The e4defrag command in Linux is a command-line utility that is used to defragment ext4 file systems. This command can be used to optimize the performance of an ext4 file system by rearranging the files and directories on the file system to improve the efficiency of read and write operations. The e4defrag command can defragment both regular files and directories, and it can be run on unmounted file system.
If you encounter the below error while running the command e4defrag:
e4defrag: command not found
you may try installing the below package as per your choice of distribution:
| Distribution | Command |
|---|---|
| Debian | apt-get install e2fsprogs |
| Ubuntu | apt-get install e2fsprogs |
| Alpine | apk add e2fsprogs |
| Arch Linux | pacman -S e2fsprogs |
| Kali Linux | apt-get install e2fsprogs |
| CentOS | yum install e2fsprogs |
| Fedora | dnf install e2fsprogs |
| OS X | brew install e2fsprogs |
| Raspbian | apt-get install e2fsprogs |
e4defrag Command Examples
1. Defragment the filesystem:
# e4defrag /dev/sdXN
2. See how fragmented a filesystem is:
# e4defrag -c /dev/sdXN
3. Print errors and the fragmentation count before and after each file:
# e4defrag -v /dev/sdXN