NVME-WRITE-ZEROES(1) NVMe Manual NVME-WRITE-ZEROES(1)

# [NAME](#NAME)

nvme-write-zeroes - Send an NVMe write zeroes command, return results

# [SYNOPSIS](#SYNOPSIS)

```
nvme [<global-options>] write-zeroes <device>


                        [--start-block=<slba> | -s <slba>]


                        [--block-count=<nlb> | -c <nlb>]


                        [--ref-tag=<reftag> | -r <reftag>]


                        [--prinfo=<prinfo> | -p <prinfo>]


                        [--app-tag-mask=<appmask> | -m <appmask>]


                        [--app-tag=<apptag> | -a <apptag>] [--deac | -d]


                        [--limited-retry | -l] [--force-unit-access | -f]


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


                        [--storage-tag<storage-tag> | -S <storage-tag>]


                        [--storage-tag-check<storage-tag-check> | -C


                        <storage-tag-check>]


                        [--dir-type=<dtype> | -T <dtype>]


                        [--dir-spec=<dspec> | -D <dspec>]


                        [--namespace-zeroes | -Z]
```

# [DESCRIPTION](#DESCRIPTION)

The Write Zeroes command is used to set a range of logical blocks to 0.

# [OPTIONS](#OPTIONS)

-s &lt;slba&gt;, --start-block=&lt;slba&gt;

Start block.

-c &lt;nlb&gt;, --block-count=&lt;nlb&gt;

Number of logical blocks to write zeroes.

-p &lt;prinfo&gt;, --prinfo=&lt;prinfo&gt;

Protection Information field definition.

Bit Description 3 PRACT: Protection Information Action. When set to 1, PI is stripped/inserted on read/write when the block format’s metadata size is 8. When set to 0, metadata is passes. 2:0 PRCHK: Protection Information Check: 2 Set to 1 enables checking the guard tag 1 Set to 1 enables checking the application tag 0 Set to 1 enables checking the reference tag

-r &lt;reftag&gt;, --ref-tag=&lt;reftag&gt;

Optional reftag when used with protection information.

-m &lt;appmask&gt;, --app-tag-mask=&lt;appmask&gt;

Optional application tag mask when used with protection information.

-a &lt;apptag&gt;, --app-tag=&lt;apptag&gt;

Optional application tag when used with protection information.

-l, --limited-retry

Sets the limited retry flag.

-d, --deac

Sets the DEAC bit, requesting controller deallocate the logical blocks.

-f, --force-unit-access

Set the force-unit access flag.

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

Namespace ID use in the command.

-S &lt;storage-tag&gt;, --storage-tag=&lt;storage-tag&gt;

Variable Sized Logical Block Storage Tag(LBST).

-C &lt;storage-tag-check&gt;, --storage-tag-check=&lt;storage-tag-check&gt;

This bit specifies the Storage Tag field shall be checked as part of end-to-end data protection processing.

-T &lt;dtype&gt;, --dir-type=&lt;dtype&gt;

Directive type

-D &lt;dspec&gt;, --dir-spec=&lt;dspec&gt;

Directive specific

-Z, --namespace-zeroes

If set, then the controller clear all logical blocks to zero in the entire namespace.

# [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)

No examples yet.

# [NVME](#NVME)

Part of the nvme-user suite

09/18/2026 NVMe

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