cryptsetup-luksHeaderBackup(8) — Linux manual page

NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | OPTIONS | REPORTING BUGS | SEE ALSO | CRYPTSETUP

CRYPTSETU...ADERBACKUP(8)  Maintenance Commands CRYPTSETU...ADERBACKUP(8)

NAME         top

       cryptsetup-luksHeaderBackup - store a binary backup of the LUKS
       header and keyslot area

SYNOPSIS         top

       cryptsetup luksHeaderBackup --header-backup-file <file>
       [<options>] <device>

DESCRIPTION         top

       Stores a binary backup of the LUKS header and keyslot area.

       Using '-' as a filename writes the header backup to a file named
       '-'.

       The backup file and a passphrase valid at the time of backup allow
       decryption of the LUKS data area, even if the passphrase was later
       changed or removed from the LUKS device. Note that with a header
       backup, you lose the ability to wipe the LUKS device securely by
       just overwriting the header and keyslots. You must either securely
       erase all header backups or overwrite the encrypted data area.

       <options> can be [--header, --header-backup-file,
       --disable-locks].

OPTIONS         top

       --batch-mode, -q
           Suppresses all confirmation questions. Use with care!

           If the --verify-passphrase option is not specified, this
           option also switches off the passphrase verification.

       --debug or --debug-json
           Run in debug mode with full diagnostic logs. Debug output
           lines are always prefixed by #.

           If --debug-json is used, additional LUKS2 JSON data structures
           are printed.

       --disable-locks
           Disable lock protection for metadata on disk. This option is
           valid only for LUKS2 and is ignored for other formats.

           WARNING: Do not use this option unless you run cryptsetup in a
           restricted environment where locking is impossible to perform
           (where /run directory cannot be used).

       --header <device or file storing the LUKS header>
           Use a detached (separated) metadata device or file where the
           LUKS header is stored. This option allows one to store the
           ciphertext and LUKS header on different devices.

           For commands that change the LUKS header (e.g., luksAddKey),
           specify the device or file with the LUKS header directly as
           the LUKS device.

       --header-backup-file file
           Specify a file with the header backup file.

       --help, -?
           Show help text and default parameters.

       --usage
           Show short option help.

       --version, -V
           Show the program version.

REPORTING BUGS         top

       Report bugs at cryptsetup mailing list
       <cryptsetup@lists.linux.dev> or in Issues project section
       <https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup/-/issues/new>.

       Please attach the output of the failed command with --debug option
       added.

SEE ALSO         top

       Cryptsetup FAQ
       <https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup/wikis/FrequentlyAskedQuestions>

       cryptsetup(8), integritysetup(8) and veritysetup(8)

CRYPTSETUP         top

       Part of cryptsetup project
       <https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup/>. This page is part of
       the Cryptsetup ((open-source disk encryption)) project.
       Information about the project can be found at 
       ⟨https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup⟩. If you have a bug
       report for this manual page, send it to dm-crypt@saout.de. This
       page was obtained from the project's upstream Git repository
       ⟨https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup.git⟩ on 2025-08-11. (At
       that time, the date of the most recent commit that was found in
       the repository was 2025-08-01.) If you discover any rendering
       problems in this HTML version of the page, or you believe there is
       a better or more up-to-date source for the page, or you have
       corrections or improvements to the information in this COLOPHON
       (which is not part of the original manual page), send a mail to
       man-pages@man7.org

cryptsetup 2.8.1-git            2025-08-09      CRYPTSETU...ADERBACKUP(8)

Pages that refer to this page: cryptsetup(8)