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fsync · shipping · also fsync()

fsync

fsync is a file-synchronization operation that requests persistence of a file's modified data and associated metadata before reporting completion.

On Linux, syncing the file does not necessarily persist its containing directory entry; the directory needs its own sync. fdatasync may omit metadata unnecessary for retrieving the data. A failed sync must be treated as an unresolved durability event, not silently replaced by a later successful return.

Relations

related
crash-consistency, writeback-error, write-back-cache

Citations

  1. Linux man-pages 6.19: fsync(2) (accessed 2026-10-10)
  2. Hesela: Why retrying a failed fsync does not prove durability (accessed 2026-10-10)

JSON: /data/terms/fsync.json