| -c--no-create | do not create any files |
| -o--io-blocks | treat SIZE as number of IO blocks instead of bytes |
| -r--reference | base size on RFILE |
| -s--size | set or adjust the file size by SIZE bytes |
| --help | display this help and exit |
| --version | output version information and exit |
NAME
truncate - shrink or extend the size of a file to the specified size
SYNOPSIS
truncateOPTION... FILE...
DESCRIPTION
Shrink or extend the size of each FILE to the specified size
A FILE argument that does not exist is created.
If a FILE is larger than the specified size, the extra data is lost. If a FILE is shorter, it is extended and the sparse extended part (hole) reads as zero bytes.
Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.
- -c, --no-create
do not create any files
- -o, --io-blocks
treat SIZE as number of IO blocks instead of bytes
- -r, --reference=RFILE
base size on RFILE
- -s, --size=SIZE
set or adjust the file size by SIZE bytes
- --help
display this help and exit
- --version
output version information and exit
The SIZE argument is an integer and optional unit (example: 10K is 10*1024). Units are K,M,G,T,P,E,Z,Y,R,Q (powers of 1024) or KB,MB,... (powers of 1000). Binary prefixes can be used, too: KiB=K, MiB=M, and so on.
SIZE may also be prefixed by one of the following modifying characters: '+' extend by, '-' reduce by, '<' at most, '>' at least, '/' round down to multiple of, '%' round up to multiple of.
AUTHOR
Written by Padraig Brady.
REPORTING BUGS
GNU coreutils online help: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/> Report any translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/>
SEE ALSO
dd(1), truncate(2), ftruncate(2)
Full documentation <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/truncate> or available locally via: info '(coreutils) truncate invocation'
Packaged by Debian (9.7-3) Copyright © 2025 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://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.