CommandmacOS

diskutil

diskutil verb [options] [disk/volume identifier]

macOS's command-line utility for inspecting, partitioning, formatting, mounting, and repairing disks and volumes — the CLI counterpart to the graphical Disk Utility app, and Apple's recommended tool over legacy Unix disk utilities.

// FLAGS

listshow every attached disk and its partitions

infoshow detailed information about a specific disk or volume

eraseDiskerase and reformat an entire disk

unmountDiskunmount every volume on a disk (needed before physically ejecting it)

verifyDisk / repairDiskcheck or repair a disk's partition map and filesystem

// EXAMPLE

diskutil list — lists every attached disk and its partitions with identifiers like /dev/disk2s1.

// GOTCHA

diskutil operates at either the whole-disk or single-partition identifier level (e.g. disk2 vs. disk2s1) — running a disk-level verb like eraseDisk against a partition identifier instead of the whole-disk identifier does something different than intended, and vice versa.

// RELATED COMMANDS

fdisk mount umount