`zfsa(1)`

Manage ZFS pools, datasets and snapshots

ZFS Assistant 0.7.0

NAME

zfsa - Manage ZFS pools, datasets and snapshots

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

Manage ZFS pools, datasets and snapshots.

zfsa asks the ZFS Assistant helper on the system D-Bus to do the work, so it runs as your user. Viewing needs no password at the console. Changes ask for an administrator's authorization through polkit.

The options below are global: they work before or after any command, and the manual page of each command refers here for them.

OPTIONS

--json

Machine-readable output on stdout, errors as JSON on stderr

-y, --yes

Answer yes to confirmations (commands that change nothing don't ask)

-n, --dry-run

Show what would happen, change nothing (commands that change nothing ignore it)

-p, --parsable

Print exact numbers (bytes, seconds) and tab-separated tables without headers

-q, --quiet

Print only errors

--color <COLOR> [default: auto]

Colour health words and progress

Possible values:

auto: Colour when standard output is a terminal and NO_COLOR is not set
always: Always colour
never: Never colour

--local

As root, work in this process without the helper (chosen by itself when the helper can't be reached)

--confirm <NAME>

The name of what a destructive command changes, for commands that would otherwise ask you to type it

-h, --help

Print help (see a summary with '-h')

-V, --version

Print version

SUBCOMMANDS

zfsa-backup(1): Backups: copies of snapshot policies to other pools and machines
zfsa-completions(1): Shell completions on stdout
zfsa-dataset(1): Datasets
zfsa-disk(1): Disks that pools can be made on
zfsa-file(1): Files inside snapshots
zfsa-key(1): Encryption keys
zfsa-job(1): Scheduled jobs, their history and logs
zfsa-list(1): Datasets, volumes, snapshots and bookmarks
zfsa-policy(1): Snapshot policies
zfsa-pool(1): Pools
zfsa-property(1): Pool and dataset properties
zfsa-prune(1): Delete the snapshots a policy no longer needs now, instead of waiting for the snapshot job
zfsa-remote(1): Computers that backups are sent to
zfsa-restore(1): Bring back files, folders or a whole dataset from a snapshot
zfsa-rollback(1): Throw away every change since a snapshot (zfs rollback)
zfsa-schedule(1): What runs the scheduled jobs
zfsa-scrub(1): Scrubs
zfsa-settings(1): ZFS Assistant's own settings
zfsa-snapshot(1): Snapshots
zfsa-status(1): Health, protection, space and problems of the pools
zfsa-trim(1): Trims

VERSION

v0.7.0

AUTHORIZATION

The desktop application and this command normally use the privileged helper on the system D-Bus. Reading uses a view grant. Changes and private information need an administrator's authorization through polkit. The GUI must run as your user.

As root, --local works without the system bus. It uses the same validation, locks and audit rules. Jobs, backup sync/cancel, remote restore and scheduler management require the daemon and are unavailable in local mode.

CONFIRMATIONS

--yes accepts ordinary confirmations. Typed confirmations additionally need --confirm with the exact object name. --yes never trusts an SSH host key. Verify the fingerprint independently before providing --fingerprint. Passphrases are read from a terminal, a file or a file descriptor, never from a command argument or an environment variable.

EXIT STATUS

0: success.
1: operation failed or unsupported.
2: invalid command, value or unavailable confirmation.
3: not authorized.
4: stale object or busy resource. Re-read the state before retrying.
5: helper unavailable or ZFS not loaded.

ENVIRONMENT

NO_COLOR disables automatic colour. PAGER selects the pager for long output on a terminal. --json writes one JSON document on standard output and JSON errors on standard error. Use exit codes and JSON codes instead of parsing messages.

FILES

/etc/zfs-assistant/zfs-assistant.toml on Linux and /usr/local/etc/zfs-assistant/zfs-assistant.toml on FreeBSD, described in zfs-assistant.toml(5). The helper owns machine configuration. Per-user desktop preferences are separate.

EXAMPLES

Health, protection and space of every pool:

zfsa status

A snapshot before a risky change:

zfsa snapshot create tank/photos --name before-cleanup

What a command would do, without doing it:

zfsa --dry-run snapshot delete tank/photos@before-cleanup

The pools as JSON for a script:

zfsa --json pool list