# cryptsetup-erase

## NAME



           cryptsetup-erase, cryptsetup-luksErase - erase all keyslots
    


## SYNOPSIS



           **cryptsetup** _erase_ **[ <options>] <device>**
           **cryptsetup** _luksErase_ **[ <options>] <device>**
    


## DESCRIPTION



           Erase all keyslots, removing the volume key. Unless the device is
           configured with OPAL self-encrypting drive support, you do not
           need to provide any password for this operation.
    
           This operation is irreversible. Unless you have a header backup,
           all old encrypted data in the container will be permanently
           irretrievable. Header backup cannot be used to recover data from
           OPAL self-encrypting drives, as the keys are permanently removed
           from hardware.
    
           The **erase** does not wipe or overwrite the data area. It only
           removes all active keyslots from the LUKS device. See the
           cryptsetup FAQ for more information on how to wipe the whole
           device, including encrypted data.
    
           Note that the --hw-opal-factory-reset option for OPAL
           self-encrypting drive will erase ALL data on the drive, regardless
           of the partition it is run on.
    
           **< options> **can be [--header, --disable-locks,
           --hw-opal-factory-reset, --key-file].
    


## OPTIONS



           **--batch-mode** , **-q**
               Suppresses all confirmation questions. Use with care!
    
               If the --verify-passphrase option is not specified, this
               option also switches off the passphrase verification.
    
           **--debug** or **--debug-json**
               Run in debug mode with full diagnostic logs. Debug output
               lines are always prefixed by **#**.
    
               If --debug-json is used, additional LUKS2 JSON data structures
               are printed.
    
           **--disable-locks**
               Disable lock protection for metadata on disk. This option is
               valid only for LUKS2 and is ignored for other formats.
    
               **WARNING:** Do not use this option unless you run cryptsetup in a
               restricted environment where locking is impossible to perform
               (where /run directory cannot be used).
    
           **--header** _< device or file storing the LUKS header>_
               Use to specify a detached LUKS2 header when erasing OPAL
               self-encrypting drive.
    
           **--help** , **-?**
               Show help text and default parameters.
    
           **--hw-opal-factory-reset**
               Erase **ALL** data on the OPAL self-encrypting drive. The option
               does not require a valid LUKS2 header to be present on the
               device to run. After providing the correct PSID via
               interactive prompt or via --key-file parameter the device is
               erased.
    
               PSID is usually printed on the OPAL drive label (either
               directly or as a QR code). PSID must be entered without any
               dashes, spaces or underscores.
    
               PSID should be treated as sensitive information as it allows
               anyone with remote access to the OPAL drive to destroy data
               even if the device is locked. Be sure you do not leak PSID
               through transparent packaging during transport or images of
               the drive posted online.
    
           **--key-file** , **-d** _file_ (LUKS2 with HW OPAL only)
               Read the Admin PIN or PSID (with --hw-opal-factory-reset) from
               the file, depending on options used.
    
               If the name given is "-", then the secret will be read from
               stdin. In this case, reading will not stop at newline
               characters.
    
           **--usage**
               Show short option help.
    
           **--version** , **-V**
               Show the program version.
    


## CRYPTSETUP



           Part of cryptsetup project
           <https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup/>. This page is part of
           the _Cryptsetup_ ((open-source disk encryption)) project.
           Information about the project can be found at 
           ⟨https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup⟩. If you have a bug
           report for this manual page, send it to dm-crypt@saout.de. This
           page was obtained from the project's upstream Git repository
           ⟨https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup.git⟩ on 2025-08-11. (At
           that time, the date of the most recent commit that was found in
           the repository was 2025-08-01.) If you discover any rendering
           problems in this HTML version of the page, or you believe there is
           a better or more up-to-date source for the page, or you have
           corrections or improvements to the information in this COLOPHON
           (which is _not_ part of the original manual page), send a mail to
           man-pages@man7.org
    
    cryptsetup 2.8.1-git            2025-08-09            _CRYPTSETUP-ERASE_(8)
    


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