--- /dev/null
+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later:
+
+read and write commands
+=======================
+
+Synopsis
+--------
+
+::
+
+ read <interface> <dev[:part|#partname]> <addr> <blk#> <cnt>
+ write <interface> <dev[:part|#partname]> <addr> <blk#> <cnt>
+
+The read and write commands can be used for raw access to data in
+block devices (or partitions therein), i.e. without going through a
+file system.
+
+read
+----
+
+The block device is specified using the <interface> (e.g. "mmc") and
+<dev> parameters. If the block device has a partition table, one can
+optionally specify a partition number (using the :part syntax) or
+partition name (using the #partname syntax). The command then reads
+the <cnt> blocks of data starting at block number <blk#> of the given
+device/partition to the memory address <addr>.
+
+write
+-----
+
+The write command is completely equivalent to the read command, except
+of course that the transfer direction is reversed.
+
+Examples
+--------
+
+ # Read 2 MiB from partition 3 of mmc device 2 to $loadaddr
+ read mmc 2.3 $loadaddr 0 0x1000
+
+ # Read 16 MiB from the partition named 'kernel' of mmc device 1 to $loadaddr
+ read mmc 1#kernel $loadaddr 0 0x8000
+
+ # Write to the third sector of the partition named 'bootdata' of mmc device 0
+ write mmc 0#bootdata $loadaddr 2 1