MT(1) User Commands MT(1)

mt - magnetic tape utility

mt [-v] [-f device] command [count]

The mt command performs certain control operations on tape devices. If no device is specified with the -f option and the TAPE environment is not set, the device /dev/rmt/c0s0n is used.

The command argument may be one of:

Erase the entire tape.
Rewind the tape.
Rewind the tape, then wind it to the end of reel, and rewind it again.
Write a file mark at the current position.
Seek past the next file mark.
Seek back over the previous file mark.
Seek forward to next record.
Seek backward to previous record.
Seek past the end of written data.
Rewind the tape and place the tape unit offline.
Report the status of the tape device.

The optional count argument specifies the number of blocks or records to seek, marks to be written, etc.

The -v option causes mt to report the status of the tape device.

Used as tape device if no device argument is given on the command line.
1/15/04 Heirloom Toolchest