{
  "slug": "nvme-format-nvm",
  "term": "NVMe Format NVM",
  "aliases": [
    "Format NVM"
  ],
  "definition": "NVMe Format NVM is an administrative command that selects a supported media format and can request secure erasure.",
  "note": "For the NVM Command Set, formatting selects logical-block format, metadata placement and protection-information settings. This is not filesystem creation.\n\nSecure Erase Settings (SES) distinguish no secure erase (0), User Data Erase (1) and Cryptographic Erase (2). User Data Erase may use cryptographic erase when all affected data is encrypted. SES=0 does not make formatting nondestructive.\n\nScope depends on SES, Format NVM Attributes (FNA) and NSID. A selected namespace does not always confine the operation. The companion analysis explains the scope matrix; verify device capabilities before any destructive action.",
  "status": "shipping",
  "advantages": [],
  "limitations": [
    {
      "text": "Device names alone do not establish controller-to-namespace relationships.",
      "citationIds": [
        "nvme-format-v211"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "secure-erase",
    "sanitize-nvme"
  ],
  "supersedes": [],
  "supersededBy": [],
  "firstSeen": null,
  "lastSeen": null,
  "citations": [
    {
      "id": "nvme-2-0e",
      "title": "NVM Express Base Specification 2.0e, section 5.14 and Identify Controller FNA field",
      "url": "https://nvmexpress.org/wp-content/uploads/NVM-Express-Base-Specification-2.0e-2024.07.29-Ratified.pdf",
      "accessed": "2026-10-21"
    },
    {
      "id": "nvme-nvm-1-0e",
      "title": "NVM Express NVM Command Set Specification 1.0e, section 4.1.2",
      "url": "https://nvmexpress.org/wp-content/uploads/NVM-Express-NVM-Command-Set-Specification-1.0e-2024.07.29-Ratified.pdf",
      "accessed": "2026-10-21"
    },
    {
      "id": "nvme-format-v211",
      "title": "linux-nvme/nvme-cli v2.11: Format NVM documentation",
      "url": "https://github.com/linux-nvme/nvme-cli/blob/v2.11/Documentation/nvme-format.txt",
      "accessed": "2026-10-21"
    }
  ],
  "updated": "2026-10-21",
  "provenance": [
    "Specification review, not a hardware erasure test. The cited revisions are a reference baseline, not a latest-version claim."
  ]
}