pmt-renovated/USAGE.md

Partition Manager Tool (PMT)

Partition Manager Tool is a powerful command-line utility for Android devices, designed to perform various operations on partitions quickly, reliably, and efficiently.
This is the renovated version of PMT, rewritten in C++ for improved performance, stability, and usability compared to its older variant.

It supports asynchronous operations, allowing multiple partitions to be processed in parallel, and includes safety measures to prevent a single error from breaking the entire operation batch.

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Features

• Backup partitions to files (with optional permissions fix for non-root access).
• Flash image files directly to partitions.
• Erase partitions by filling them with zero bytes.
• Get partition sizes in various units.
• Display partition information in plain text or JSON format.
• Retrieve real paths and symbolic link paths of partitions.
• Identify file system or image types by checking magic numbers.
• Reboot the device into different modes.

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Usage

pmt [OPTIONS] [SUBCOMMAND]

Global Options

Option	Long Option	Description
-h	--help	Print basic help message and exit.
	--help-all	Print full help message and exit.
-S	--search-path TEXT	Set the partition search path.
-L	--log-file TEXT	Set log file path.
-f	--force	Force the process to be executed even if checks fail.
-l	--logical	Specify that the target partition is dynamic.
-q	--quiet	Suppress output.
-V	--verbose	Enable detailed logs during execution.
-v	--version	Print version and exit.

Example usages for global options:
pmt [SUBCOMMAND ...] --quiet
pmt [SUBCOMMAND ...] -S /dev/block/platform/bootdevice/by-name
pmt [SUBCOMMAND ...] [GLOBAL OPTIONS ...]

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Subcommands

1. backup

Backup partitions to files. General syntax:

pmt backup partition(s) [output(s)] [OPTIONS]

Options:

• -b, --buffer-size SIZE → Set buffer size (in bytes) for read/write operations.
• -O, --output-directory DIR → Specify an output directory for backups.

Notes:

• Partition names are separated by commas.
• If custom output names are provided, they must match the number of partitions.
• Automatically adjusts permissions so backup files can be read/written without root.

Example usages:
pmt backup boot
pmt backup boot boot_backup.img
pmt backup boot,recovery,vendor
pmt backup boot
pmt backup boot,recovery -O /sdcard
pmt backup system,vendor --buffer-size=8192 # '=' is not mandatory

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2. flash

Flash an image or multiple images to partitions. general syntax:

pmt flash partition(s) image(s) [OPTIONS]

Options:

• -b, --buffer-size SIZE → Set buffer size (in bytes).
• -I, --image-directory DIR → Directory containing image files.

Notes:

• Multiple partitions and images are separated by commas.

• Example usages:
  pmt flash boot boot_backup.img
pmt flash boot,recovery /sdcard/backups/boot_backup.img,/sdcard/backups/recovery_backup.img
pmt flash boot boot_backup.img,recovery_backup.img -I /sdcard/backups
pmt flash system,vendor system_backup.img,vendor_backup.img -I /sdcard/backups --buffer-size=8192

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3. erase

Fill partition(s) with zero bytes (like dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/by-name/<partition>). General syntax:

pmt erase partition(s) [OPTIONS]

Options:

• -b, --buffer-size SIZE → Set buffer size.

Example usages (DO NOT USE FOR TRYING!!!):
pmt erase boot
pmt erase nvdata,nvram
pmt erase system,vendor --buffer-size=8192

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4. sizeof

Show the size of partition(s). General syntax:

pmt sizeof partition(s) [OPTIONS]

Options:

• --as-byte → Show size in bytes.
• --as-kilobyte → Show size in KB.
• --as-megabyte → Show size in MB (default).
• --as-gigabyte → Show size in GB.
• --only-size → Output only the numeric value (no partition name).

Example usages:
pmt sizeof boot - Example output: boot: 64MB
pmt sizeof boot --as-byte - Example output: 64
pmt sizeof boot --as-<write type here> --only-size - Example output (for --as-kilobyte): 98304

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5. info

Show partition name, size, and dynamic status. General syntax:

pmt info partition(s) [OPTIONS]

Options:

• -J, --json → Output in JSON format.
• --json-partition-name NAME → Custom JSON key for partition name.
• --json-size-name NAME → Custom JSON key for size.
• --json-logical-name NAME → Custom JSON key for dynamic status.

Example usages:
pmt info boot - Example output: partition=boot size=100663296 isLogical=false
pmt info boot -J - Example output: {"name": "boot", "size": 100663296, "isLogical": false}
pmt info boot -J --json-partition-name=partitionName - Example output: {"partitionName": "boot", "size": 100663296, "isLogical": false}

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6. real-path

Show the absolute block device path for each partition. General syntax:

pmt real-path partition(s) [OPTIONS]

Example usages:
pmt real-path boot - Example output: /dev/block/sda25

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7. real-linkpath

Show the symbolic link path for each partition (e.g., /dev/block/by-name/boot). General syntax:

pmt real-link-path partition(s) [OPTIONS]

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8. type

Check magic numbers to determine file system or other types of partition(s) or image(s). General syntax:

pmt type partition(s) [OPTIONS]

Options:

• -b, --buffer-size SIZE → Set buffer size.
• --only-check-android-magics → Check only Android-related magic numbers.
• --only-check-filesystem-magic → Check only file system magic numbers.

Example usages:
pmt type boot - Example output: boot contains Android Boot Image magic (0x2144494F52444241)
pmt type vendor_boot.img - Example output: vendor_boot.img contains Android Vendor Boot Image magic (0x544F4F4252444E56)

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9. reboot

Reboot the device. Default reboot target is normal. General syntax:

pmt reboot [rebootTarget] [OPTIONS]

Example usages:
pmt reboot pmt reboot recovery pmt reboot download

Additional Notes

• Comma-separated inputs: All commands (except reboot) require multiple inputs to be separated by commas.
• Asynchronous execution: For backup, flash, and erase, each partition is processed in a separate thread for maximum speed.
• Error isolation: A failure in processing one partition will not cancel the others. Only for backup, flash and erase functions.
• Automatic diagnostics: By default, whether a partition is dynamic or regular is determined automatically. With global options, you only specify precision.

Extra Note: Comma Usage

In Partition Manager Tool, whenever you provide multiple partitions, multiple image files, or multiple output file names, they must be separated by commas (,), without spaces.

✅ Correct:
pmt backup boot,recovery
pmt flash boot,recovery boot.img,recovery.img

❌ Incorrect:
pmt backup boot recovery
pmt flash boot recovery boot.img recovery.img

The number of items must match when providing both input and output lists.
For example, if you specify 3 partitions, you must also provide 3 output file names.

This rule applies to all commands except reboot, since reboot only takes one optional argument.

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License

Partition Manager Tool is licensed under the Apache 2.0 License.
Copyright © YZBruh.

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Bug Reports

Please submit issues at:
https://github.com/ShawkTeam/pmt-renovated/issues