ddrescue(1) User Commands ddrescue(1)
NAME
ddrescue - data recovery tool
SYNOPSIS
ddrescue [options] infile outfile [mapfile]
DESCRIPTION
GNU ddrescue is a data recovery tool. It copies data from one file or
block device (hard disc, cdrom, etc) to another, trying to rescue the
good parts first in case of read errors.
Always use a mapfile unless you know you won't need it. Without a
mapfile, ddrescue can't resume a rescue, only reinitiate it. Be careful
to not specify by mistake an old mapfile from an unrelated rescue.
NOTE: In versions of ddrescue prior to 1.20 the mapfile was called
'logfile'. The format is the same; only the name has changed.
If you reboot, check the device names before restarting ddrescue.
Don't use options '-F' or '-G' without reading the manual first.
OPTIONS
-h, --help
display this help and exit
-V, --version
output version information and exit
-a, --min-read-rate=<bytes>
minimum read rate of good areas in bytes/s
-A, --try-again
mark non-trimmed, non-scraped as non-tried
-b, --sector-size=<bytes>
sector size of input device [default 512]
-B, --binary-prefixes
show binary multipliers in numbers [SI]
-c, --cluster-size=<sectors>
sectors to copy at a time [128]
-C, --complete-only
don't read new data beyond mapfile limits
-d, --idirect
use direct disc access for input file
-D, --odirect
use direct disc access for output file
-e, --max-bad-areas=[+]<n>
maximum number of [new] bad areas allowed
-E, --max-error-rate=<bytes>
maximum allowed rate of read errors per second
-f, --force
overwrite output device or partition
-F, --fill-mode=<types>
fill blocks of given types with data (?*/-+l)
-G, --generate-mode
generate approximate mapfile from partial copy
-H, --test-mode=<file>
set map of good/bad blocks from given mapfile
-i, --input-position=<bytes>
starting position of domain in input file [0]
-I, --check-input-size
compare input file size with size in mapfile
-J, --check-on-error
reread latest good sector after every error
-K, --skip-size=[<i>][,<max>]
initial,maximum size to skip on read error
-L, --loose-domain
accept unordered domain mapfile with gaps
-m, --domain-mapfile=<file>
restrict domain to finished blocks in <file>
-M, --retrim
mark all failed blocks as non-trimmed
-n, --no-scrape
skip the scraping phase
-N, --no-trim
skip the trimming phase
-o, --output-position=<bytes>
starting position in output file [ipos]
-O, --reopen-on-error
reopen input file after every read error
-p, --preallocate
preallocate space on disc for output file
-P, --data-preview[=<lines>]
show some lines of the latest data read [3]
-q, --quiet
suppress all messages
-r, --retry-passes=<n>
exit after <n> retry passes (-1=infinity) [0]
-R, --reverse
reverse the direction of all passes
-s, --size=<bytes>
maximum size of input data to be copied
-S, --sparse
use sparse writes for output file
-t, --truncate
truncate output file to zero size
-T, --timeout=<interval>
maximum time since last successful read
-u, --unidirectional
run all passes in the same direction
-v, --verbose
be verbose (a 2nd -v gives more)
-w, --ignore-write-errors
make fill mode ignore write errors
-W, --compare-before-write
omit superfluous writes in rescue mode
-x, --extend-outfile=<bytes>
extend outfile size to be at least this long
-X, --max-read-errors=<n>
maximum number of read errors allowed
-y, --synchronous
use synchronous writes for output file
-Z, --max-read-rate=<bytes>
maximum read rate in bytes/s
--ask ask for confirmation before starting the copy
--bad-sector-data=<file>
treat sectors with <file> data as read errors
--command-mode
execute commands from standard input
--continue-on-errno=<n>[,<n>]
treat errno code <n> as non-fatal
--cpass=<range>
select what copying pass(es) to run
--delay-slow=<interval>
initial delay before checking slow reads [30]
--log-events=<file>
log significant events in <file>
--log-rates=<file>
log rates and error sizes in <file>
--log-reads=<file>
log all read operations in <file>
--mapfile-interval=[i][,i]
save/sync mapfile at given interval [auto]
--max-slow-reads=<n>
maximum number of slow reads allowed
--pause-on-error=<interval>
time to wait after each read error [0]
--pause-on-pass=<interval>
time to wait between passes [0]
--reset-slow
reset slow reads if rate rises above min
--same-file
allow infile and outfile to be the same file
Numbers may be in decimal, hexadecimal, or octal, and may be followed
by a multiplier: s = sectors, k = 1000, Ki = 1024, M = 10^6, Mi = 2^20,
etc... Time intervals have the format 1[.5][smhd] or 1/2[smhd].
Exit status: 0 for a normal exit, 1 for environmental problems (file
not found, invalid command-line options, I/O errors, etc), 2 to
indicate a corrupt or invalid input file, 3 for an internal consistency
error (e.g., bug) which caused ddrescue to panic.
REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs to bug-ddrescue@gnu.org
Ddrescue home page: http://www.gnu.org/software/ddrescue/ddrescue.html
General help using GNU software: http://www.gnu.org/gethelp
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (C) 2025 Antonio Diaz Diaz. License GPLv2+: GNU GPL version
2 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
SEE ALSO
The full documentation for ddrescue is maintained as a Texinfo manual.
If the info and ddrescue programs are properly installed at your site,
the command
info ddrescue
should give you access to the complete manual.
GNU ddrescue 1.29.1 March 2025 ddrescue(1)
ddrescue 1.29.1 - Generated Wed Apr 2 16:12:22 CDT 2025