Given a device or disk-image, *partx* tries to parse the partition table and list its contents. It can also tell the kernel to add or remove partitions from its bookkeeping.
The _disk_ argument is optional when a _partition_ argument is provided. To force scanning a partition as if it were a whole disk (for example to list nested subpartitions), use the argument "-" (hyphen-minus). For example:
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partx --show - /dev/sda3
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This will see sda3 as a whole-disk rather than as a partition.
*partx is not an fdisk program* - adding and removing partitions does not change the disk, it just tells the kernel about the presence and numbering of on-disk partitions.
Delete the specified partitions or all partitions. It is not error to remove non-existing partitions, so this option is possible to use together with large *--nr* ranges without care about the current partitions set on the device.
List the partitions. Note that all numbers are in 512-byte sectors. This output format is DEPRECATED in favour of *--show*. Do not use it in newly written scripts.
Specify the range of partitions. For backward compatibility also the format __M__**-**_N_ is supported. The range may contain negative numbers, for example *--nr -1:-1* means the last partition, and *--nr -2:-1* means the last two partitions. Supported range specifications are:
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_M_;;
Specifies just one partition (e.g. *--nr 3*).
__M__**:**;;
Specifies the lower limit only (e.g. *--nr 2:*).
**:**__N__;;
Specifies the upper limit only (e.g. *--nr :4*).
__M__**:**_N_;;
Specifies the lower and upper limits (e.g. *--nr 2:4*).
Define the output columns to use for *--show*, *--pairs* and *--raw* output. If no output arrangement is specified, then a default set is used. Use *--help* to get _list_ of all supported columns. This option cannot be combined with the *--add*, *--delete*, *--update* or *--list* options.