man > BTRFS-PROPERTY(8)

BTRFS-PROPERTY(8)                               BTRFS                              BTRFS-PROPERTY(8)

NAME
       btrfs-property - get/set/list properties for given filesystem object

SYNOPSIS
       btrfs property <subcommand> <args>

DESCRIPTION
       btrfs  property is used to get/set/list property for given filesystem object.  The object can
       be an inode (file or directory), subvolume or the whole filesystem.

       btrfs property provides an unified and user-friendly method to tune different  btrfs  proper‐
       ties instead of using the traditional method like chattr(1) or lsattr(1).

   Object types
       A  property  might  apply  to several object types so in some cases it's necessary to specify
       that explicitly, however it's not needed in the most common case of files and directories.

       The subcommands take parameter -t, use first letter as a shortcut (f/s/d/i) of the type:

       • filesystem

       • subvolume

       • device

       • inode (file or directory)

   Inode properties
       compression
              compression algorithm set for an inode (it's not possible to set the compression level
              this way), possible values:

              • lzo

              • zlib

              • zstd

              • no or none - disable compression (equivalent to chattr +m)

              • "" (empty string) - set the default value

                   NOTE:
                       This has changed in version 5.18 of btrfs-progs and requires kernel  5.14  or
                       newer to work.

   Subvolume properties
       ro     read-only flag of subvolume: true or false. Please also see section SUBVOLUME FLAGS in
              btrfs-subvolume(8) for possible implications regarding incremental send.

   Filesystem properties
       label  label of the filesystem. For an unmounted filesystem, provide a path to a block device
              as object. For a mounted filesystem, specify a mount point.

SUBCOMMAND
       get [-t <type>] <object> [<name>]
              Read  value of a property name of btrfs object of given type, empty name will read all
              of them

       list [-t <type>] <object>
              List available properties with their descriptions for the given object.

       set [-f] [-t <type>] <object> <name> <value>
              Set value of property name on a given btrfs object.

              Options

              -f     Force the change. Changing some properties may involve safety checks  or  addi‐
                     tional changes that depend on the properties semantics.

EXAMPLES
       Set compression on a file:

          $ touch file1
          $ btrfs prop get file1
          [ empty output ]
          $ btrfs prop set file1 compression zstd
          $ btrfs prop get file1
          compression=zstd

       Make a writeable subvolume read-only:

          $ btrfs subvol create subvol1
          [ fill subvol1 with data ]
          $ btrfs prop get subvol1
          ro=false
          $ btrfs prop set subvol1 ro true
          ro=true

EXIT STATUS
       btrfs  property  returns  a  zero exit status if it succeeds. Non zero is returned in case of
       failure.

AVAILABILITY
       btrfs   is   part   of   btrfs-progs.     Please    refer    to    the    documentation    at
       https://btrfs.readthedocs.io.

SEE ALSO
       mkfs.btrfs(8), lsattr(1), chattr(1)


6.6.3                                       Mar 31, 2024                           BTRFS-PROPERTY(8)