MKFS(8) MKFS(8)
NAME
mkfs, mkext - archive or update a file system
SYNOPSIS
disk/mkfs [-aprv] [-n name] [-s source] [-u users] [-z n]
proto ...
disk/mkext [-d name] [-u] [-h] [-v] file ...
DESCRIPTION
Mkfs copies files from the file tree source (default /) to a
kfs file system (see kfs(4)). The kfs service is mounted on
/n/kfs, and /adm/users is copied to /n/kfs/adm/users. The
proto files are read, and any files specified in them that
are out of date are copied to /n/kfs.
Each line of the proto file specifies a file to copy.
Indentation is significant, with each level of indentation
corresponding to a level in the file tree. Fields within a
line are separated by white space. The first field is the
last path element in the destination file tree. The second
field specifies the permissions. The third field is the
owner of the file, and the fourth is the group owning the
file. The fifth field is the name of the file from which to
copy; this file is read from the current name space, not the
source file tree. All fields except the first are optional.
Names beginning with a `$' are expanded as environment vari-
ables. If the first file specified in a directory is `*',
all of the files in that directory are copied. If the first
file is `+', all of the files are copied, and all subdirec-
tories are recursively copied.
Mkfs copies only those files that are out of date. Such a
file is first copied into a temporary file in the appropri-
ate destination directory and then moved to the destination
file. Files in the kfs file system that are not specified
in the proto file are not updated and not removed.
The options to mkfs are:
a Instead of writing to a kfs file system, write an
archive file to standard output, suitable for
mkext. All files in proto, not just those out of
date, are archived.
n name Use kfs.name as the name of the kfs service
(default kfs).
p Update the permissions of a file even if it is up
to date.
r Copy all files.
Page 1 Plan 9 (printed 12/21/24)
MKFS(8) MKFS(8)
s source Copy from files rooted at the tree source.
u users Copy file users into /adm/users in the new system.
v Print the names of all of the files as they are
copied.
z n Copy files assuming kfs block n (default 1024)
bytes long. If a block contains only 0-valued
bytes, it is not copied.
Mkext unpacks archive files made by the -a option of mkfs.
The -d option specifies a directory (default /n/kfs) to
serve as the root of the unpacked file system. The -u
option, to be used only when initializing a new fs(4) file
system, sets the owners of the files created to correspond
to those in the archive and restores the modification times
of the files. (This is only permitted at the initial load
of the files into a file system.) Each file on the command
line is unpacked in one pass through the archive. If the
file is a directory, all files and subdirectories of that
directory are also unpacked. When a file is unpacked, the
entire path is created if it does not exist. If no files
are specified, the entire archive is unpacked; in this case,
missing intermediate directories are not created. The -v
option prints the names and sizes of files as they are
extracted; -h prints headers for the files on standard out-
put instead of unpacking the files.
EXAMPLES
Make an archive to establish a new file system:
disk/mkfs -a -u files/adm.users -s dist proto > arch
Unpack that archive onto a new file system:
srv il!newfs
mount -c /srv/il!newfs /n/newfs
disk/mkext -u -d /n/newfs < arch
FILES
/lib/proto
directory of prototype files.
/lib/proto/portproto
generic prototype file.
SOURCE
/sys/src/cmd/disk/mkfs.c
/sys/src/cmd/disk/mkext.c
SEE ALSO
prep(8), kfscmd(8), wren(3), pip(8)
Page 2 Plan 9 (printed 12/21/24)