dd

Copies data at block level between files or devices.

Potentially destructive Last updated: 2026-05-12 Report error

Syntax

$dd if=INPUT of=OUTPUT [OPTIONS]

Examples

$dd if=/dev/zero of=test.img bs=1M count=100

Examples

$dd if=/dev/sda of=/backup/disk.img bs=4M status=progress

Examples

$dd if=image.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync

Warnings

DANGER: A wrong target device (`of=`) can overwrite data immediately and irreversibly.

Tip: Verify the target device with `lsblk` or `blkid` first.

Typical use cases

Write image

dd if=image.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync

Create backup

dd if=/dev/sdX of=backup.img bs=4M status=progress

Note Low-level utility for imaging, cloning, and recovery.

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