gnome-disks

gnome-disks [OPTION...] [LOCATION...]

--help
    Print help information and exit

--version
    Print version information and exit

--disk-utilities-show-topbar
    Show the topbar in Disks Utilities window

--disk-utilities-hide-topbar
    Hide the topbar in Disks Utilities window

LOCATION
    Optional block device path (e.g., /dev/sda) or udisks URI to preselect a drive

gnome-disks is the command-line launcher for the GNOME Disks application, a user-friendly graphical tool for managing storage devices on Linux systems with the GNOME desktop environment.

It provides comprehensive disk utilities including viewing detailed drive information (such as model, serial, firmware, and capacity), partition management (create, resize, delete partitions), formatting drives with various filesystems (ext4, NTFS, FAT, Btrfs, etc.), mounting/unmounting volumes, performance benchmarking, SMART health monitoring and self-tests, LVM volume management, RAID array handling, bit-by-bit drive imaging/cloning, and power management options.

The interface is intuitive with visual representations of disks and partitions, making it accessible for novices while offering advanced features like udisks2 backend integration for safe, policy-controlled operations. It prevents accidental data loss through confirmations and read-only previews. Ideal for everyday tasks like USB drive preparation or diagnosing failing drives.

Requires a graphical session (X11 or Wayland) and runs as a D-Bus activated service via gvfsd-disks. Supports multiple drives and emphasizes non-destructive workflows.

GUI-only tool; requires graphical display server. Destructive actions (format, partition) risk data loss—always backup first. Runs with user privileges; advanced features may need polkit authorization. Not for headless servers.

Partition editor, benchmark tool, SMART inspector, drive cloning, filesystem repair, LVM/RAID support.
Visual pie charts for usage; accessible via Super key search.

Powered by libudisks2 and libblockdev; integrates with systemd for mount management.

Originally released in 2011 as part of GNOME 3.2 (gnome-disk-utility 3.1), developed by GNOME team with contributions from David Zeuthen. Evolved with GNOME releases, integrating udisks2 backend around 2012 for better device handling. Now at version 46+ (2024), focuses on Wayland support, modern GTK4 UI, and enhanced NVMe/SSD features.

lsblk(1), fdisk(8), parted(8), blkid(1), smartctl(8), udisksctl(1)