mkfs

Creates a filesystem on a partition or block device.

Ubuntu CentOS Debian Arch SUSE Slackware Alpine Fedora

Verified: 2026-05-12

Syntax

$mkfs -t TYPE DEVICE [OPTIONS]

Examples

$mkfs -t ext4 /dev/sdb1

$mkfs.xfs /dev/sdc1

$mkfs.vfat -F 32 /dev/sdb1

Typical use cases

Standard usage

mkfs --help

Note Initializes a new filesystem and replaces existing metadata structures.

Export