BTRFS-SEND(8) Btrfs Manual BTRFS-SEND(8)
NAME
btrfs-send - generate a stream of changes between two subvolume
snapshots
SYNOPSIS
btrfs send [-ve] [-p <parent>] [-c <clone-src>] [-f <outfile>] <subvol>
[<subvol>...]
DESCRIPTION
This command will generate a stream of instructions that describe
changes between two subvolume snapshots. The stream can be consumed by
the btrfs receive command to replicate the sent snapshot on a different
filesystem. The command operates in two modes: full and incremental.
All snapshots involved in one send command must be read-only, and this
status cannot be changed as long as there's a running send operation
that uses the snapshot.
In the full mode, the entire snapshot data and metadata will end up in
the stream.
In the incremental mode (options -p and -c), previously sent snapshots
that are available on both the sending and receiving side can be used
to reduce the amount of information that has to be sent to reconstruct
the sent snapshot on a different filesystem.
The -p <parent> option can be omitted when -c <clone-src> options are
given, in which case btrfs send will determine a suitable parent from
among the clone sources.
You must not specify clone sources unless you guarantee that these
snapshots are exactly in the same state on both sides--both for the
sender and the receiver.
Options
-e
if sending multiple subvolumes at once, use the new format and omit
the end cmd marker in the stream separating the subvolumes
-p <parent>
send an incremental stream from parent to subvol
-c <clone-src>
use this snapshot as a clone source for an incremental send
(multiple allowed)
-f <outfile>
output is normally written to standard output so it can be, for
example, piped to btrfs receive. Use this option to write it to a
file instead.
--no-data
send in NO_FILE_DATA mode
The output stream does not contain any file data and thus cannot be
used to transfer changes. This mode is faster and is useful to show
the differences in metadata. -q|--quiet:::: (deprecated) alias for
global -q option -v|--verbose:: (deprecated) alias for global -v
option
Global options
-q|--quiet
suppress all messages except errors
-v|--verbose
increase output verbosity, print generated commands in a readable
form
EXIT STATUS
btrfs send returns a zero exit status if it succeeds. Non zero is
returned in case of failure.
AVAILABILITY
btrfs is part of btrfs-progs. Please refer to the btrfs wiki
http://btrfs.wiki.kernel.org for further details.
SEE ALSO
mkfs.btrfs(8), btrfs-receive(8)
Btrfs v5.7 07/02/2020 BTRFS-SEND(8)