Man pages › Compared with Linux and the BSDs

`quotacheck(8)` on Solnix vs Linux and the BSDs

On Solnix, quotacheck is the illumos command at /usr/sbin/quotacheck and it checks ufs file systems only. It has no -u, -g, -c or -l: it works on the quota file named quotas in the file system root, not on separate quota.user and quota.group files.

The manual pages

Solnix: quotacheck(8) from pkgs.solnix.illumos-world-man · illumos.org
Linux: quotacheck(8) quota-4.11
FreeBSD: quotacheck(8) 15.1-RELEASE
OpenBSD: quotacheck(8) 8.0
NetBSD: quotacheck(8) 11.0

What Solnix runs

A default Solnix system runs the illumos quotacheck at /usr/sbin/quotacheck. No other variants are shipped. The page's -a option reads /etc/mnttab and /etc/vfstab, not /etc/fstab.

Differences

Compared with	Topic	What differs
all four	quota file names	Solnix expects one quota file named quotas in the file system root. Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD expect separate quota.user and quota.group files (Linux: [a]quota.user and [a]quota.group). Source: Solnix quotacheck(8) DESCRIPTION; Linux quotacheck(8) DESCRIPTION; FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD quotacheck(8) DESCRIPTION
all four	missing quota file	On Solnix, if the quotas file is absent, quotacheck does not check that file system. On Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD, quotacheck creates the missing quota file. Source: Solnix quotacheck(8) DESCRIPTION; Linux/FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD quotacheck(8) DESCRIPTION
all four	`-u` and `-g`	Solnix has no `-u` or `-g` to select user or group quotas. All four counterparts have both. Their default is user and group quotas, except Linux, which checks user quotas only. Source: Solnix quotacheck(8) SYNOPSIS; Linux quotacheck(8) -u, -g; FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD quotacheck(8) -u, -g
all four	`-a` source of file systems	Solnix `-a` checks the ufs file systems listed in `/etc/mnttab.` They must be mounted read-write with quotas and have an rq entry in the mntopts field of `/etc/vfstab.` The counterparts read `/etc/fstab`, and Linux also reads `/etc/mtab.` Source: Solnix quotacheck(8) -a; Linux quotacheck(8) -a; FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD quotacheck(8) -a
FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD	`-l` and `-p` parallel checking	Solnix uses `-p` to check in parallel and takes no count. FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD use `-l` maxrun/maxparallel, and Solnix has no `-l`. The BSDs order parallel passes by the pass numbers in `/etc/fstab.` Source: Solnix quotacheck(8) -p; FreeBSD quotacheck(8) -l; OpenBSD quotacheck(8) -l; NetBSD quotacheck(8) -l
all four	`-f` meaning	On Solnix, `-f` forces a check on file systems with logging enabled, and goes with `-p`. Without `-f`, `-p` skips logging file systems. On Linux, `-f` forces checking and writing of new quota files where quotas are enabled. The BSDs have no `-f`. Source: Solnix quotacheck(8) -f, -p; Linux quotacheck(8) -f; FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD quotacheck(8) SYNOPSIS
all four	`-v` meaning	Solnix `-v` prints the calculated quota for each user. Normally only modified quotas are reported. Linux reports its operation as it progresses, and a second `-v` prints the current directory. FreeBSD and OpenBSD report discrepancies. NetBSD reports corrected discrepancies. Source: Solnix quotacheck(8) -v; Linux quotacheck(8) -v; FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD quotacheck(8) -v
FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD	`-a` with file system names	On Solnix the synopsis shows `-a` as its own form, with options only. FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD describe `-a` as given in place of file system names. Source: Solnix quotacheck(8) SYNOPSIS; FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD quotacheck(8) -a
Linux	remount and quota-file repair	Linux quotacheck tries to remount the file system read-only before scanning, with `-m` and `-M` to change that. It also has `-i`, `-n`, `-b` and `-F` for repair and format. Solnix has none of these and says the file system should be quiescent. Source: Linux quotacheck(8) DESCRIPTION, -m, -M, -i, -n, -b, -F; Solnix quotacheck(8) DESCRIPTION
FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD	boot-time use	FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD say quotacheck is normally run from `/etc/rc.` FreeBSD controls this with check_quotas and enable_quotas in rc.conf. The Solnix page does not say when it is run. Source: FreeBSD quotacheck(8) DESCRIPTION; OpenBSD quotacheck(8) DESCRIPTION; NetBSD quotacheck(8) DESCRIPTION; Solnix quotacheck(8)

Standards

POSIX: quotacheck is not a POSIX.1-2024 utility.
Solnix: The page has no STANDARDS section. Its USAGE section refers to largefile(7) for files of 2 Gbyte (2^31 bytes) or more.
FreeBSD: HISTORY: quotacheck appeared in 4.2BSD.
OpenBSD: HISTORY: quotacheck appeared in 4.2BSD.
NetBSD: HISTORY: quotacheck appeared in 4.2BSD.

Writing portable scripts

Do not rely on -u, -g, -l or -c in scripts that also run on Solnix: the Solnix quotacheck has none of them.
Pass explicit mount points instead of -a. The file systems -a selects come from /etc/mnttab and /etc/vfstab on Solnix and from /etc/fstab elsewhere.

Every difference here is taken from the manual pages linked above: Solnix's published page, Linux (man-pages and the GNU and util-linux manuals), FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD. Each row names its source. Where a manual is silent, this page is too. Compiled 2026-10-26. Found a mistake? Mail hackers@lists.solnix.io.