partx

List the partitions on a block device or disk image

$ sudo partx -l [path/to/device_or_disk_image]

$ sudo partx -a -v [path/to/device_or_disk_image]

$ sudo partx -d [path/to/device_or_disk_image]

partx [-a | -d | -s | -u] [-t type] [-n M:N] [-] disk
partx [-a | -d | -s | -u] [-t type] partition [disk]

partx tells the Linux kernel about the presence and numbering of on-disk partitions. It parses a partition table and updates the kernel's in-memory representation without modifying the disk. This is useful when partitions have been added or removed while the disk was in use.
The tool can read partition tables from both block devices and disk image files. It supports multiple partition table formats including DOS/MBR, GPT, BSD, and others.

-a, --add

Add specified partitions to the kernel

Delete specified partitions from the kernel

List partitions (default if no action specified)

Same as --show (list partitions)

Update specified partitions

Specify range of partitions (M to N)

Specify partition table type (dos, gpt, etc.)

Define which columns to show

Do not print headings

Print sizes in bytes

Use raw output format

Verbose mode

Requires root privileges. Modifying kernel partition state for mounted filesystems can be dangerous. The -d option only removes partition entries from the kernel; it does not modify the actual partition table on disk. Use partprobe as an alternative for simpler use cases.

Part of util-linux, the standard Linux utility collection. Provides lower-level control over kernel partition awareness compared to partprobe, which is typically sufficient for most use cases.

partprobe(8), fdisk(8), parted(8), blkid(8), lsblk(8)