NVME-DEVICE-SELF-(1) NVMe Manual NVME-DEVICE-SELF-(1)

# [NAME](#NAME)

nvme-device-self-test - Perform the necessary tests to observe the performance and the parameters

# [SYNOPSIS](#SYNOPSIS)

```
nvme [<global-options>] device-self-test <device>


                        [--namespace-id=<NUM> | -n <NUM>]


                        [--self-test-code=<NUM> | -s <NUM>]


                        [--wait | -w]
```

# [DESCRIPTION](#DESCRIPTION)

Initiates the required test based on the user input.

The &lt;device&gt; parameter is mandatory and may be either the NVMe character device (ex: /dev/nvme0), or a namespace block device (ex: /dev/nvme0n1).

On success, the corresponding test is initiated.

The results of this test can be queried via *nvme self-test-log &lt;device&gt;*.

# [OPTIONS](#OPTIONS)

-n &lt;NUM&gt;, --namespace-id=&lt;NUM&gt;

Indicate the namespace in which the device self-test has to be carried out

-s &lt;NUM&gt;, --self-test-code=&lt;NUM&gt;

This field specifies the action taken by the device self-test command : 0h: Show current state of device self-test operation 1h: Start a short device self-test operation 2h: Start a extended device self-test operation eh: Start a vendor specific device self-test operation fh: Abort the device self-test operation Default is 0h.

-w, --wait

Wait for the device self test to complete before exiting The device self-test is aborted by SIGINT signal interrupt for the wait The option is ignored if the abort self-test code option specified.

# [GLOBAL OPTIONS](#GLOBAL_OPTIONS)

The following options are defined at the top-level nvme command and are available to this subcommand:

--dry-run

Print the command that would be executed, but do not actually execute it.

--no-ioctl-probing

Disable probing for 64-bit IOCTL support.

--no-retries

Disable retry logic on transient errors.

-o &lt;fmt&gt;, --output-format=&lt;fmt&gt;

Set the reporting format to *normal*, *tabular, 'json*, or *binary*. Only one output format may be used at a time.

--output-format-version=&lt;version&gt;

Select the output format version. Version *1* uses the original field naming, while version *2* (default) provides more consistent and script-friendly field names.

--timeout=&lt;ms&gt;

Set the timeout for the command in milliseconds.

-v, --verbose

Increase the level of detail in the output. May be specified multiple times to further increase verbosity.

These options can also be set as machine-wide defaults in [nvme-cli.conf(5)](/man/os/nvme-cli/nvme-cli.conf.5). A command-line flag always overrides the file.

# [EXAMPLES](#EXAMPLES)

•Start a short device self-test in the namespace-id 1:

```
# nvme device-self-test /dev/nvme0 -n 1 -s 1
```

•Abort the device self-test operation in the namespace-id 1:

```
# nvme device-self-test /dev/nvme0 -n 1 -s 0xf
```

# [NVME](#NVME)

Part of the nvme-user suite

09/18/2026 NVMe

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Document: nvme-device-self-test(1) from nvme-cli 3.1-r0 (Chainguard OS)
Source: https://github.com/linux-nvme/nvme-cli