{
  "slug": "zfs-bookmark",
  "term": "ZFS bookmark",
  "aliases": [
    "OpenZFS bookmark"
  ],
  "definition": "A ZFS bookmark is a snapshot-history reference that can anchor an incremental send without exposing the snapshot's file contents.",
  "note": "A bookmark survives removal of its source snapshot. It cannot be read or cloned as that snapshot can. [concepts] Creating one requires the bookmarks pool feature. [bookmark]",
  "advantages": [],
  "limitations": [
    {
      "text": "For an ordinary incremental receive, the destination's most recent snapshot must match the stream's source snapshot.",
      "citationIds": [
        "receive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "snapshot",
    "incremental-backup",
    "zfs-receive-resume-token"
  ],
  "citations": [
    {
      "id": "concepts",
      "title": "OpenZFS v2.3: zfsconcepts(7), bookmarks and snapshots",
      "url": "https://openzfs.github.io/openzfs-docs/man/v2.3/7/zfsconcepts.7.html",
      "accessed": "2026-10-18"
    },
    {
      "id": "bookmark",
      "title": "OpenZFS v2.3: zfs-bookmark(8)",
      "url": "https://openzfs.github.io/openzfs-docs/man/v2.3/8/zfs-bookmark.8.html",
      "accessed": "2026-10-18"
    },
    {
      "id": "receive",
      "title": "OpenZFS v2.3: zfs-receive(8), incremental and raw receives",
      "url": "https://openzfs.github.io/openzfs-docs/man/v2.3/8/zfs-receive.8.html",
      "accessed": "2026-10-18"
    },
    {
      "id": "hesela-recovery",
      "title": "Hesela: Snapshots and backups: which failures can you recover from?",
      "url": "https://hesela.com/analyses/snapshot-backup-recovery-boundaries/",
      "accessed": "2026-10-18"
    }
  ],
  "status": "shipping",
  "supersedes": [],
  "supersededBy": [],
  "firstSeen": null,
  "lastSeen": null,
  "updated": "2026-10-18",
  "provenance": [
    "Version scope: OpenZFS v2.3 documentation; no pool or recovery experiment."
  ]
}