How do I use SoftRAID from the command line?

SoftRAID includes a command line tool called softraidtool that allows you to perform SoftRAID operations from the Terminal. This is useful for scripting, automation, or situations where you need to interact with SoftRAID without launching the application.

Invoking softraidtool

Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities → Terminal) and run:

softraidtool [command]

Administrative tasks — such as creating volumes, initializing disks, or uninstalling SoftRAID — require administrator privileges and must be prefixed with sudo:

sudo softraidtool [command]

You will be prompted for your administrator password when using sudo. Note that you will not see any characters as you type — this is normal.

Informational commands such as help and status queries do not require sudo and can be run directly.

Getting Help

To see a full list of available commands and syntax, run:

sudo softraidtool help

This will display all supported commands and their options directly in the Terminal window.

Full Command Reference

For detailed documentation on all available commands, visit the SoftRAID forum.