Partitioning on the Linux command line (CLI)

Partitioning information in the official Alpine Linux User’s Handbook

• For this guide we only consider two types of install: BIOS to ‘msdos’-type partition table (disklabel) and UEFI to gpt partition table.
• While other options are possible, we are trying to avoid too many options. Many options is not only confusing but it is a lot more to document and keep up to date.

Using parted

Easiest of the command line options, but requires adding a package on Alpine and others (some distros include parted by default, others do not).

• Setup network required for installation of needed packages

• Install the partitioner and a tool to help identify the correct device to use

  apk add parted lsblk
  

• List block devices to see the disks currently available

  parted -l
  

  Would show something like:

  Model: ATA CT1000BX100SSD1 (scsi)
  Disk /dev/sda: 1000GB
  Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
  Partition Table: msdos
  Disk Flags:
  
  Number  Start  End  Size  Type  File system  Flags
  
  Model: CHIPSBNK v3.3.9.6 (scsi)
  Disk /dev/sdb: 2096MB
  Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
  Partition Table: msdos
  Disk Flags:
  
  Number  Start  End     Size    Type     File system  Flags
   2      154kB  1628kB  1475kB  primary               boot, esp
  

• Alternatively, using lsblk

  lsblk -o NAME,KNAME,PATH,FSTYPE,FSAVAIL,FSROOTS,LABEL
  

  Would show something like:

  NAME   KNAME PATH       FSTYPE   FSAVAIL FSROOTS LABEL
  loop0  loop0 /dev/loop0 squashfs       0 /
  sda    sda   /dev/sda
  sdb    sdb   /dev/sdb   iso9660        0 /       alpine-std 3.15.4 x86_64
  └─sdb2 sdb2  /dev/sdb2  vfat
  sr0    sr0   /dev/sr0
  

• The iso9660 is the CD image we ‘burned’ to usb in this case, so /dev/sdb is the install media. That means /dev/sda is the internal hard drive to which we wish to install. If we had boot from an actual CD-ROM we would see the iso9660 on /dev/sr0 and there would be little chance of confusion with the hard drive.

• This leads to a parted session, on x86_64, such as

  parted /dev/sda
  mkpart primary fat32 1 1G
  toggle 1 esp
  quit
  

• On Raspberry Pi we must do this stage on another system, as discussed in the

• articles on the topic.

• List the resulting block devices

  lsblk -o NAME,KNAME,PATH,FSTYPE,FSAVAIL,FSROOTS,LABEL
  

  Giving something like

    NAME   KNAME PATH       FSTYPE   FSAVAIL FSROOTS LABEL
  loop0  loop0 /dev/loop0 squashfs       0 /
  sda    sda   /dev/sda
  └─sda1 sda1  /dev/sda1  vfat
  sdb    sdb   /dev/sdb   iso9660        0 /       alpine-std 3.15.4 x86_64
  └─sdb2 sdb2  /dev/sdb2  vfat
  sr0    sr0   /dev/sr0
  

Using fdisk

Available on many distributions as part of the core install. Not suitable for setting up a UEFI install when using the fdisk version baked into the boot media in Alpine (it is a very limited version of fdisk).

TODO: show how format hard drive using fdisk on rescue media

Using sfdisk

Also requires adding a package, but can be automated more easily than parted or fdisk.

• Setup network required for installation of needed packages
• TODO: Show how to use sfdisk