diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi
index 8681645021..9fb5709f4f 100644
--- a/doc/guix.texi
+++ b/doc/guix.texi
@@ -14045,6 +14045,33 @@ instance, for the root file system.
 This Boolean indicates whether the file system needs to be checked for
 errors before being mounted.
 
+@item @code{skip-check-if-clean?} (default: @code{#t})
+When true, this boolean indicates that a file system check triggered
+by @code{check?} may exit early if the file system is marked as
+``clean'', meaning that it was previously correctly unmounted and
+should not contain errors.
+
+When false, @code{check?} will always request a full consistency
+check, which may take a very long time.
+
+Some file systems like @code{fat} do not support this feature and will
+perform a full scan regardless of the value of this option.
+
+@item @code{repair} (default: @code{'preen})
+When @code{check?} finds errors, it can (try to) repair them and
+continue booting.  This option controls when and how to do so.
+
+If false, try not to modify the file system at all.  Checking certain
+file systems like @code{jfs} may still write to the device to replay
+the journal.  No repairs will be attempted.
+
+If @code{#t}, try to repair any errors found and assume ``yes'' to
+all questions.  This will fix the most errors, but may be risky.
+
+If @code{'preen}, repair only errors that are safe to fix without
+human interaction.  What that means is left up to the developers of
+each file system and may be equivalent to ``none'' or ``all''.
+
 @item @code{create-mount-point?} (default: @code{#f})
 When true, the mount point is created if it does not exist yet.
 
diff --git a/gnu/build/file-systems.scm b/gnu/build/file-systems.scm
index 4eeb81cf26..8f76d8d564 100644
--- a/gnu/build/file-systems.scm
+++ b/gnu/build/file-systems.scm
@@ -170,10 +170,19 @@ if DEVICE does not contain an ext2 file system."
 #f if SBLOCK has no volume name."
   (null-terminated-latin1->string (sub-bytevector sblock 120 16)))
 
-(define (check-ext2-file-system device)
-  "Return the health of an ext2 file system on DEVICE."
+(define (check-ext2-file-system device force? repair)
+  "Return the health of an ext2 file system on DEVICE.  If FORCE? is true, check
+the file system even if it's marked as clean.  If REPAIR is false, do not write
+to the file system to fix errors. If it's #t, fix all errors. Otherwise, fix
+only those considered safe to repair automatically."
   (match (status:exit-val
-          (system* "e2fsck" "-v" "-p" "-C" "0" device))
+          (apply system* `("e2fsck" "-v" "-C" "0"
+                           ,@(if force? '("-f") '())
+                           ,@(match repair
+                               (#f '("-n"))
+                               (#t '("-y"))
+                               (_  '("-p")))
+                           ,device)))
     (0 'pass)
     (1 'errors-corrected)
     (2 'reboot-required)
@@ -260,15 +269,23 @@ bytevector."
 #f if SBLOCK has no volume name."
   (null-terminated-latin1->string (sub-bytevector sblock 72 32)))
 
-(define (check-bcachefs-file-system device)
-  "Return the health of a bcachefs file system on DEVICE."
+(define (check-bcachefs-file-system device force? repair)
+  "Return the health of a bcachefs file system on DEVICE.  If FORCE? is true,
+check the file system even if it's marked as clean.  If REPAIR is false, do not
+write to the file system to fix errors. If it's #t, fix all errors. Otherwise,
+fix only those considered safe to repair automatically."
   (let ((ignored-bits (logior 2))       ; DEVICE was mounted read-only
         (status
          ;; A number, or #f on abnormal termination (e.g., assertion failure).
          (status:exit-val
-          (apply system* "bcachefs" "fsck" "-p" "-v"
-                 ;; Make each multi-device member a separate argument.
-                 (string-split device #\:)))))
+          (apply system* `("bcachefs" "fsck" "-v"
+                           ,@(if force? '("-f") '())
+                           ,@(match repair
+                               (#f '("-n"))
+                               (#t '("-y"))
+                               (_  '("-p")))
+                           ;; Make each multi-device member a separate argument.
+                           ,@(string-split device #\:))))))
     (match (and=> status (cut logand <> (lognot ignored-bits)))
       (0 'pass)
       (1 'errors-corrected)
@@ -304,12 +321,27 @@ if DEVICE does not contain a btrfs file system."
 #f if SBLOCK has no volume name."
   (null-terminated-latin1->string (sub-bytevector sblock 299 256)))
 
-(define (check-btrfs-file-system device)
-  "Return the health of a btrfs file system on DEVICE."
-  (match (status:exit-val
-          (system* "btrfs" "device" "scan"))
-    (0 'pass)
-    (_ 'fatal-error)))
+(define (check-btrfs-file-system device force? repair)
+  "Return the health of a btrfs file system on DEVICE.  If FORCE? is true, check
+the file system even if it's marked as clean.  This is not recommended!  See
+@uref{https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=625967#c8}.  If REPAIR is
+false, do not write to DEVICE.  If it's #t, fix any errors found.  Otherwise,
+fix only those considered safe to repair automatically."
+  ;; XXX Why make this conditional on (check? #t) at all?
+  (system* "btrfs" "device" "scan")     ; ignore errors
+  (if force?
+      (match (status:exit-val
+              (apply system* `("btrfs" "check" "--progress"
+                               ;; Btrfs's ‘--force’ is not relevant to us here.
+                               ,@(match repair
+                                   ;; Upstream considers ALL repairs dangerous
+                                   ;; and will warn the user at run time.
+                                   (#t '("--repair"))
+                                   (_  '("--readonly"))) ; a no-op for clarity
+                               ,device)))
+        (0 'pass)
+        (_ 'fatal-error))
+      'pass))
 
 
 ;;;
@@ -338,10 +370,17 @@ if DEVICE does not contain a btrfs file system."
 Trailing spaces are trimmed."
   (string-trim-right (latin1->string (sub-bytevector sblock 71 11) (lambda (c) #f)) #\space))
 
-(define (check-fat-file-system device)
-  "Return the health of a fat file system on DEVICE."
+(define (check-fat-file-system device force? repair)
+  "Return the health of a FAT file system on DEVICE.  FORCE? is ignored: a full
+file system scan is always performed.  If REPAIR is false, do not write to the
+file system to fix errors. Otherwise, automatically fix them using the least
+destructive approach."
   (match (status:exit-val
-          (system* "fsck.vfat" "-v" "-a" device))
+          (apply system* `("fsck.vfat" "-v"
+                           ,@(match repair
+                               (#f '("-n"))
+                               (_  '("-a"))) ; no 'safe/#t distinction
+                           ,device)))
     (0 'pass)
     (1 'errors-corrected)
     (_ 'fatal-error)))
@@ -463,10 +502,28 @@ if DEVICE does not contain a JFS file system."
 #f if SBLOCK has no volume name."
   (null-terminated-latin1->string (sub-bytevector sblock 152 16)))
 
-(define (check-jfs-file-system device)
-  "Return the health of a JFS file system on DEVICE."
+(define (check-jfs-file-system device force? repair)
+  "Return the health of a JFS file system on DEVICE.  If FORCE? is true, check
+the file system even if it's marked as clean.  If REPAIR is false, do not write
+to the file system to fix errors, and replay the transaction log only if FORCE?
+is true. Otherwise, replay the transaction log before checking and automatically
+fix found errors."
   (match (status:exit-val
-          (system* "jfs_fsck" "-p" "-v" device))
+          (apply system*
+                 `("jfs_fsck" "-v"
+                   ;; The ‘LEVEL’ logic is convoluted.  To quote fsck/xchkdsk.c
+                   ;; (‘-p’, ‘-a’, and ‘-r’ are aliases in every way):
+                   ;; “If -f was chosen, have it override [-p] by [forcing] a
+                   ;;  check regardless of the outcome after the log is
+                   ;;  replayed”.
+                   ;; “If -n is specified by itself, don't replay the journal.
+                   ;;  If -n is specified with [-p], replay the journal but
+                   ;;  don't make any other changes”.
+                   ,@(if force? '("-f") '())
+                   ,@(match repair
+                       (#f '("-n"))
+                       (_  '("-p"))) ; no 'safe/#t distinction
+                   ,device)))
     (0 'pass)
     (1 'errors-corrected)
     (2 'reboot-required)
@@ -517,12 +574,22 @@ if DEVICE does not contain an F2FS file system."
    (sub-bytevector sblock (- (+ #x470 12) #x400) 512)
    %f2fs-endianness))
 
-(define (check-f2fs-file-system device)
-  "Return the health of a F2FS file system on DEVICE."
+(define (check-f2fs-file-system device force? repair)
+  "Return the health of an F2FS file system on DEVICE.  If FORCE? is true, check
+the file system even if it's marked as clean.  If either FORCE? or REPAIR are
+true, automatically fix found errors."
+  ;; There's no ‘-n’ equivalent (‘--dry-run’ does not disable writes).
+  ;; ’-y’ is an alias of ‘-f’.  The man page is bad: read main.c.
+  (when (and force? (not repair))
+    (format (current-error-port)
+            "warning: forced check of F2FS ~a implies repairing any errors~%"
+            device))
   (match (status:exit-val
-          (system* "fsck.f2fs" "-p" device))
-    ;; 0 and -1 are the only two possibilities
-    ;; (according to the manpage)
+          (apply system* `("fsck.f2fs"
+                           ,@(if force? '("-f") '())
+                           ,@(if repair '("-p") '("--dry-run"))
+                           ,device)))
+    ;; 0 and -1 are the only two possibilities according to the man page.
     (0 'pass)
     (_ 'fatal-error)))
 
@@ -600,10 +667,15 @@ if DEVICE does not contain a NTFS file system."
 ;; in the BOOT SECTOR like the UUID, but in the MASTER FILE TABLE, which seems
 ;; way harder to access.
 
-(define (check-ntfs-file-system device)
-  "Return the health of a NTFS file system on DEVICE."
+(define (check-ntfs-file-system device force? repair)
+  "Return the health of an NTFS file system on DEVICE.  FORCE? is ignored: a
+full check is always performed.  Repair is not possible: if REPAIR is true and
+the volume has been repaired by an external tool, clear the volume dirty flag to
+indicate that it's now safe to mount."
   (match (status:exit-val
-          (system* "ntfsfix" device))
+          (apply system* `("ntfsfix"
+                           ,@(if repair '("--clear-dirty") '("--no-action"))
+                           ,device)))
     (0 'pass)
     (_ 'fatal-error)))
 
@@ -816,8 +888,13 @@ containing ':/')."
               (uuid-bytevector spec)
               uuid->string))))
 
-(define (check-file-system device type)
-  "Run a file system check of TYPE on DEVICE."
+(define (check-file-system device type force? repair)
+  "Run a file system check of TYPE on DEVICE.  If FORCE? is true, check the file
+system even if it's marked as clean.  If REPAIR is false, try not to write to
+DEVICE at all.  If it's #t, try to fix all errors found.  Otherwise, fix only
+those considered safe to repair automatically.  Not all TYPEs support all values
+or combinations of FORCE? and REPAIR.  Do not return an error in such cases but
+perform the closest sane action."
   (define check-procedure
     (cond
      ((string-prefix? "ext" type) check-ext2-file-system)
@@ -831,7 +908,7 @@ containing ':/')."
      (else #f)))
 
   (if check-procedure
-      (match (check-procedure device)
+      (match (check-procedure device force? repair)
         ('pass
          #t)
         ('errors-corrected
@@ -886,7 +963,11 @@ corresponds to the symbols listed in FLAGS."
       (()
        0))))
 
-(define* (mount-file-system fs #:key (root "/root"))
+(define* (mount-file-system fs #:key (root "/root")
+                            (check? (file-system-check? fs))
+                            (skip-check-if-clean?
+                             (file-system-skip-check-if-clean? fs))
+                            (repair (file-system-repair fs)))
   "Mount the file system described by FS, a <file-system> object, under ROOT."
 
   (define (mount-nfs source mount-point type flags options)
@@ -924,8 +1005,8 @@ corresponds to the symbols listed in FLAGS."
                                (file-system-mount-flags (statfs source)))
                               0)))
          (options (file-system-options fs)))
-    (when (file-system-check? fs)
-      (check-file-system source type))
+    (when check?
+      (check-file-system source type (not skip-check-if-clean?) repair))
 
     (catch 'system-error
       (lambda ()
diff --git a/gnu/build/linux-boot.scm b/gnu/build/linux-boot.scm
index 461df9ff46..325e26c29a 100644
--- a/gnu/build/linux-boot.scm
+++ b/gnu/build/linux-boot.scm
@@ -412,12 +412,17 @@ the last argument of `mknod'."
 
 (define* (mount-root-file-system root type
                                  #:key volatile-root? (flags 0) options
-                                 check?)
+                                 check? skip-check-if-clean? repair)
   "Mount the root file system of type TYPE at device ROOT. If VOLATILE-ROOT? is
 true, mount ROOT read-only and make it an overlay with a writable tmpfs using
 the kernel built-in overlayfs. FLAGS and OPTIONS indicates the options to use
 to mount ROOT, and behave the same as for the `mount' procedure.
-If CHECK? is true, first run ROOT's fsck tool (if any) non-interactively."
+
+If CHECK? is true, first run ROOT's fsck tool (if any) non-interactively.
+If SKIP-CHECK-IF-CLEAN? is true, ask fsck to return immediately if ROOT is
+marked as clean.  If REPAIR is true, fsck may write to ROOT to perform repairs.
+If REPAIR is also 'PREEN, ask fsck to perform only those repairs that it
+considers safe."
 
   (if volatile-root?
       (begin
@@ -439,7 +444,7 @@ If CHECK? is true, first run ROOT's fsck tool (if any) non-interactively."
                "lowerdir=/real-root,upperdir=/rw-root/upper,workdir=/rw-root/work"))
       (begin
         (when check?
-          (check-file-system root type))
+          (check-file-system root type (not skip-check-if-clean?) repair))
         (mount root "/root" type flags options)))
 
   ;; Make sure /root/etc/mtab is a symlink to /proc/self/mounts.
@@ -538,6 +543,8 @@ upon error."
   (call-with-error-handling
     (lambda ()
       (mount-essential-file-systems)
+      ;; XXX Synthesise a root file-system object if needed and remove all the
+      ;; special case handling (e.g.: root-fs being #f; root-blah) below.
       (let* ((args    (linux-command-line))
              (to-load (find-long-option "--load" args))
              (root-fs (find root-mount-point? mounts))
@@ -616,11 +623,22 @@ upon error."
                                     #:options root-options
                                     #:check? (if root-fs
                                                  (file-system-check? root-fs)
-                                                 #t))
+                                                 #t)
+                                    #:skip-check-if-clean?
+                                    (and=> root-fs
+                                           file-system-skip-check-if-clean?)
+                                    #:repair (if root-fs
+                                                 (file-system-repair root-fs)
+                                                 'preen))
             (mount "none" "/root" "tmpfs"))
 
         ;; Mount the specified file systems.
-        (for-each mount-file-system
+        (for-each (lambda (fs)
+                    (mount-file-system fs
+                                       #:check? (file-system-check? fs)
+                                       #:skip-check-if-clean?
+                                       (file-system-skip-check-if-clean? fs)
+                                       #:repair (file-system-repair fs)))
                   (remove root-mount-point? mounts))
 
         (setenv "EXT2FS_NO_MTAB_OK" #f)
diff --git a/gnu/system/file-systems.scm b/gnu/system/file-systems.scm
index fb87bfc85b..e982a95909 100644
--- a/gnu/system/file-systems.scm
+++ b/gnu/system/file-systems.scm
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 ;;; Copyright © 2020 Google LLC
 ;;; Copyright © 2020 Jakub Kądziołka <kuba@kadziolka.net>
 ;;; Copyright © 2020 Maxim Cournoyer <maxim.cournoyer@gmail.com>
+;;; Copyright © 2021 Tobias Geerinckx-Rice <me@tobias.gr>
 ;;;
 ;;; This file is part of GNU Guix.
 ;;;
@@ -51,6 +52,8 @@
             file-system-mount?
             file-system-mount-may-fail?
             file-system-check?
+            file-system-skip-check-if-clean?
+            file-system-repair
             file-system-create-mount-point?
             file-system-dependencies
             file-system-location
@@ -124,6 +127,10 @@
                     (default #f))
   (check?           file-system-check?            ; Boolean
                     (default #t))
+  (skip-check-if-clean? file-system-skip-check-if-clean? ; Boolean
+                        (default #f))
+  (repair           file-system-repair            ; symbol or #f
+                    (default 'preen))
   (create-mount-point? file-system-create-mount-point? ; Boolean
                        (default #f))
   (dependencies     file-system-dependencies      ; list of <file-system>
@@ -330,19 +337,22 @@ store--e.g., if FS is the root file system."
 initrd code."
   (match fs
     (($ <file-system> device mount-point type flags options mount?
-                      mount-may-fail? needed-for-boot? check?)
+                      mount-may-fail? needed-for-boot?
+                      check? skip-check-if-clean? repair)
      ;; Note: Add new fields towards the end for compatibility.
      (list (cond ((uuid? device)
                   `(uuid ,(uuid-type device) ,(uuid-bytevector device)))
                  ((file-system-label? device)
                   `(file-system-label ,(file-system-label->string device)))
                  (else device))
-           mount-point type flags options mount-may-fail? check?))))
+           mount-point type flags options mount-may-fail?
+           check? skip-check-if-clean? repair))))
 
 (define (spec->file-system sexp)
   "Deserialize SEXP, a list, to the corresponding <file-system> object."
   (match sexp
-    ((device mount-point type flags options mount-may-fail? check?
+    ((device mount-point type flags options mount-may-fail?
+             check? skip-check-if-clean? repair
              _ ...)                               ;placeholder for new fields
      (file-system
        (device (match device
@@ -355,7 +365,9 @@ initrd code."
        (mount-point mount-point) (type type)
        (flags flags) (options options)
        (mount-may-fail? mount-may-fail?)
-       (check? check?)))))
+       (check? check?)
+       (skip-check-if-clean? skip-check-if-clean?)
+       (repair repair)))))
 
 (define (specification->file-system-mapping spec writable?)
   "Read the SPEC and return the corresponding <file-system-mapping>.  SPEC is
