smartctl
TLDR
Show drive information
SYNOPSIS
smartctl [options] device
DESCRIPTION
smartctl is a command-line tool for monitoring and controlling SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) data on hard drives and SSDs. SMART data can predict drive failures before they occur.
The tool can display drive identity, health status, attributes, error logs, and self-test results. It can also initiate self-tests and control SMART features. Different manufacturers implement SMART differently, so attribute interpretation varies.
smartctl is part of smartmontools and is essential for system administrators monitoring disk health and planning replacements before failure.
PARAMETERS
-i, --info
Show device identification.-a, --all
Show all SMART information.-H, --health
Show SMART health status.-A, --attributes
Show SMART attributes.-l type, --log= type
Show log (error, selftest, selective).-t test, --test= test
Run test (short, long, conveyance, select).-s on|off
Enable/disable SMART.-d type
Specify device type.--scan
Scan for devices.-x, --xall
Show all extended information.-q type
Quiet output (errorsonly, silent).
KEY ATTRIBUTES
Reallocated Sector Count: Bad sectors moved to spare area
Current Pending Sector Count: Sectors waiting to be remapped
Offline Uncorrectable: Sectors that couldn't be corrected
Power-On Hours: Total operating time
Temperature: Drive temperature
CAVEATS
Requires root privileges for most operations. SMART must be supported and enabled on the drive. Attribute interpretation varies by manufacturer. Self-tests may affect performance while running.
HISTORY
smartmontools was created by Bruce Allen in 2002 as a fork of the smartsuite package. It provides cross-platform SMART monitoring on Linux, BSD, macOS, and Windows. The project continues active development and is the standard SMART monitoring tool on Unix-like systems.
