{ "mode": "man", "parameter": "lvm", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvm/8/json", "generated": "2026-06-02T21:26:46Z", "synopsis": "lvm [command|file]", "sections": { "NAME": { "content": "lvm — LVM2 tools\n", "subsections": [] }, "SYNOPSIS": { "content": "lvm [command|file]\n", "subsections": [] }, "DESCRIPTION": { "content": "The Logical Volume Manager (LVM) provides tools to create virtual block devices from physical\ndevices. Virtual devices may be easier to manage than physical devices, and can have capa‐\nbilities beyond what the physical devices provide themselves. A Volume Group (VG) is a col‐\nlection of one or more physical devices, each called a Physical Volume (PV). A Logical Vol‐\nume (LV) is a virtual block device that can be used by the system or applications. Each\nblock of data in an LV is stored on one or more PV in the VG, according to algorithms imple‐\nmented by Device Mapper (DM) in the kernel.\n\nThe lvm command, and other commands listed below, are the command-line tools for LVM. A sep‐\narate manual page describes each command in detail.\n\nIf lvm is invoked with no arguments it presents a readline prompt (assuming it was compiled\nwith readline support). LVM commands may be entered interactively at this prompt with read‐\nline facilities including history and command name and option completion. Refer to read‐‐\nline(3) for details.\n\nIf lvm is invoked with argv[0] set to the name of a specific LVM command (for example by us‐\ning a hard or soft link) it acts as that command.\n\nOn invocation, lvm requires that only the standard file descriptors stdin, stdout and stderr\nare available. If others are found, they get closed and messages are issued warning about\nthe leak. This warning can be suppressed by setting the environment variable LVMSUP‐‐\nPRESSFDWARNINGS.\n\nWhere commands take VG or LV names as arguments, the full path name is optional. An LV\ncalled \"lvol0\" in a VG called \"vg0\" can be specified as \"vg0/lvol0\". Where a list of VGs is\nrequired but is left empty, a list of all VGs will be substituted. Where a list of LVs is\nrequired but a VG is given, a list of all the LVs in that VG will be substituted. So lvdis‐‐\nplay vg0 will display all the LVs in \"vg0\". Tags can also be used - see --addtag below.\n\nOne advantage of using the built-in shell is that configuration information gets cached in‐\nternally between commands.\n\nA file containing a simple script with one command per line can also be given on the command\nline. The script can also be executed directly if the first line is #! followed by the abso‐\nlute path of lvm.\n\nAdditional hyphens within option names are ignored. For example, --readonly and --read-only\nare both accepted.\n", "subsections": [] }, "BUILT-IN COMMANDS": { "content": "The following commands are built into lvm without links normally being created in the\nfilesystem for them.\n\nconfig The same as lvmconfig(8) below.\ndevtypes Display the recognised built-in block device types.\ndumpconfig The same as lvmconfig(8) below.\nformats Display recognised metadata formats.\nfullreport Report information about PVs, PV segments, VGs, LVs and LV segments, all at\nonce.\nhelp Display the help text.\nlastlog Display log report of last command run in LVM shell if command log reporting is\nenabled.\nlvpoll Complete lvmpolld operations (Internal command).\nsegtypes Display recognised Logical Volume segment types.\nsystemid Display any system ID currently set on this host.\ntags Display any tags defined on this host.\nversion Display version information.\n", "subsections": [] }, "COMMANDS": { "content": "The following commands implement the core LVM functionality.\n\npvchange Change attributes of a Physical Volume.\npvck Check Physical Volume metadata.\npvcreate Initialize a disk or partition for use by LVM.\npvdisplay Display attributes of a Physical Volume.\npvmove Move Physical Extents.\npvremove Remove a Physical Volume.\npvresize Resize a disk or partition in use by LVM2.\npvs Report information about Physical Volumes.\npvscan Scan all disks for Physical Volumes.\nvgcfgbackup Backup Volume Group descriptor area.\nvgcfgrestore Restore Volume Group descriptor area.\nvgchange Change attributes of a Volume Group.\nvgck Check Volume Group metadata.\nvgconvert Convert Volume Group metadata format.\nvgcreate Create a Volume Group.\nvgdisplay Display attributes of Volume Groups.\nvgexport Make volume Groups unknown to the system.\nvgextend Add Physical Volumes to a Volume Group.\nvgimport Make exported Volume Groups known to the system.\nvgimportclone Import and rename duplicated Volume Group (e.g. a hardware snapshot).\nvgmerge Merge two Volume Groups.\nvgmknodes Recreate Volume Group directory and Logical Volume special files\nvgreduce Reduce a Volume Group by removing one or more Physical Volumes.\nvgremove Remove a Volume Group.\nvgrename Rename a Volume Group.\nvgs Report information about Volume Groups.\nvgscan Scan all disks for Volume Groups.\nvgsplit Split a Volume Group into two, moving any logical volumes from one Volume Group\nto another by moving entire Physical Volumes.\nlvchange Change attributes of a Logical Volume.\nlvconvert Convert a Logical Volume from linear to mirror or snapshot.\nlvcreate Create a Logical Volume in an existing Volume Group.\nlvdisplay Display attributes of a Logical Volume.\nlvextend Extend the size of a Logical Volume.\nlvmconfig Display the configuration information after loading lvm.conf(5) and any other\nconfiguration files.\nlvmdiskscan Scan for all devices visible to LVM2.\nlvmdump Create lvm2 information dumps for diagnostic purposes.\nlvreduce Reduce the size of a Logical Volume.\nlvremove Remove a Logical Volume.\nlvrename Rename a Logical Volume.\nlvresize Resize a Logical Volume.\nlvs Report information about Logical Volumes.\nlvscan Scan (all disks) for Logical Volumes.\n\nThe following LVM1 commands are not implemented in LVM2: lvmchange, lvmsadc, lvmsar, pvdata.\nFor performance metrics, use dmstats(8) or to manipulate the kernel device-mapper driver used\nby LVM2 directly, use dmsetup(8).\n", "subsections": [] }, "VALID NAMES": { "content": "The valid characters for VG and LV names are: a-z A-Z 0-9 + . -\n\nVG names cannot begin with a hyphen. The name of a new LV also cannot begin with a hyphen.\nHowever, if the configuration setting metadata/recordlvshistory is enabled then an LV name\nwith a hyphen as a prefix indicates that, although the LV was removed, it is still being\ntracked because it forms part of the history of at least one LV that is still present. This\nhelps to record the ancestry of thin snapshots even after some links in the chain have been\nremoved. A reference to the historical LV 'lvol1' in VG 'vg00' would be 'vg00/\\-lvol1' or\njust '-lvol1' if the VG is already set. (The latter form must be preceded by '--' to termi‐\nnate command line option processing before reaching this argument.)\n\nThere are also various reserved names that are used internally by lvm that can not be used as\nLV or VG names. A VG cannot be called anything that exists in /dev/ at the time of creation,\nnor can it be called '.' or '..'. An LV cannot be called '.', '..', 'snapshot' or 'pvmove'.\nThe LV name may also not contain any of the following strings: 'cdata', 'cmeta', 'corig',\n'mlog', 'mimage', 'pmspare', 'rimage', 'rmeta', 'tdata', 'tmeta', 'vorigin' or\n'vdata'. A directory bearing the name of each Volume Group is created under /dev when any\nof its Logical Volumes are activated. Each active Logical Volume is accessible from this di‐\nrectory as a symbolic link leading to a device node. Links or nodes in /dev/mapper are in‐\ntended only for internal use and the precise format and escaping might change between re‐\nleases and distributions. Other software and scripts should use the /dev/VolumeGroup‐\nName/LogicalVolumeName format to reduce the chance of needing amendment when the software is\nupdated. Should you need to process the node names in /dev/mapper, you may use dmsetup\nsplitname to separate out the original VG, LV and internal layer names.\n", "subsections": [] }, "UNIQUE NAMES": { "content": "VG names should be unique. vgcreate will produce an error if the specified VG name matches\nan existing VG name. However, there are cases where different VGs with the same name can ap‐\npear to LVM, e.g. after moving disks or changing filters.\n\nWhen VGs with the same name exist, commands operating on all VGs will include all of the VGs\nwith the same name. If the ambiguous VG name is specified on the command line, the command\nwill produce an error. The error states that multiple VGs exist with the specified name. To\nprocess one of the VGs specifically, the --select option should be used with the UUID of the\nintended VG: '--select vguuid='.\n\nAn exception is if all but one of the VGs with the shared name is foreign (see lvmsys‐‐\ntemid(7).) In this case, the one VG that is not foreign is assumed to be the intended VG and\nis processed.\n\nLV names are unique within a VG. The name of an historical LV cannot be reused until the\nhistorical LV has itself been removed or renamed.\n\n", "subsections": [] }, "ALLOCATION": { "content": "When an operation needs to allocate Physical Extents for one or more Logical Volumes, the\ntools proceed as follows:\n\nFirst of all, they generate the complete set of unallocated Physical Extents in the Volume\nGroup. If any ranges of Physical Extents are supplied at the end of the command line, only\nunallocated Physical Extents within those ranges on the specified Physical Volumes are con‐\nsidered.\n\nThen they try each allocation policy in turn, starting with the strictest policy (contiguous)\nand ending with the allocation policy specified using --alloc or set as the default for the\nparticular Logical Volume or Volume Group concerned. For each policy, working from the low‐\nest-numbered Logical Extent of the empty Logical Volume space that needs to be filled, they\nallocate as much space as possible according to the restrictions imposed by the policy. If\nmore space is needed, they move on to the next policy.\n\nThe restrictions are as follows:\n\nContiguous requires that the physical location of any Logical Extent that is not the first\nLogical Extent of a Logical Volume is adjacent to the physical location of the Logical Extent\nimmediately preceding it.\n\nCling requires that the Physical Volume used for any Logical Extent to be added to an exist‐\ning Logical Volume is already in use by at least one Logical Extent earlier in that Logical\nVolume. If the configuration parameter allocation/clingtaglist is defined, then two Physi‐\ncal Volumes are considered to match if any of the listed tags is present on both Physical\nVolumes. This allows groups of Physical Volumes with similar properties (such as their phys‐\nical location) to be tagged and treated as equivalent for allocation purposes.\n\nWhen a Logical Volume is striped or mirrored, the above restrictions are applied indepen‐\ndently to each stripe or mirror image (leg) that needs space.\n\nNormal will not choose a Physical Extent that shares the same Physical Volume as a Logical\nExtent already allocated to a parallel Logical Volume (i.e. a different stripe or mirror im‐\nage/leg) at the same offset within that parallel Logical Volume.\n\nWhen allocating a mirror log at the same time as Logical Volumes to hold the mirror data,\nNormal will first try to select different Physical Volumes for the log and the data. If\nthat's not possible and the allocation/mirrorlogsrequireseparatepvs configuration parame‐\nter is set to 0, it will then allow the log to share Physical Volume(s) with part of the\ndata.\n\nWhen allocating thin pool metadata, similar considerations to those of a mirror log in the\nlast paragraph apply based on the value of the allocation/thinpoolmetadatarequiresepa‐‐\nratepvs configuration parameter.\n\nIf you rely upon any layout behaviour beyond that documented here, be aware that it might\nchange in future versions of the code.\n\nFor example, if you supply on the command line two empty Physical Volumes that have an iden‐\ntical number of free Physical Extents available for allocation, the current code considers\nusing each of them in the order they are listed, but there is no guarantee that future re‐\nleases will maintain that property. If it is important to obtain a specific layout for a\nparticular Logical Volume, then you should build it up through a sequence of lvcreate(8) and\nlvconvert(8) steps such that the restrictions described above applied to each step leave the\ntools no discretion over the layout.\n\nTo view the way the allocation process currently works in any specific case, read the debug\nlogging output, for example by adding -vvvv to a command.\n", "subsections": [] }, "LOGICAL VOLUME TYPES": { "content": "Some logical volume types are simple to create and can be done with a single lvcreate(8) com‐\nmand. The linear and striped logical volume types are an example of this. Other logical\nvolume types may require more than one command to create. The cache (lvmcache(7)) and thin\nprovisioning (lvmthin(7)) types are examples of this.\n", "subsections": [] }, "DIAGNOSTICS": { "content": "All tools return a status code of zero on success or non-zero on failure. The non-zero codes\ndistinguish only between the broad categories of unrecognised commands, problems processing\nthe command line arguments and any other failures. As LVM remains under active development,\nthe code used in a specific case occasionally changes between releases. Message text may\nalso change.\n", "subsections": [] }, "ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES": { "content": "HOME Directory containing .lvmhistory if the internal readline shell is invoked.\n\nLVMOUTFD\nFile descriptor to use for common output from LVM commands.\n\nLVMERRFD\nFile descriptor to use for error output from LVM commands.\n\nLVMREPORTFD\nFile descriptor to use for report output from LVM commands.\n\nLVMCOMMANDPROFILE\nName of default command profile to use for LVM commands. This profile is overriden by\ndirect use of --commandprofile command line option.\n\nLVMRUNBYDMEVENTD\nThis variable is normally set by dmeventd plugin to inform lvm2 command it is running\nfrom dmeventd plugin so lvm2 takes some extra action to avoid comunication and dead‐\nlocks with dmeventd.\n\nLVMSYSTEMDIR\nDirectory containing lvm.conf(5) and other LVM system files. Defaults to \"/etc/lvm\".\n\nLVMSUPPRESSFDWARNINGS\nSuppress warnings about unexpected file descriptors passed into LVM.\n\nLVMSUPPRESSSYSLOG\nSuppress contacting syslog.\n\nLVMVGNAME\nThe Volume Group name that is assumed for any reference to a Logical Volume that\ndoesn't specify a path. Not set by default.\n\nLVMLVMPOLLDPIDFILE\nPath to the file that stores the lvmpolld process ID.\n\nLVMLVMPOLLDSOCKET\nPath to the socket used to communicate with lvmpolld..\n\nLVMLOGFILEEPOCH\nA string of up to 32 letters appended to the log filename and followed by the process\nID and a startup timestamp using this format string \"%s%d%llu\". When set, each\nprocess logs to a separate file.\n\nLVMLOGFILEMAXLINES\nIf more than this number of lines are sent to the log file, the command gets aborted.\nAutomated tests use this to terminate looping commands.\n\nLVMEXPECTEDEXITSTATUS\nThe status anticipated when the process exits. Use \">N\" to match any status greater\nthan N. If the actual exit status matches and a log file got produced, it is deleted.\nLVMLOGFILEEPOCH and LVMEXPECTEDEXITSTATUS together allow automated test scripts\nto discard uninteresting log data.\n\nLVMSUPPRESSLOCKINGFAILUREMESSAGES\nUsed to suppress warning messages when the configured locking is known to be unavail‐\nable.\n\nDMABORTONINTERNALERRORS\nAbort processing if the code detects a non-fatal internal error.\n\nDMDISABLEUDEV\nAvoid interaction with udev. LVM will manage the relevant nodes in /dev directly.\n\nDMDEBUGWITHLINENUMBERS\nPrepends source file name and code line number with libdm debugging.\n", "subsections": [] }, "FILES": { "content": "/etc/lvm/lvm.conf\n$HOME/.lvmhistory\n", "subsections": [] }, "SEE ALSO": { "content": "lvm(8) lvm.conf(5) lvmconfig(8)\n\npvchange(8) pvck(8) pvcreate(8) pvdisplay(8) pvmove(8) pvremove(8) pvresize(8) pvs(8)\npvscan(8)\n\nvgcfgbackup(8) vgcfgrestore(8) vgchange(8) vgck(8) vgcreate(8) vgconvert(8) vgdisplay(8)\nvgexport(8) vgextend(8) vgimport(8) vgimportclone(8) vgmerge(8) vgmknodes(8) vgreduce(8)\nvgremove(8) vgrename(8) vgs(8) vgscan(8) vgsplit(8)\n\nlvcreate(8) lvchange(8) lvconvert(8) lvdisplay(8) lvextend(8) lvreduce(8) lvremove(8)\nlvrename(8) lvresize(8) lvs(8) lvscan(8)\n\nlvm-fullreport(8) lvm-lvpoll(8) lvm2-activation-generator(8) blkdeactivate(8) lvmdump(8)\n\ndmeventd(8) lvmpolld(8) lvmlockd(8) lvmlockctl(8) cmirrord(8) lvmdbusd(8)\n\nlvmsystemid(7) lvmreport(7) lvmraid(7) lvmthin(7) lvmcache(7)\n\ndmsetup(8), dmstats(8), readline(3)\n\n\n\nRed Hat, Inc. LVM TOOLS 2.03.11(2) (2021-01-08) LVM(8)", "subsections": [] } }, "summary": "lvm — LVM2 tools", "flags": [], "examples": [], "see_also": [ { "name": "lvm.conf", "section": "5", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvm.conf/5/json" }, { "name": "lvmconfig", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvmconfig/8/json" }, { "name": "pvchange", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/pvchange/8/json" }, { "name": "pvck", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/pvck/8/json" }, { "name": "pvcreate", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/pvcreate/8/json" }, { "name": "pvdisplay", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/pvdisplay/8/json" }, { "name": "pvmove", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/pvmove/8/json" }, { "name": "pvremove", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/pvremove/8/json" }, { "name": "pvresize", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/pvresize/8/json" }, { "name": "pvs", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/pvs/8/json" }, { "name": "pvscan", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/pvscan/8/json" }, { "name": "vgcfgbackup", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgcfgbackup/8/json" }, { "name": "vgcfgrestore", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgcfgrestore/8/json" }, { "name": "vgchange", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgchange/8/json" }, { "name": "vgck", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgck/8/json" }, { "name": "vgcreate", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgcreate/8/json" }, { "name": "vgconvert", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgconvert/8/json" }, { "name": "vgdisplay", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgdisplay/8/json" }, { "name": "vgexport", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgexport/8/json" }, { "name": "vgextend", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgextend/8/json" }, { "name": "vgimport", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgimport/8/json" }, { "name": "vgimportclone", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgimportclone/8/json" }, { "name": "vgmerge", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgmerge/8/json" }, { "name": "vgmknodes", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgmknodes/8/json" }, { "name": "vgreduce", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgreduce/8/json" }, { "name": "vgremove", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgremove/8/json" }, { "name": "vgrename", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgrename/8/json" }, { "name": "vgs", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgs/8/json" }, { "name": "vgscan", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgscan/8/json" }, { "name": "vgsplit", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vgsplit/8/json" }, { "name": "lvrename", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvrename/8/json" }, { "name": "lvresize", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvresize/8/json" }, { "name": "lvs", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvs/8/json" }, { "name": "lvscan", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvscan/8/json" }, { "name": "lvm-fullreport", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvm-fullreport/8/json" }, { "name": "lvm-lvpoll", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvm-lvpoll/8/json" }, { "name": "lvm2-activation-generator", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvm2-activation-generator/8/json" }, { "name": "blkdeactivate", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/blkdeactivate/8/json" }, { "name": "lvmdump", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvmdump/8/json" }, { "name": "dmeventd", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/dmeventd/8/json" }, { "name": "lvmpolld", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvmpolld/8/json" }, { "name": "lvmlockd", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvmlockd/8/json" }, { "name": "lvmlockctl", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvmlockctl/8/json" }, { "name": "cmirrord", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/cmirrord/8/json" }, { "name": "lvmdbusd", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvmdbusd/8/json" }, { "name": "lvmsystemid", "section": "7", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvmsystemid/7/json" }, { "name": "lvmreport", "section": "7", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvmreport/7/json" }, { "name": "lvmraid", "section": "7", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvmraid/7/json" }, { "name": "lvmthin", "section": "7", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvmthin/7/json" }, { "name": "lvmcache", "section": "7", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/lvmcache/7/json" }, { "name": "dmsetup", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/dmsetup/8/json" }, { "name": "dmstats", "section": "8", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/dmstats/8/json" }, { "name": "readline", "section": "3", "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/readline/3/json" } ], "tldr": { "source": "official", "description": "Manage physical volumes, volume groups, and logical volumes using the Logical Volume Manager (LVM) interactive shell.", "examples": [ { "description": "Start the Logical Volume Manager interactive shell", "command": "sudo lvm" }, { "description": "Initialize a drive or partition to be used as a physical volume", "command": "sudo lvm pvcreate {{/dev/sdXY}}" }, { "description": "Display information about physical volumes", "command": "sudo lvm pvdisplay" }, { "description": "Create a volume group called vg1 from the physical volume on `/dev/sdXY`", "command": "sudo lvm vgcreate {{vg1}} {{/dev/sdXY}}" }, { "description": "Display information about volume groups", "command": "sudo lvm vgdisplay" }, { "description": "Create a logical volume with size 10G from volume group vg1", "command": "sudo lvm lvcreate {{-L|--size}} {{10G}} {{vg1}}" }, { "description": "Display information about logical volumes", "command": "sudo lvm lvdisplay" }, { "description": "Display help for a specific command", "command": "lvm help {{command}}" } ] } }