Do a backup image of the partition first before you run these commands.
If you decide to use all free space: sudo lvextend -r -l +100%FREE /dev/ubuntu-vg/ubuntu-lv
Should suffice I'm pretty sure.
this post was submitted on 27 May 2026
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sudo lvextend -r -l +100%FREE /dev/ubuntu-vg/ubuntu-lv
As I understand (which is limited in this scenario) this command extends the LUKS and then you would have to follow up with sudo resize2fs /dev/ubuntu-vg/ubuntu-lv to extend the file system.
I’m pretty sure -r flag actually stands for --resizefs. When you include it, lvextend automatically runs the appropriate resize command (resize2fs) for you in the background immediately after the volume is expanded.
Which makes it a convenient, single-step process.
Might be less confusing if you take a look at what you have with lsblk first. That might give you a better view of your existing disk layout so you know what you need to do.
To your specific question though, I'm pretty sure resizing the LUKS volume is done with some sub-command in crypysetup. I'm not at a proper computer to check, but it's definitely in the man page.
All that assumes you have LUKS underneath LVM, which is fairly standard practice.
Hope that helps get you pointed in the right direction.
Results of lsblk:
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
loop0 7:0 0 63.8M 1 loop /snap/core20/2866
loop1 7:1 0 63.9M 1 loop /snap/core20/2318
loop2 7:2 0 87M 1 loop /snap/lxd/29351
loop3 7:3 0 38.8M 1 loop /snap/snapd/21759
loop4 7:4 0 91.7M 1 loop /snap/lxd/38800
loop5 7:5 0 49.3M 1 loop /snap/snapd/26865
sda 8:0 0 465.8G 0 disk
├─sda1 8:1 0 1G 0 part /boot/efi
├─sda2 8:2 0 2G 0 part /boot
└─sda3 8:3 0 462.7G 0 part
└─dm_crypt-0 253:0 0 462.7G 0 crypt
└─ubuntu--vg-ubuntu--lv 253:1 0 100G 0 lvm /
Ah great. It looks like you have a mostly empty encrypted partition with LVM on top of it. If memory serves you might be able to resize the logical volume and the ext4 filesystem in a single command.
You can't resize the filesystem without first resizing the crypted volume.
You would expand this LV. Expand the crypted volume. The decrypt the volume and expand the underlying filesystem.
hmmmm...I thought that the command sudo lvextend -l +100%FREE /dev/ubuntu-vg/ubuntu-lv would extend the encrypted volume, and this command sudo resize2fs /dev/ubuntu-vg/ubuntu-lv would extend the filesystem.
I realize now i may have been confused as you didn't specify everything.Is the LUKS volume created right on the disk on a raw partition?
Is the LUKS volume created right on the disk on a raw partition?
Yes. I'm sorry for the confusion and incomplete info. I'm flying a little blind here. The first two commands in the OP were to check what I have, and the last two were to extend the LUKS and then the filesystem.
I saw in another comment your lsblk output and yes I see the LUKS partition spans the whole disk.
So yes, the commands you listed should be sufficient. It will extend the decrypted logical volume to use the remaining free space of your volume group.
Thank you very much for your patience in trying to tweeze out all the proper info out of me. I feel like a slightly educated dumbass now. LOL Thanks again.
You are aware that you don't have all the information and that trying it yourself could cost you significantly more time than asking for help. Doesn't sound like dumbass behavior to me :)
lv* commands are for LVM logical volumes. They're not related to LUKS. Unless your LVM "physical" volume is on a LUKS encrypted device, you aren't using LUKS. You'll need to make the LUKS encrypted PV larger before you can grow your LV.
Unless your PV is already taking up the whole disk, in which case whether it is LUKS encrypted or not is irrelevant and the question you want to be asking is "how do I resize my LVM LV to fill the rest of my LVM PV?", which is probably what the commands you have do.
how do I resize my LVM LV to fill the rest of my LVM PV
Again, apologies for my confusion and not being able to articulate coherently or precisely.
This might not be what you are looking for but in such cases I just use GParted on a Linux Mint bootable iso.
Though I don't know if a similarly capable CLI alternative exists for headless servers.
Edit: meant this to be a comment reply, not a post reply.