---
name: "ntfstruncate"
section: "8"
platform: "linux"
package: "ntfsprogs"
version: "2026.9.28-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/ntfstruncate"
---

# ntfstruncate(8)

truncate a file on an NTFS volume

## NAME

ntfstruncate - truncate a file on an NTFS volume

## SYNOPSIS

**ntfstruncate** \[*options*\] *device* *file* *\[attr-type* \[*attr-name*\]\] *new-length*

## DESCRIPTION

**ntfstruncate** truncates (or extends) a specified attribute belonging to a file or directory, to a specified length.

## OPTIONS

Below is a summary of all the options that **ntfstruncate** accepts.  Nearly all options have two equivalent names.  The short name is preceded by **-** and the long name is preceded by **--**. Any single letter options, that don't take an argument, can be combined into a single command, e.g. **-fv** is equivalent to **-f -v**. Long named options can be abbreviated to any unique prefix of their name.

- **-f**, **--force**

  This will override some sensible defaults, such as not using a mounted volume. Use this option with caution.

- **-h**, **--help**

  Show a list of options with a brief description of each one.

- **-l**

  Display licensing information.

- **-n**, **--no-action**

  Simulate the truncation without actually write to device.

- **-q**, **--quiet**

  Suppress some debug/warning/error messages.

- **-v**, **--verbose**

  Display more debug/warning/error messages.

- **-V**, **--version**

  Show the version number, copyright and license of **ntfstruncate**.

- **attr-type**

  Define a particular attribute type to be truncated (advanced use only). By default, the unnamed $DATA attribute (the contents of a plain file) will be truncated. The attribute has to be specified by a number in decimal or hexadecimal :

  | | | |
  | --- | --- | --- |
  | **Hex** | **Decimal** | **Name** |
  | 0x10 | 16 | "$STANDARD\_INFORMATION" |
  | 0x20 | 32 | "$ATTRIBUTE\_LIST" |
  | 0x30 | 48 | "$FILE\_NAME" |
  | 0x40 | 64 | "$OBJECT\_ID" |
  | 0x50 | 80 | "$SECURITY\_DESCRIPTOR" |
  | 0x60 | 96 | "$VOLUME\_NAME" |
  | 0x70 | 112 | "$VOLUME\_INFORMATION" |
  | 0x80 | 128 | "$DATA" |
  | 0x90 | 144 | "$INDEX\_ROOT" |
  | 0xA0 | 160 | "$INDEX\_ALLOCATION" |
  | 0xB0 | 176 | "$BITMAP" |
  | 0xC0 | 192 | "$REPARSE\_POINT" |
  | 0xD0 | 208 | "$EA\_INFORMATION" |
  | 0xE0 | 224 | "$EA" |
  | 0xF0 | 240 | "$PROPERTY\_SET" |
  | 0x100 | 256 | "$LOGGED\_UTILITY\_STREAM" |

- **attr-name**

  Define the name of the particular attribute type to be truncated (advanced use only).

- **new-length**

  Specify the target size of the file. It will be rounded up to a multiple of the cluster size. A suffix of K, M, G, T, P or E may be appended to mean a multiplicative factor of a power of 1000. Similarly a suffix of Ki, Mi, Gi, Ti, Pi or Ei may be appended to mean a multiplicative factor of a power of 1024.

## EXAMPLES

Resize to 100MB the file database.db located in the Data directory which is at the root of an NTFS file system.

**ntfstruncate /dev/sda1 Data/database.db 100M**

## BUGS

There are no known problems with **ntfstruncate**. If you find a bug, please send an email describing the problem to the development team:\
 ntfs-3g-devel@lists.sf.net

## AUTHORS

**ntfstruncate** was written by Anton Altaparmakov.

## AVAILABILITY

**ntfstruncate** is part of the **ntfs-3g** package and is available from:\
 https://github.com/tuxera/ntfs-3g/wiki/

## SEE ALSO

[**ntfs-3g**(8)](/ntfs-3g/8.md), [**ntfsfallocate**(8)](/ntfsfallocate/8.md), [**ntfsprogs**(8)](/ntfsprogs/8.md).