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NVME-SANITIZE(1) NVMe Manual NVME-SANITIZE(1)

NAME

nvme-sanitize - Send NVMe Sanitize Command, return result

SYNOPSIS

nvme [<global-options>] sanitize <device> [--no-dealloc | -d] [--oipbp | -i]


                        [--owpass=<overwrite-pass-count> | -n


                        <overwrite-pass-count>]


                        [--ause | -u] [--sanact=<action> | -a <action>]


                        [--ovrpat=<overwrite-pattern> | -p <overwrite-pattern>]


                        [--emvs | -e] [--force] [--wait | -w]


                        [--repeat=<repeat-count> | -r <repeat-count>]

DESCRIPTION

For the NVMe device given, sends a Sanitize command and provides the result.

The <device> parameter is mandatory NVMe character device (ex: /dev/nvme0).

On success it returns 0, error code otherwise.

OPTIONS

-d, --no-dealloc

No Deallocate After Sanitize: If set, then the controller shall not deallocate any logical blocks as a result of successfully completing the sanitize operation. If cleared, then the controller should deallocate logical blocks as a result of successfully completing the sanitize operation. This bit shall be ignored if the Sanitize Action field is set to 001b (i.e., Exit Failure Mode).

-i, --oipbp

Overwrite Invert Pattern Between Passes: If set, then the Overwrite Pattern shall be inverted between passes. If cleared, then the overwrite pattern shall not be inverted between passes. This bit shall be ignored unless the Sanitize Action field is set to 011b (i.e., Overwrite).

-n <overwrite-pass-count>, --owpass=<overwrite-pass-count>

Overwrite Pass Count: This field specifies the number of overwrite passes (i.e., how many times the media is to be overwritten) using the data from the Overwrite Pattern field of this command. A value of 0 specifies 16 overwrite passes. This field shall be ignored unless the Sanitize Action field is set to 011b (i.e., Overwrite).

-u, --ause

Allow Unrestricted Sanitize Exit: If set, then the sanitize operation is performed in unrestricted completion mode. If cleared then the sanitize operation is performed in restricted completion mode. This bit shall be ignored if the Sanitize Action field is set to 001b (i.e., Exit Failure Mode).

-a <action>, --sanact=<action>

Sanitize Action:
Value Definition
0x00 Reserved
0x01 | exit-failure Exit Failure Mode
0x02 | start-block-erase Start a Block Erase sanitize operation
0x03 | start-overwrite Start an Overwrite sanitize operation
0x04 | start-crypto-erase Start a Crypto Erase sanitize operation
0x05 | exit-media-verification Exit Media Verification State

-p <overwrite-pattern>, --ovrpat=<overwrite-pattern>

Overwrite Pattern: This field is ignored unless the Sanitize Action field in Command Dword 10 is set to 011b (i.e., Overwrite). This field specifies a 32-bit pattern that is used for the Overwrite sanitize operation.

-e, --emvs

Enter Media Verification State: If set, then the Media Verification state shall be entered if sanitize processing completes successfully. If cleared, then this bit shall have no effect. If SANACT field does not specify starting a sanitize operation (i.e., is set to any value other than 010b, 011b, or 100b), then this bit shall be ignored by the controller.

--force

Ignore namespace is currently busy and performed the operation even though.

-w, --wait

Wait for the sanitize to finish

-r <repeat-count>, --repeat=<repeat-count>

Repeat for the multi cycle sanitization

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 <fmt>, --output-format=<fmt>

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

--output-format-version=<version>

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=<ms>

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). A command-line flag always overrides the file.

EXAMPLES

•Has the program issue Sanitize Command : 

# nvme sanitize /dev/nvme0 -a 0x02
# nvme sanitize /dev/nvme0 --sanact=0x01
# nvme sanitize /dev/nvme0 --sanact=start-overwrite

NVME

Part of the nvme-user suite.

07/31/2026 NVMe