Written 2 Sep 2026. This is a how-to, not a product card. Buy links are not tagged yet.

Peek at leftover-box partition layout with parted

After fdisk -l shows the partition table, a look-only parted -l printout shows sizes and filesystem hints. Nothing is created, resized, or rewritten.

parted is another Linux tool that can list or edit how a disk is sliced. Tonight you only list on the leftover box. You do not open the interactive prompt, make a new slice, resize one, or wipe a disk.

Skip until SSH works

If you cannot log in from the couch yet, stop. That is SSH from the couch. Partition layout does not help a login that fails.

If you only need the friendly disk tree, that is see disks and USB sticks on the leftover box (lsblk). If you only need the classic fdisk table, that is peek at leftover-box partition tables with fdisk (fdisk -l).

What this is

parted can both list and edit partitions. The list switch is -l (the letter L). That is the only mode you use tonight.

fdisk -l prints a technical map with start and end sectors. parted -l prints a similar map in parted's own style. It often has human-readable sizes and a filesystem column when it can guess. Same leftover box, second look-only printout. Still no write, format, or wipe.

Practice: list the layout (look only)

SSH into the leftover box from the couch.

Then ask for the list:

parted -l

If the leftover box says permission denied, try once with admin rights (still look-only):

sudo parted -l

If the leftover box says command not found, install the usual package, then try again:

sudo apt install parted

Debian and Ubuntu Server often already have it. That install is not a reason to buy a disk app or a NAS.

You should see blocks of text, one per disk. A block names the device (often /dev/sda or /dev/nvme0n1), the disk size, the partition table type (often gpt or msdos), and a table of slices. Parted is reading the map that already lives on the disk. It is not drawing a new one.

Optional: limit the printout to one disk you already trust from lsblk:

sudo parted /dev/sda print

Swap /dev/sda for the name on your leftover box. Do not invent one. print here means show the layout, not send to a printer. Home-safe look only on the leftover box. Do not type interactive verbs like mkpart, resizepart, rm, or mklabel. Do not format, wipe, remount, or edit fstab tonight.

Optional: after you plug in a USB for backup

Plug the stick into the leftover box.

Run lsblk so you know today's letter.

Then run sudo parted -l (or sudo parted /dev/sdb print on that whole-disk name, not a slice like sdb1).

You should see a small table for the stick. Compare with fdisk -l if you want the classic sector-style map. The backup job, once a path is live, is a backup of the leftover-box folder.

Useful extras, still a look

Skip interactive parted (no bare parted /dev/… prompt where you type commands). Skip mkpart, resizepart, rm, mklabel, and rescue as the lesson. Night one is -l (or one-disk print) only.

Skip cfdisk, sfdisk, gdisk, mount, umount, dd, shred, format, and rewriting fstab. Those are not this note.

Skip buying a NAS because a gpt line or a filesystem hint looks unfamiliar. Free room is see if the leftover box still has room. For the kernel's plain list, see peek at leftover-box partitions via /proc/partitions.

Skip screen, tmux, and port 22 forwarding. Keep SSH on the house network: keep the leftover box on the house network.

What this is not

This is not leftover-box fdisk -l. That is peek at leftover-box partition tables with fdisk. It is not leftover-box lsblk. That is see disks and USB sticks on the leftover box. It is not leftover-box /proc/partitions. That is peek at leftover-box partitions via /proc/partitions.

What next

Need the kernel's plain partition list? Peek at leftover-box partitions via /proc/partitions. Need the classic fdisk table first? Peek at leftover-box partition tables with fdisk.

Skip

• Skip if SSH still fails. Finish SSH from the couch first.
• Skip leftover-box fdisk -l, leftover-box lsblk, or total disk size as tonight's job if you only came for the look-only parted -l peek. Those notes already exist.
• Skip interactive parted and any write verbs (mkpart, resizepart, rm, mklabel). List (or one-disk print) only.
• Skip cfdisk, sfdisk, gdisk, mount, umount, dd, shred, format, and rewriting fstab.
• Skip buying a NAS because a gpt or msdos line looks unfamiliar.
• Skip opening SSH to the internet. That is keep the leftover box on the house network. Do not forward port 22.