fsck

filesystem check and repair utility

TLDR

Check filesystem

$ sudo fsck /dev/sdXN

Check with interactive repair

$ sudo fsck -r /dev/sdXN

Automatically repair without prompting

$ sudo fsck -a /dev/sdXN

Check all filesystems from /etc/fstab

$ sudo fsck -A

Force check even if clean

$ sudo fsck -f /dev/sdXN

Show progress

$ sudo fsck -C /dev/sdXN

SYNOPSIS

fsck [-sAVRTMNP] [-t fstype] [filesystem...] [--] [fs-specific-options]

DESCRIPTION

fsck checks and repairs Linux filesystems. It is a front-end that calls filesystem-specific checking utilities (fsck.ext4, fsck.xfs, etc.). The filesystem should be unmounted when running fsck.

PARAMETERS

-a

Automatically repair without prompting

-A

Check all filesystems listed in /etc/fstab

-C [FD]

Show progress bar

-f

Force check even if filesystem seems clean

-M

Do not check mounted filesystems

-N

Dry run - show what would be done

-P

Check filesystems in parallel (with -A)

-R

Skip root filesystem (with -A)

-r

Interactive repair mode

-s

Serialize fsck operations

-T

Do not show title on startup

-t TYPE

Specify filesystem type

-V

Verbose output

-y

Answer "yes" to all questions

-n

Answer "no" to all questions (read-only check)

CONFIGURATION

/etc/fstab

Defines which filesystems are checked with the -A option and in what order (pass field).

CAVEATS

Never run fsck on a mounted filesystem (except in read-only mode). Automatic repair (-a or -y) may cause data loss. Always backup important data before repair.

HISTORY

fsck is part of util-linux, providing a unified interface for filesystem checking across different filesystem types.