mkdosfs

creates MS-DOS FAT filesystems

TLDR

Create FAT filesystem

$ mkdosfs [/dev/sdb1]

Create FAT32

$ mkdosfs -F [32] [/dev/sdb1]

Create FAT16

$ mkdosfs -F [16] [/dev/sdb1]

Set volume label

$ mkdosfs -n "[LABEL]" [/dev/sdb1]

Verbose output

$ mkdosfs -v [/dev/sdb1]

Create a FAT filesystem in an image file

$ mkdosfs -C [disk.img] [size_in_blocks]

Check for bad blocks

$ mkdosfs -c [/dev/sdb1]

SYNOPSIS

mkdosfs [options] device

DESCRIPTION

mkdosfs creates MS-DOS FAT filesystems. It formats devices with FAT12, FAT16, or FAT32.The tool is also known as mkfs.fat. Used for USB drives and compatibility.

PARAMETERS

DEVICE

Block device or image file.

-F SIZE

FAT size (12, 16, or 32).

-n LABEL

Volume label.

-c

Check for bad blocks before creating filesystem.

-C

Create the file given as DEVICE and write the filesystem to it (for image files).

-I

Allow formatting the entire disk device without a partition table (superfloppy format).

-s SECTORS

Number of disk sectors per cluster (must be a power of 2).

-S SIZE

Number of bytes per logical sector (512, 1024, 2048, etc.).

-v

Verbose output.

--help

Display help information.

INSTALL

sudo apt install dosfstools

sudo dnf install dosfstools

sudo pacman -S dosfstools

sudo apk add dosfstools

sudo zypper install dosfstools

brew install dosfstools

nix profile install nixpkgs#dosfstools

CAVEATS

Destroys existing data. Choose correct FAT type. Root required.

HISTORY

mkdosfs is part of dosfstools, providing FAT filesystem creation on Linux.