wipefs
Erase filesystem, RAID, or partition-table signatures from devices
TLDR
Display signatures
$ sudo wipefs /dev/sda
Wipe all signatures$ sudo wipefs -a /dev/sda
Wipe device and partitions$ sudo wipefs -a /dev/sda*
Dry run to show what would be done$ sudo wipefs -a -n /dev/sda
Wipe signatures and create a backup$ sudo wipefs -a -b /dev/sda
Force wipe mounted device$ sudo wipefs -a -f /dev/sda
Output signatures in JSON format$ sudo wipefs -J /dev/sda
SYNOPSIS
wipefs [OPTIONS] device...
DESCRIPTION
wipefs erases filesystem, RAID, or partition-table signatures from a device. It removes the magic strings that identify the device type without destroying the actual data, allowing the device to be repurposed.
PARAMETERS
-a, --all
Wipe all available signatures-n, --no-act
Dry run - show what would be done-f, --force
Force wiping even if device is in use-o, --offset offset
Wipe signature at specific offset-b, --backup
Create backup files of erased signatures-t, --types list
Wipe only specified signature types-q, --quiet
Suppress output messages after successful signature wipe-p, --parsable
Print out in parsable format instead of printable-J, --json
Use JSON output format-O, --output list
Specify which output columns to print
CAVEATS
This command removes filesystem identification signatures but does not erase the filesystem itself or any other data from the device. For complete data destruction, use blkdiscard or overwrite with dd. Wiping a mounted filesystem can cause data loss. The --force flag is required to erase nested partition tables on non-whole disk devices.
HISTORY
wipefs is part of the util-linux package, providing signature management for block devices.
SEE ALSO
blkid(8), lsblk(8), blkdiscard(8), dd(1), fdisk(8)
