btrfs-property

List available properties (and descriptions) for the given btrfs object

$ sudo btrfs property list [path/to/btrfs_object]

Get all properties for the given btrfs object

$ sudo btrfs property get [path/to/btrfs_object]

Get the label property for the given btrfs filesystem or device

$ sudo btrfs property get [path/to/btrfs_filesystem] label

Get all object type-specific properties for the given btrfs filesystem or device

$ sudo btrfs property get -t [subvol|filesystem|inode|device] [path/to/btrfs_filesystem]

Set the compression property for a given btrfs inode (either a file or directory)

$ sudo btrfs property set [path/to/btrfs_inode] compression [zstd|zlib|lzo|none]

btrfs property <subcommand> <args>

btrfs property is used to get/set/list property for given filesystem object. The object can be an inode (file or directory), subvolume or the whole filesystem. See the description of get subcommand for more information about both btrfs object and property.

btrfs property provides an unified and user-friendly method to tune different btrfs properties instead of using the traditional method like chattr(1) or lsattr(1).

get [-t <type>] <object> [<name>]

get property from a btrfs <object> of given <type>

A btrfs object, which is set by <object>, can be a btrfs filesystem itself, a btrfs subvolume, an inode (file or directory) inside btrfs, or a device on which a btrfs exists.

The option -t can be used to explicitly specify what type of object you meant. This is only needed when a property could be set for more then one object type.

Possible types are s[ubvol], f[ilesystem], i[node] and d[evice], where the first lettes is a shortcut.

Set the name of property by name. If no name is specified, all properties for the given object are printed. name is one of the following:

ro

read-only flag of subvolume: true or false. Please also see section SUBVOLUME FLAGS in btrfs-subvolume(8) for possible implications regarding incremental send.

label

label of the filesystem. For an unmounted filesystem, provide a path to a block device as object. For a mounted filesystem, specify a mount point.

compression

compression algorithm set for an inode, possible values: lzo, zlib, zstd. To disable compression use "" (empty string), no or none.

list [-t <type>] <object>

Lists available properties with their descriptions for the given object.

See the description of get subcommand for the meaning of each option.

set [-f] [-t <type>] <object> <name> <value>

Sets a property on a btrfs object.

See the description of get subcommand for the meaning of each option.

Options

-f

Force the change. Changing some properties may involve safety checks or additional changes that depend on the properties semantics.

btrfs property returns a zero exit status if it succeeds. Non zero is returned in case of failure.

btrfs is part of btrfs-progs. Please refer to the btrfs wiki http://btrfs.wiki.kernel.org for further details.

mkfs.btrfs(8), lsattr(1), chattr(1)