Partitioning a new disk non-interactively without writing to the wrong device

Goal

Partition and format a newly attached disk from a script, with the identity of the target device verified before any command that writes to it — device names like /dev/sdb can shift between boots or after a hot-add.

Prerequisites

Root. The disk must not be mounted or in use (lsblk shows mountpoints; wipefs -n is the read-only precondition check below).

Steps

1. List all block devices with identifying detail: lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,MODEL,SERIAL,WWN,MOUNTPOINT. Match the expected size, model and serial/WWN against what was ordered or reported by the hypervisor/cloud API — never size alone, since more than one disk can match a size.
2. Resolve a stable path instead of trusting /dev/sdX: ls -l /dev/disk/by-id/ | grep <serial-or-wwn>. Use that /dev/disk/by-id/... path (or its resolved /dev/sdX target, re-checked immediately before use) as the target for every subsequent command.
3. Dry-run the signature check before touching anything: wipefs -n /dev/sdX lists existing filesystem/RAID/LVM signatures and partition tables on the whole device without removing them; signatures inside existing partitions only show via lsblk -f /dev/sdX. A populated result on a disk expected to be blank is a stop condition, not something to wipe past.
4. Only after both checks match, clear old signatures — first on any existing partitions (wipefs -a /dev/sdX1 etc.), then on the disk: wipefs -a /dev/sdX. Wiping only the disk removes the partition table but leaves an old filesystem signature at the former partition offset, where it can reappear once a new partition starts at the same place. Irreversible; back up any data first if there is doubt.
5. Create a GPT label and one partition non-interactively: parted -s /dev/sdX mklabel gpt mkpart primary 1MiB 100%. -s/--script never prompts for confirmation, which is exactly why steps 1–3 must happen first.
6. Make sure the kernel and udev see the new table: partprobe /dev/sdX, then udevadm settle so /dev/sdX1 exists before the next command. On NVMe the partition is named /dev/nvme0n1p1, not ...1.
7. Format the new partition: mkfs.xfs -L data1 /dev/sdX1 or mkfs.ext4 -L data1 /dev/sdX1. -L sets a filesystem label usable later in fstab instead of a device path.
8. Verify: lsblk -f /dev/sdX shows the partition, filesystem type and label; blkid /dev/sdX1 confirms the UUID to use in /etc/fstab.

Expected result

Exactly the intended disk is partitioned and formatted, confirmed by serial/WWN before the first write, with a label and UUID ready for /etc/fstab.

Limits and test basis

Non-interactivity confirmed for parted -s/--script ("never prompts for user intervention"); options verified against lsblk(8), udevadm(8) (/dev/disk/by-id naming), wipefs(8), parted(8), partprobe(8), mkfs.xfs(8) and mke2fs(8). There is no undo for wipefs -a or a completed mkfs; the only real safeguard is the identity check beforehand.