes specified by the +<size>{M,G,...} notation are always aligned according
+sizes specified by the +/-<size>{M,G,...} notation are always aligned according
to the device properties.
Note that
.IB sectorsize .
.TP
\fB\-B\fR, \fB\-\-protect\-boot\fP
-Don't erase the begin of the first disk sector when create a new disk label. This
+Don't erase the begin of the first disk sector when create a new disk label. This
feature is supported for GPT and MBR.
.TP
-\fB\-c\fR, \fB\-\-compatibility\fR[\fI=mode\fR]
+\fB\-c\fR, \fB\-\-compatibility\fR[=\fImode\fR]
Specify the compatibility mode, 'dos' or 'nondos'. The default is non-DOS
mode. For backward compatibility, it is possible to use the option without
the \fImode\fR argument -- then the default is used. Note that the optional
\fB\-h\fR, \fB\-\-help\fR
Display a help text and exit.
.TP
-\fB\-L\fR, \fB\-\-color\fR[\fI=when\fR]
+\fB\-L\fR, \fB\-\-color\fR[=\fIwhen\fR]
Colorize the output. The optional argument \fIwhen\fP
can be \fBauto\fR, \fBnever\fR or \fBalways\fR. If the \fIwhen\fR argument is omitted,
-it defaults to \fBauto\fR. The colors can be disabled, for the current built-in default
-see \fB\-\-help\fR output. See also the COLORS section.
+it defaults to \fBauto\fR. The colors can be disabled; for the current built-in default
+see the \fB\-\-help\fR output. See also the \fBCOLORS\fR section.
.TP
\fB\-l\fR, \fB\-\-list\fR
List the partition tables for the specified devices and then exit.
Enable support only for disklabels of the specified \fItype\fP, and disable
support for all other types.
.TP
-\fB\-u\fR, \fB\-\-units\fR[\fI=unit\fR]
+\fB\-u\fR, \fB\-\-units\fR[=\fIunit\fR]
When listing partition tables, show sizes in 'sectors' or in 'cylinders'. The
default is to show sizes in sectors. For backward compatibility, it is possible
to use the option without the \fIunit\fR argument -- then the default is used.
partition tables.) A reasonable value is 63.
.TP
-\fB\-w\fR, \fB\-\-wipe\fR \fImode\fR
-Wipe filesystems, RAIDs and partition tables signatures from the device, in
-order to avoid possible collisions. The \fImode\fR can be \fBauto\fR,
-\fBnever\fR or \fBalways\fR. The default is \fBauto\fR, in this case signatures
-are wiped in the interactive mode only, in all cases detected signatures are
-reported by warning message before a new partition table is created. See also
+\fB\-w\fR, \fB\-\-wipe\fR \fIwhen\fR
+Wipe filesystem, RAID and partition-table signatures from the device, in order
+to avoid possible collisions. The argument \fIwhen\fR can be \fBauto\fR,
+\fBnever\fR or \fBalways\fR. When this option is not given, the default is
+\fBauto\fR, in which case signatures are wiped only when in interactive mode.
+In all cases detected signatures are reported by warning messages
+before a new partition table is created. See also
+.BR wipefs (8)
+command.
+
+.TP
+\fB\-W\fR, \fB\-\-wipe-partition\fR \fIwhen\fR
+Wipe filesystem, RAID and partition-table signatures from a newly created
+partitions, in order to avoid possible collisions. The argument \fIwhen\fR can
+be \fBauto\fR, \fBnever\fR or \fBalways\fR. When this option is not given, the
+default is \fBauto\fR, in which case signatures are wiped only when in
+interactive mode and after confirmation by user. In all cases detected
+signatures are reported by warning messages before a new partition is
+created. See also
.BR wipefs (8)
command.
.SH SIZES
The "last sector" dialog accepts partition size specified by number of sectors
-or by +<size>{K,B,M,G,...} notation.
+or by +/-<size>{K,B,M,G,...} notation.
If the size is prefixed by '+' then it is interpreted as relative to the
-partition first sector. In this case the size is expected in bytes and the
-number may be followed by the multiplicative suffixes KiB=1024, MiB=1024*1024,
-and so on for GiB, TiB, PiB, EiB, ZiB and YiB. The "iB" is optional, e.g. "K"
-has the same meaning as "KiB".
+partition first sector. If the size is prefixed by '-' then it is interpreted
+as relative to the high limit (last available sector for the partition).
+
+In the case the size is specified in bytes than the number may be followed by
+the multiplicative suffixes KiB=1024, MiB=1024*1024, and so on for GiB, TiB,
+PiB, EiB, ZiB and YiB. The "iB" is optional, e.g. "K" has the same meaning as
+"KiB".
The relative sizes are always aligned according to device I/O limits. The
-+<size>{K,B,M,G,...} notation is recommended.
++/-<size>{K,B,M,G,...} notation is recommended.
For backward compatibility fdisk also accepts the suffixes KB=1000,
MB=1000*1000, and so on for GB, TB, PB, EB, ZB and YB. These 10^N suffixes
enables libblkid debug output.
.IP LIBSMARTCOLS_DEBUG=all
enables libsmartcols debug output.
+.IP LIBSMARTCOLS_DEBUG_PADDING=on
+use visible padding characters. Requires enabled LIBSMARTCOLS_DEBUG.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.BR cfdisk (8),
-.BR sfdisk (8),
.BR mkfs (8),
-.BR partx (8)
+.BR partx (8),
+.BR sfdisk (8)
.SH AVAILABILITY
The fdisk command is part of the util-linux package and is available from
-ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux/.
+https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux/.