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Disk and Storage

dd

Copies bytes between files or devices.

dd performs low-level byte copying and conversion. It is powerful for disk images and equally powerful at destroying data.

Syntax
dd if=input of=output [options]

Arguments explained

  • Options adjust output or behavior.
  • Arguments name the files, services, hosts, or values the command should work with.

Common examples

Write an image to USB
sudo dd if=linux.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync

Writes an ISO image to a whole USB device. Replace /dev/sdX carefully.

Create a zero-filled file
dd if=/dev/zero of=test.img bs=1M count=100

Creates a 100 MB file.

dd Command
FieldDetails
Commanddd
CategoryDisk and Storage
Primary useCopies bytes between files or devices.
Syntaxdd if=input of=output [options]

Related articles

lsblk

Lists block devices in a tree.

cp

Copies files and directories.

cat

Prints and concatenates file contents.