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ZFS-DESTROY(8) System Manager's Manual ZFS-DESTROY(8) NAME zfs-destroy -- destroy ZFS dataset, snapshots, or bookmark SYNOPSIS zfs destroy [-Rfnprv] filesystem|volume zfs destroy [-Rdnprv] filesystem|volume@snap[%snap[,snap[%snap]]]a| zfs destroy filesystem|volume#bookmark DESCRIPTION zfs destroy [-Rfnprv] filesystem|volume Destroys the given dataset. By default, the command unshares any file systems that are currently shared, unmounts any file systems that are currently mounted, and refuses to destroy a dataset that has active de- pendents (children or clones). -R Recursively destroy all dependents, including cloned file systems outside the target hierarchy. -f Forcibly unmount file systems. This option has no effect on non-file systems or unmounted file systems. -n Do a dry-run ("No-op") deletion. No data will be deleted. This is useful in conjunction with the -v or -p flags to determine what data would be deleted. -p Print machine-parsable verbose information about the deleted data. -r Recursively destroy all children. -v Print verbose information about the deleted data. Extreme care should be taken when applying either the -r or the -R op- tions, as they can destroy large portions of a pool and cause unexpected behavior for mounted file systems in use. zfs destroy [-Rdnprv] filesystem|volume@snap[%snap[,snap[%snap]]]a| Attempts to destroy the given snapshot(s). This will fail if any clones of the snapshot exist or if the snapshot is held. In this case, by de- fault, zfs destroy will have no effect and exit in error. If the -d op- tion is applied, the command will instead mark the given snapshot for au- tomatic destruction as soon as it becomes eligible. While marked for de- struction, a snapshot remains visible, and the user may create new clones from it and place new holds on it. The read-only snapshot properties defer_destroy and userrefs are used by zfs destroy to determine eligibility and marked status. An inclusive range of snapshots may be specified by separating the first and last snapshots with a percent sign. The first and/or last snapshots may be left blank, in which case the filesystem's oldest or newest snap- shot will be implied. Multiple snapshots (or ranges of snapshots) of the same filesystem or volume may be specified in a comma-separated list of snapshots. Only the snapshot's short name (the part after the @) should be specified when us- ing a range or comma-separated list to identify multiple snapshots. -R Recursively destroy all clones of these snapshots, including the clones, snapshots, and children. If this flag is specified, the -d flag will have no effect. -d Rather than returning error if the given snapshot is ineligible for immediate destruction, mark it for deferred, automatic destruction once it becomes eligible. -n Do a dry-run ("No-op") deletion. No data will be deleted. This is useful in conjunction with the -p or -v flags to determine what data would be deleted. -p Print machine-parsable verbose information about the deleted data. -r Destroy (or mark for deferred deletion) all snapshots with this name in descendent file systems. -v Print verbose information about the deleted data. Extreme care should be taken when applying either the -r or the -R op- tions, as they can destroy large portions of a pool and cause unexpected behavior for mounted file systems in use. zfs destroy filesystem|volume#bookmark The given bookmark is destroyed. EXAMPLES Example 1: Creating and Destroying Multiple Snapshots The following command creates snapshots named yesterday of pool/home and all of its descendent file systems. Each snapshot is mounted on demand in the .zfs/snapshot directory at the root of its file system. The second command destroys the newly created snapshots. # zfs snapshot -r pool/home@yesterday # zfs destroy -r pool/home@yesterday Example 2: Promoting a ZFS Clone The following commands illustrate how to test out changes to a file system, and then replace the original file system with the changed one, using clones, clone promotion, and renaming: # zfs create pool/project/production populate /pool/project/production with data # zfs snapshot pool/project/production@today # zfs clone pool/project/production@today pool/project/beta make changes to /pool/project/beta and test them # zfs promote pool/project/beta # zfs rename pool/project/production pool/project/legacy # zfs rename pool/project/beta pool/project/production once the legacy version is no longer needed, it can be destroyed # zfs destroy pool/project/legacy Example 3: Performing a Rolling Snapshot The following example shows how to maintain a history of snapshots with a consistent naming scheme. To keep a week's worth of snapshots, the user destroys the oldest snapshot, renames the remaining snapshots, and then creates a new snapshot, as follows: # zfs destroy -r pool/users@7daysago # zfs rename -r pool/users@6daysago @7daysago # zfs rename -r pool/users@5daysago @6daysago # zfs rename -r pool/users@4daysago @5daysago # zfs rename -r pool/users@3daysago @4daysago # zfs rename -r pool/users@2daysago @3daysago # zfs rename -r pool/users@yesterday @2daysago # zfs rename -r pool/users@today @yesterday # zfs snapshot -r pool/users@today SEE ALSO zfs-create(8), zfs-hold(8), zfsprops(8) FreeBSD ports 15.1 February 5, 2025 ZFS-DESTROY(8)
NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | EXAMPLES | SEE ALSO
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