fdisk and parted write a partition table (GPT or MBR) and partitions to a disk; parted -s runs without prompts.
lsblk
which disks exist
sudo fdisk -l /dev/vdb
the disk's partition table
sudo parted /dev/vdb print
the same with parted
sudo parted -s /dev/vdb mklabel gpt
new table (wipes the old one)
sudo parted -s /dev/vdb mkpart data ext4 1MiB 100%
sudo parted /dev/vdb unit MiB print free
partitions and free space
sudo fdisk /dev/vdb
step by step: g, n, w
sudo partprobe /dev/vdb
kernel re-reads the table
A new disk is a row of empty blocks. Before it can hold files it is partitioned: a
partition table is written at the start of the disk, saying
where each partition begins and ends. The kernel shows each
partition as a device of its own: /dev/vdb1 on disk /dev/vdb, /dev/nvme0n1p1 on
NVMe, /dev/loop0p1 on a loop device. Then a filesystem is created on the
partition (mkfs) and mounted (mount).
| Table | Where you meet it |
|---|---|
GPT (gpt) |
modern systems; up to 128 partitions, disks over 2 TiB |
MBR (msdos) |
older systems; 4 primary partitions, disks up to 2 TiB |
Both tools do the same job but save differently:
w command. Quitting
with q changes nothing, which makes it safe to practise.-s (--script) it asks no
questions, so it suits scripts and machine setup.The type in mkpart data ext4 is only a mark in the table. parted does not create
the filesystem: after partitioning you still need mkfs.
parted has few options; the work is done by commands: mklabel, mkpart, print,
rm, resizepart, name. Inside fdisk you type one-letter commands; m lists
them. The full lists are in man parted and man fdisk.
| Option | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
-s --script |
Never prompt — not even before wiping a partition table. dangerous | sudo parted -s /dev/vdb mklabel gpt |
mklabel gpt|msdos |
Write a new empty partition table; existing partitions are lost. dangerous | sudo parted -s /dev/vdb mklabel gpt |
mkpart NAME FS START END |
Create a partition; on MBR the first word is the type primary, not a name. | sudo parted -s /dev/vdb mkpart data ext4 1MiB 100% |
print |
Show the table; with free, the free space too. | sudo parted /dev/vdb unit MiB print free |
-l --list |
List the partition tables of disks and exit. | sudo fdisk -l /dev/vdb |
g / o |
Commands inside fdisk — a new empty GPT (g) or MBR (o) table. dangerous | sudo fdisk /dev/vdb |
n / p / w / q |
New partition, print the table, write and quit, quit without saving. | sudo fdisk /dev/vdb |
unit MiB|GiB|s|% |
Units for printing and reading partition boundaries. | sudo parted /dev/vdb unit MiB print |
rm N |
Remove partition number N from the table. dangerous | sudo parted -s /dev/vdb rm 2 |
partprobe DISK |
Ask the kernel to re-read the disk's partition table. | sudo partprobe /dev/vdb |
Nothing found. Try a shorter query.
The partition starts at 1 MiB: the table sits at the start of the disk, and this
offset keeps the partition aligned to the disk's blocks. 100% means up to the end.
This is a 512 MiB practice disk after the command:
The small free pieces at both ends hold the GPT table and its backup copy.
No mklabel here: it would replace the table and drop the existing partitions.
For the end you can type a size such as +10G instead of Enter.
On MBR the first word after mkpart is the partition type (primary), not a name.
The disk has no partition table yet — the normal state of a new disk: print shows
Partition Table: unknown. Create a table: sudo parted -s /dev/vdb mklabel gpt.
The kernel has not re-read the table: the disk is busy, or the change was made behind
its back. Run sudo partprobe /dev/vdb. On a loop device, partitions appear when it is
attached with losetup -P — see loop device.
fdisk wrote the table, but the kernel keeps the old one because a partition of this
disk is mounted. Unmount the disk's partitions and run partprobe; the system disk
picks up the change after a reboot.
The start is given in sectors or bytes that do not match the disk's blocks. Give
boundaries in MiB or percent: 1MiB, 50%.
mklabel writes a new empty table. The old partitions vanish from it, and with them
access to the data. With -s, parted does not even ask. Before partitioning, check
the disk name and its partitions with lsblk and findmnt.
/dev/vdb on one machine and /dev/vdb on another (or after a reboot) can be
different disks. Look at the size and contents in lsblk -f right before the command.
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