> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://darkwebinformer.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # dwipe: A tool to securely and efficiently wipe devices and partiitions for Linux - URL: https://darkwebinformer.com/dwipe-a-tool-to-securely-and-efficiently-wipe-devices-and-partiitions-for-linux/ - Published: 2026-01-06T17:15:27.000Z - Updated: 2026-01-06T20:08:06.000Z - Author: Dark Web Informer - Tags: Tools --- GitHub: --- # dwipe [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#dwipe) `dwipe` is a tool to wipe disks and partitions for Linux to help secure your data. `dwipe` aims to reduce mistakes by providing ample information about your devices during selection. 0:00 /1:50 1× ### Quick Comparison [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#quick-comparison) | Feature | dwipe | nwipe | shred | dd | | -------------------------------------- | ----- | ----- | ----- | -- | | Interactive TUI | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | | Multiple simultaneous wipes | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | | Hot-swap detection | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | | Device/partition locking | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | | Persistent wipe state | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | | Resume interrupted wipes | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | | Wipe operation logging | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | | Mount detection/prevention | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | | Fast Statistical sampling verification | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | | Multi-pass wipe standards | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | | Full sequential verification | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | Certificate generation | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | > **Modern drives are reliably wiped with one pass of zeros**; just zero once in almost all cases for best, fastest results.`dwipe` offers Multi-pass and Rand modes as "checkbox" features, but those provide no additional security on drives manufactured after 2001 (NIST SP 800-88). ## **V2 Features** [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#v2-features) - **Statistical verification** \- Automatic or on-demand verification with intelligent pattern detection: - Fast-fail for zeros (fails on first non-zero byte) - Statistical analysis for random data to check for evidence of randomness - Smart sampling: divides disk into 100 sections, randomly samples each section to sample entire disk - Unmarked disk detection: can verify disks without filesystems and auto-detect if zeros/random - **Configurable verification percentage** \- Choose thoroughness: 0% (skip), 2%, 5%, 10%, 25%, 50%, or 100% (cycle with **V** key, persistent preference) - **Multi-pass wipe support** \- Choose 1, 2, or 4 wipe passes with alternating patterns for improved data destruction (cycle with **P** key, persistent preference) - **Inline wipe confirmation** \- Confirmation prompts appear below the selected device (no popup), keeping full context visible - **Configurable confirmation modes** \- Choose your safety level: single keypress (Y/y), typed confirmation (YES/yes), or device name (cycle with **c** key) - **Enhanced wipe history** \- Detailed log viewer (**h** key) shows wipe history with UUIDs, filesystems, labels, and percentages for stopped wipes - **Active wipe highlighting** \- In-progress wipes displayed in bright cyan/blue with elapsed time, remaining time, and transfer speed (0-100% write, 101-200% verify) - **Persistent user preferences** \- Theme, wipe mode (Rand/Zero/Rand+V/Zero+V), confirmation mode, verification %, and locked devices persist across sessions (saved to `~/.config/dwipe/state.json`) - **Individual partition locking** \- Lock individual partitions to prevent accidental wiping (previously only whole disks could be locked) - **Full terminal color themes** \- Complete themed color schemes with backgrounds, not just highlights (cycle with **t** key) - **Visual feedback improvements** \- Mounted and locked devices appear dimmed; active wipes are bright and prominent - **Smart device identification** \- Uses UUID/PARTUUID/serial numbers for stable device tracking across reconnections - **Screen-based navigation** \- Modern screen stack architecture with help screen (**?**) and history screen (**h**) - **Direct I/O to Disk** \- Wiping is done with direct I/O which is fast and avoid polluting your page cache. Writer threads are given lower than normal I/O priority to play nice with other apps. This makes stopping jobs fast and certain. - **Improved Handling of Bad Disks.** Now detects (sometimes corrects) write failures, slowdowns, excessive no progress, and reports/aborts hopeless or hopelessly slow wipes. ## **V2.x Features** [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#v2x-features) Features added since V2 deployed (may not be in latest demo): - **Port and Serial number**. Press `p` to toggle whether port and serial number is show; it adds another line per disk and you may want to use it selectively. ## Requirements [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#requirements) - **Linux operating system** (uses `/dev/`, `/sys/`, `/proc/` interfaces) - **Python 3.8 or higher** - **Root/sudo privileges** (automatically requested when you run the tool) - **lsblk utility** (usually pre-installed on most Linux distributions) ## Installation [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#installation) - **Recommended (using pipx):** `pipx install dwipe` - **Verify installation:** `dwipe --help` - **Uninstall:** `pipx uninstall dwipe` ## Quick Start [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#quick-start) 1. Install `dwipe` 2. Run `dwipe` from a terminal (`sudo` will be requested automatically) 3. Observe the context-sensitive help on the first line 4. Navigate with arrow keys or vi-like keys (j/k) 5. Press **?** for full help screen ## Features [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#features) `dwipe` provides comprehensive disk wiping capabilities with safety features: - **Smart device display** \- Shows disks and partitions with labels, sizes, types, and vendor/model information to help identify devices correctly - **Safety protections** \- Prevents wiping mounted devices, detects overlapping wipes, supports manual disk locking - **Hot-swap detection** \- Updates the device list when storage changes; newly added devices are marked with **^** to make them easy to spot - **Multiple simultaneous wipes** \- Start wipes on multiple devices at once, with individual progress tracking and completion states - **Flexible wipe modes** \- Choose between Rand, Zero, Rand+V (with auto-verify), or Zero+V (with auto-verify). Multi-pass modes alternate patterns for improved data destruction - **Persistent state tracking** \- Wipe status survives reboots; partially wiped (**s**) and completed (**W**) states are stored on the device - **Device filtering** \- Filter devices by name/pattern using regex in case of too many for one screen - **Stop capability** \- Stop individual wipes or all wipes in progress - **Disk locking** \- Manually lock disks to prevent accidental wipes (locks hide all partitions) - **Dry-run mode** \- Practice using the interface without risk using `--dry-run` > **Note:** `dwipe` shows file system labels, and if not available, the partition label. It is best practice to label partitions and file systems well to make selection easier. ## Usage [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#usage) Simply run `dwipe` from the command line without arguments: `dwipe` ### Color Legend [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#color-legend) `dwipe` uses color coding to provide instant visual feedback about device and operation status: - **Dimmed (gray)** \- Mounted or locked devices (cannot be wiped) - **Default (white)** \- Ready to wipe, idle state, or previously wiped (before this session) - **Bright cyan/blue + bold** \- Active wipe or verification in progress (0-100% write, v0-v100% verify) - **Bold yellow** \- Stopped or partially completed wipe - **Bold green** \- ✅ Successfully completed wipe in THIS session (ready to swap out!) - **Dimmer green** \- ✅ Successfully completed wipe in previous session . - **Bold orange** \- Newly inserted (hot-swapped) device - **Bold red** \- Destructive operation prompts (wipe confirmation) ### Color Themes [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#color-themes) `dwipe` supports multiple color themes for improved visibility and aesthetics. **Available themes:** - `default` \- Terminal Default (basic ANSI colors) - `dark-mono` \- Dark Mono (almost-white on almost-black with bright colors) - `light-mono` \- Light Mono (almost-black on almost-white with bright colors) - `solarized-dark` \- Solarized Dark palette - `solarized-light` \- Solarized Light palette (for light terminal backgrounds) - `gruvbox` \- Gruvbox Dark palette - `nord` \- Nord palette **Changing themes:** - Press **t** from the main screen to open the theme preview screen - The theme screen shows color examples for each color purpose (DANGER, SUCCESS, WARNING, etc.) - Press **t** while on the theme screen to cycle through available themes and preview them live - Press **ESC** or **ENTER** to return to the main screen - Selected theme is saved and persists across sessions **Theme features:** - Yellow/warning color for stopped wipes (state **s**) - highly visible even when not selected - Red/danger color for wipe confirmation prompts - Coordinated color palettes designed for terminal readability ### Device State Values [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#device-state-values) The **STATE** column shows the current status of each device: | State | Meaning | | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **\-** | Device is ready for wiping | | **^** | Device is ready for wiping AND was added after dwipe started (hot-swapped) | | **Mnt** | Partition is mounted or disk has mounted partitions - cannot be wiped | | **N%** | Wipe is in progress (shows percentage complete, 0-100%) | | **vN%** | Verification is in progress (shows percentage complete, v0-v100%) | | **STOP** | Wipe or verification is being stopped | | **s** | Wipe was stopped - device is partially wiped (can restart or verify) | | **W** | Wipe was completed successfully (can wipe again or verify) | | **Lock** | Disk is manually locked - partitions are hidden and cannot be wiped | | **Unlk** | Disk was just unlocked (transitory state) | ### Available Actions [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#available-actions) The top line shows available actions. Some are context-sensitive (only available for certain devices): | Key | Action | Description | | -------------- | ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **w** | wipe | Wipe the selected device (requires confirmation) | | **v** | verify | Verify a wiped device or detect pattern on unmarked disk (context-sensitive) | | **s** | stop | Stop the selected wipe in progress (context-sensitive) | | **S** | Stop All | Stop all wipes in progress | | **l** | lock/unlock | Lock or unlock a disk to prevent accidental wiping | | **q** or **x** | quit | Quit the application (stops all wipes first) | | **?** | help | Show help screen with all actions and navigation keys | | **h** | history | Show wipe history log | | **/** | filter | Filter devices by regex pattern (shows matching devices + all active wipes) | | **ESC** | clear filter | Clear the filter and jump to top of list | | **m** | mode | Cycle wipe mode: Rand, Zero, Rand+V, Zero+V (saved as preference) | | **P** | passes | Cycle wipe passes: 1, 2, or 4 (saved as preference) | | **V** | verify % | Cycle verification percentage: 0%, 2%, 5%, 10%, 25%, 50%, 100% (saved as preference) | | **c** | confirmation | Cycle confirmation mode: Y, y, YES, yes, device name (saved as preference) | | **d** | dirty limit | Cycle dirty page limit: 0, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 MB (saved as preference) | | **D** | dense | Toggle dense/spaced view (saved as preference) | | **t** | themes | Open theme preview screen to view and change color themes | ### Wipe Modes [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#wipe-modes) `dwipe` supports four wipe modes (cycle with **m** key): - **Zero** \- Fills the device with zeros (multi-pass alternates random/zero patterns, ending on zeros) - **Zero+V** \- Same as Zero, but automatically verifies after wipe completes (if verify % > 0) - **Rand** \- Fills the device with random data (multi-pass alternates zero/random patterns, ending on random) - **Rand+V** \- Same as Rand, but automatically verifies after wipe completes (if verify % > 0) The `+V` suffix indicates automatic verification after wipe completion. Without `+V`, you can still manually verify by pressing **v** on a wiped device. > **Note:** Multi-pass wipes (2 or 4 passes) alternate between zero and random patterns to ensure different bit patterns physically overwrite the disk, ending on your selected mode. ### Resuming Stopped Wipes [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#resuming-stopped-wipes) Stopped wipes (state **s**) can be resumed by pressing **w** on the device: **How Resume Works:** - Preserves the original wipe mode (Rand or Zero) from when the wipe was started - Uses the **current** passes setting to determine how much more to write - Continues from the exact byte offset where it stopped (rounded to buffer boundary) - Smart validation ensures interrupted wipes resume with correct pattern integrity **Resume Examples:** | Stopped At | Current Passes | What Happens | | ---------------------- | -------------- | --------------------------------------------- | | 50% | 1 pass | Resumes: writes remaining 50% | | 150% (1.5 of 4 passes) | 1 pass | Already complete (150% > 100%) | | 150% (1.5 of 4 passes) | 4 passes | Resumes: writes 2.5 more passes (150% → 400%) | | 100% (1 pass complete) | 2 passes | Resumes: writes pass 2 (100% → 200%) | **Benefits:** - Change passes setting before resuming to finish faster (reduce) or add more passes (increase) - No need to restart from beginning - Progress marker updated every 30 seconds, so resume works even after crashes or power loss - Automatic validation prevents corrupted final patterns ### Verification Strategy [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#verification-strategy) `dwipe` uses intelligent verification with statistical analysis and fast-fail optimizations: **Smart Sampling:** - Divides disk into 100 equal sections - Randomly samples configurable percentage (0%, 2%, 5%, 10%, 25%, 50%, 100%) from EACH section - Ensures complete disk coverage even with 2% verification - Change verification percentage with **V** key (saved as preference) **Pattern Detection:** - **Zero verification**: Fails immediately on first non-zero byte (fast!) - **Random verification**: Statistical analysis of byte distribution - Tests if byte distribution is uniform (all byte values 0-255 appear fairly equally) - Fast-fails periodically if non-random pattern detected - Checks for evidence of randomness to distinguish from structured data **Verification Modes:** 1. **Automatic verification** (after wipe): Use a mode with `+V` suffix (Rand+V or Zero+V) and set verify % > 0 2. **Manual verification** (press **v**): Verify previously wiped devices or detect pattern on unmarked disks (requires verify % > 0) 3. **Unmarked disk detection**: Can verify disks with no filesystem to detect if all zeros or random - If passes, writes marker as if disk had been wiped - Useful for detecting pre-wiped drives or verifying manufacturer erasure **Verification States:** - ✓ (green checkmark) - Verification passed - ✗ (red X) - Verification failed - No symbol - Not verified - During verify: **vN%** shows progress (v0% to v100%) **Why statistical sampling is better than sequential:** - 2% verification with 100 sections provides better coverage than 2% sequential read - Detects problems faster (could hit bad sector in early sections) - Statistical analysis actually validates randomness (sequential can't do this) - Much faster than 100% sequential verification ### Progress Information [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#progress-information) When wiping a device, `dwipe` displays: - **Elapsed time** \- Time since wipe started (e.g., 1m18s) - **Remaining time** \- Estimated time to completion (e.g., -3m6s) - **Write rate** \- Current throughput (e.g., "45.2MB/s") - **MaxSlowDown** \- Ratio of Fastest/Slowest write speed (e.g, ÷2). If over threshold, the write job stops. - **MaxWriteDelay** \- Largest write delay detected (e.g., 𝚫122ms). If over threshold, the write job stops. ### Persistent State [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#persistent-state) The **W** (wiped) and **s** (partially wiped) states are persistent across reboots. This is achieved by writing metadata to the first 16KB of the device: - First 15KB: zeros - Next 1KB: JSON metadata (timestamp, bytes written, total size, mode, verification status) When a device with persistent state is displayed, additional information shows: - When it was wiped and the completion percentage - Verification status: ✓ (passed), ✗ (failed), or no symbol (not verified) ### The Help Screen [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#the-help-screen) When **?** is typed, you can see the available keys and some obscure settings no seen elsewhere. ### Navigation [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#navigation) You can navigate the device list using: - **Arrow keys** \- Up/Down to move through the list - **Vi-like keys** \- j (down), k (up), g (top), G (bottom) - **Page Up/Down** \- Quick navigation through long lists ## Device Filtering [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#device-filtering) The **/** key activates incremental search filtering with vim-style behavior: **How it works:** - Press **/** to start filtering - Type your regex pattern - the device list updates **as you type** (real-time filtering) - Your cursor position is shown with **|** in the header - **Arrow keys**, **Home**/**End**, and **Backspace** work for editing - **ENTER** to accept the filter - **ESC** to cancel and restore the previous filter **Filter Examples:** The filter supports regex patterns. Here are some useful examples: ``` /sda # Show only sda and its partitions /sd[ab] # Show sda, sdb and their partitions /nvme # Show all NVMe devices /nvme0n1p[12] # Show only partitions 1 and 2 of nvme0n1 /usb # Show devices with "usb" in their labels ``` Press **ESC** from the main screen to clear the filter and return to showing all devices. **Note:** Invalid regex patterns are ignored - the filter stays at the last valid pattern while you type. ## Security Considerations [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#security-considerations) **Important limitations:** - `dwipe` supports multi-pass wiping with alternating patterns, but does not implement specific DoD 5220.22-M or Gutmann certified pattern sequences - More than adequate for **personal and business data** that doesn't require (antiquated) certified destruction - **NOT suitable for** classified, top-secret, or highly sensitive data requiring certified pattern-specific wiping with compliance certificates - **SSD considerations**: - Modern SSDs use wear-leveling and may retain data in unmapped blocks - TRIM/DISCARD may prevent complete data erasure - For SSDs, consider manufacturer's secure erase utilities for maximum security - Random mode may not provide additional security over zeros on SSDs **Best practices:** - Verify device labels and sizes carefully before wiping - Use the **Lock** feature to protect critical disks - Test with `--dry-run` first if unsure - Consider encryption for sensitive data as the primary security measure --- --- ## Troubleshooting [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#troubleshooting) ### dwipe won't start [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#dwipe-wont-start) - **Error: "cannot find lsblk on $PATH"** \- Install `util-linux` package - **Permission denied** \- `dwipe` automatically requests sudo; ensure you can use sudo ### Terminal display issues [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#terminal-display-issues) - **Corrupted display after crash** \- Run `reset` or `stty sane` command - **Colors don't work** \- Ensure your terminal supports colors (most modern terminals do) ### Wipe issues [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#wipe-issues) - **Can't wipe a device** \- Check the STATE column: - **Mnt** \- Unmount the partition first: `sudo umount /dev/sdXN` - **Lock** \- Press **l** to unlock - **Busy** \- Another partition on the disk is being wiped - **Wipe is very slow** \- Normal for large drives; check write rate to verify progress - **Wipe seems stuck** \- Most likely due to bad disks; Direct I/O makes progress almost constant on good disks. --- ### Dealing with Bad or Failing Disks [](https://github.com/joedefen/dwipe#dealing-with-bad-or-failing-disks) dwipe includes built-in protections for problematic storage devices: **Automatic Error Handling.** When encountering disk errors during wiping: - Consecutive write errors: Wipe aborts after 3 consecutive failed writes - Total error threshold: Wipe aborts after 100 total write errors - Automatic retry: On write failure, device is automatically closed and reopened (transient error recovery) - File descriptor recovery: Bad FD states are detected and handles are refreshed **Stall and Slowdown Detection.** dwipe monitors write performance and can abort problematic operations: - Stall detection: Aborts if no progress for 5 minutes (configurable) - Slowdown detection: Measures baseline speed during first 5 seconds, aborts if speed drops below threshold (e.g., 1/4 of baseline) - Progress tracking: Continuous monitoring ensures writes are actually reaching the device **If a Wipe Gets Stuck...** If a wipe appears frozen or unresponsive: - First attempt: Press s to gracefully stop the selected wipe - Wait patiently: Some disk operations can take minutes to timeout at the kernel level - If still stuck: Press S (Shift+s) to stop ALL wipes - Last resort: If the interface is completely frozen: - Press Ctrl-Z to suspend `dwipe` - In the terminal, run: `sudo pkill -f "python.*dwipe" (targets only dwipe processes)` - Run reset to restore terminal if display is corrupted **Preventing Issues with Problematic Media.** For known bad disks or questionable hardware: - Start with verification: Press v first to test readability - Use lower speeds: Enable dirty page throttling (d key) to reduce I/O pressure - Monitor system logs: Check dmesg -w in another terminal for disk errors - Consider hardware issues: USB enclosures, cables, and controllers often cause issues **Common Disk Error Patterns** - USB connection drops: dwipe will detect and attempt recovery - Bad sectors: Errors will be counted; job aborts if excessive - Controller timeouts: Kernel may hang; stall detection should trigger - Full disk: Write past end-of-device errors are handled gracefully **Recovery After Abort.** If a wipe aborts due to disk errors: - Device state shows s (stopped/partial) - You can attempt to resume (w) - may succeed if error was transient - Or verify (v) to see what was actually written - Consider replacing the disk if errors persist Note: Some disks are fundamentally broken and cannot be reliably wiped. dwipe will protect itself and your system, but cannot fix hardware failures.