{
  "status": "shipping",
  "advantages": [],
  "limitations": [],
  "supersedes": [],
  "supersededBy": [],
  "firstSeen": null,
  "lastSeen": null,
  "updated": "2026-10-21",
  "slug": "refs-integrity-streams",
  "term": "ReFS integrity streams",
  "aliases": [
    "ReFS file-data checksums"
  ],
  "definition": "ReFS integrity streams maintain checksums for selected file data, enabling validation during reads and background integrity scans.",
  "note": "Settings are inherited from parent directories. The integrity scrubber can validate file contents only where integrity streams are enabled. Checksum processing and allocate-on-write can add workload-dependent costs. [refs-streams]\n\nGet-FileIntegrity reports Enabled and Enforced separately. Enforced concerns blocking access after corruption is detected, not whether checksums exist; the documented output includes Enabled=False with Enforced=True. The Set-FileIntegrity Enforce parameter controls blocking, and setting it true also enables integrity. [refs-get] [refs-set]\n\nDo not assume a universal default: the integrity overview describes file-data checksums as disabled by default, while format /I documents enabling integrity by default on storage supporting redundancy. Inspect the relevant file's settings. [refs-streams] [refs-format]\n\nThe Win32 integrity-query result separates ChecksumAlgorithm from enforcement Flags and reports ChecksumChunkSizeInBytes and ClusterSizeInBytes independently. Configuration fields are not a record of a completed payload scan. [refs-get-buffer]",
  "related": [
    "refs",
    "checksum",
    "data-scrubbing",
    "btrfs-nodatasum",
    "copy-on-write",
    "reflink"
  ],
  "citations": [
    {
      "id": "refs-streams",
      "title": "Microsoft Learn: ReFS integrity streams, inheritance and scrub coverage",
      "url": "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/refs/integrity-streams",
      "accessed": "2026-10-21"
    },
    {
      "id": "refs-get",
      "title": "Microsoft Learn: Get-FileIntegrity (Windows Server 2025 Storage module)",
      "url": "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/storage/get-fileintegrity?view=windowsserver2025-ps",
      "accessed": "2026-10-21"
    },
    {
      "id": "refs-set",
      "title": "Microsoft Learn: Set-FileIntegrity, Enable and Enforce parameters",
      "url": "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/storage/set-fileintegrity?view=windowsserver2025-ps",
      "accessed": "2026-10-21"
    },
    {
      "id": "refs-format",
      "title": "Microsoft Learn: format, ReFS /I default on redundant storage",
      "url": "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/format",
      "accessed": "2026-10-21"
    },
    {
      "id": "refs-get-buffer",
      "title": "Microsoft Learn: FSCTL_GET_INTEGRITY_INFORMATION_BUFFER fields",
      "url": "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/winioctl/ns-winioctl-fsctl_get_integrity_information_buffer",
      "accessed": "2026-10-21"
    }
  ],
  "provenance": [
    "Documentation review, not a measured ReFS failure rate or a Windows command execution. The settings query does not constitute a payload scan."
  ]
}