doc/modprobe.sgml

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   4   <!ENTITY sgml    "<abbrev>SGML</abbrev>">
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   7 <!-- Stolen from manual page for docbook-to-man, DocBook source file
   8      (C) 1999 W. Borgert debacle@debian.org
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  10      $Id: docbook-to-man.sgml,v 1.8 2002/04/27 15:28:02 debacle Exp $ -->
  11
  12 <refentry>
  13   <refentryinfo>
  14     <address>
  15       <email>jcm@jonmasters.org</email>
  16     </address>
  17     <author>
  18       <firstname>Jon</firstname>
  19       <surname>Masters</surname>
  20     </author>
  21     <date>2010-03-01</date>
  22   </refentryinfo>
  23   <refmeta>
  24     <refentrytitle>modprobe</refentrytitle>
  25     <manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
  26   </refmeta>
  27   <refnamediv>
  28     <refname>modprobe</refname> <refpurpose>program to add and remove modules from the Linux Kernel</refpurpose>
  29   </refnamediv>
  30   <refsynopsisdiv>
  31     <cmdsynopsis>
  32       <command>modprobe</command>
  33       <arg><option>-v</option></arg>
  34       <arg><option>-V</option></arg>
  35       <arg><option>-C <replaceable>config-file</replaceable></option></arg>
  36       <arg><option>-n</option></arg>
  37       <arg><option>-i</option></arg>
  38       <arg><option>-q</option></arg>
  39       <arg><option>-b</option></arg>
  40       <arg><replaceable>modulename</replaceable></arg>
  41       <arg rep='repeat'><option><replaceable>module parameters</replaceable></option></arg>
  42     </cmdsynopsis>
  43     <cmdsynopsis>
  44       <command>modprobe</command>
  45       <arg>-r</arg>
  46       <arg><option>-v</option></arg>
  47       <arg><option>-n</option></arg>
  48       <arg><option>-i</option></arg>
  49       <arg rep='repeat'><option><replaceable>modulename</replaceable></option></arg>
  50     </cmdsynopsis>
  51     <cmdsynopsis>
  52       <command>modprobe</command>
  53       <arg>-l</arg>
  54       <arg>-t <replaceable>dirname</replaceable></arg>
  55       <arg><option><replaceable>wildcard</replaceable></option></arg>
  56     </cmdsynopsis>
  57     <cmdsynopsis>
  58       <command>modprobe</command>
  59       <arg>-c</arg>
  60     </cmdsynopsis>
  61     <cmdsynopsis>
  62       <command>modprobe</command>
  63       <arg>--dump-modversions</arg> <arg><replaceable>filename</replaceable></arg>
  64     </cmdsynopsis>
  65   </refsynopsisdiv>
  66   <refsect1>
  67     <title>Description</title>
  68
  69     <para>
  70       <command>modprobe</command> intelligently adds or removes a
  71       module from the Linux kernel: note that for convenience, there
  72       is no difference between _ and - in module names (automatic
  73       underscore conversion is performed).
  74       <command>modprobe</command> looks in the module directory
  75       <filename>/lib/modules/`uname -r`</filename> for all
  76       the modules and other files, except for the optional
  77       <filename>/etc/modprobe.conf</filename> configuration file and
  78       <filename>/etc/modprobe.d</filename> directory
  79       (see <citerefentry>
  80         <refentrytitle>modprobe.conf</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum>
  81       </citerefentry>). <command>modprobe</command> will also use module
  82       options specified on the kernel command line in the form of
  83       &lt;module&gt;.&lt;option&gt;.
  84     </para>
  85     <para>
  86       Note that unlike in 2.4 series Linux kernels (which are not supported
  87       by this tool) this version of <command>modprobe</command> does not
  88       do anything to the module itself: the work of resolving symbols
  89       and understanding parameters is done inside the kernel.  So
  90       module failure is sometimes accompanied by a kernel message: see
  91       <citerefentry>
  92         <refentrytitle>dmesg</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
  93       </citerefentry>.
  94     </para>
  95     <para>
  96       <command>modprobe</command> expects an up-to-date
  97       <filename>modules.dep.bin</filename> file (or fallback human
  98       readable <filename>modules.dep</filename> file), as generated
  99       by the corresponding <command>depmod</command> utility shipped
 100       along with <command>modprobe</command> (see
 101       <citerefentry><refentrytitle>depmod</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
 102       </citerefentry>).  This file lists what other modules each
 103       module needs (if any), and <command>modprobe</command> uses this
 104       to add or remove these dependencies automatically.
 105     </para>
 106     <para>
 107       If any arguments are given after the
 108       <replaceable>modulename</replaceable>, they are passed to the
 109       kernel (in addition to any options listed in the configuration
 110       file).
 111     </para>
 112   </refsect1>
 113   <refsect1>
 114     <title>OPTIONS</title>
 115     <variablelist>
 116       <varlistentry>
 117         <term><option>-a</option> <option>--all</option>
 118         </term>
 119         <listitem>
 120           <para>Insert all module names on the command line.
 121          </para>
 122         </listitem>
 123       </varlistentry>
 124       <varlistentry>
 125         <term><option>-b</option> <option>--use-blacklist</option>
 126         </term>
 127         <listitem>
 128           <para>
 129             This option causes <command>modprobe</command> to apply the
 130             <command>blacklist</command> commands in the configuration files
 131             (if any) to module names as well.  It is usually used by
 132             <citerefentry>
 133               <refentrytitle>udev</refentrytitle><manvolnum>7</manvolnum>
 134             </citerefentry>.
 135           </para>
 136         </listitem>
 137       </varlistentry>
 138       <varlistentry>
 139         <term><option>-C</option> <option>--config</option>
 140         </term>
 141         <listitem>
 142           <para>This option overrides the default configuration directory/file
 143                 (<filename>/etc/modprobe.d</filename> or
 144                 <filename>/etc/modprobe.conf</filename>).
 145           </para>
 146           <para>
 147             This option is passed through <command>install</command>
 148             or <command>remove</command> commands to other
 149             <command>modprobe</command> commands in the
 150             MODPROBE_OPTIONS environment variable.
 151           </para>
 152         </listitem>
 153       </varlistentry>
 154       <varlistentry>
 155         <term><option>-c</option> <option>--showconfig</option>
 156         </term>
 157         <listitem>
 158           <para>Dump out the effective configuration from the config directory
 159                 and exit.
 160           </para>
 161         </listitem>
 162       </varlistentry>
 163       <varlistentry>
 164         <term><option>--dump-modversions</option>
 165         </term>
 166         <listitem>
 167           <para>
 168             Print out a list of module versioning information required by a
 169             module. This option is commonly used by distributions in order to
 170             package up a Linux kernel module using module versioning deps.
 171           </para>
 172         </listitem>
 173       </varlistentry>
 174       <varlistentry>
 175         <term><option>-d</option> <option>--dirname</option>
 176         </term>
 177         <listitem>
 178           <para>
 179             Directory where modules can be found,
 180             <filename>/lib/modules/<replaceable>RELEASE</replaceable></filename>
 181             by default.
 182           </para>
 183         </listitem>
 184       </varlistentry>
 185       <varlistentry>
 186         <term><option>--first-time</option>
 187         </term>
 188         <listitem>
 189           <para>
 190             Normally, <command>modprobe</command> will succeed (and do
 191             nothing) if told to insert a module which is already
 192             present or to remove a module which isn't present.  This is
 193             ideal for simple scripts; however, more complicated scripts often
 194             want to know whether <command>modprobe</command> really
 195             did something: this option makes modprobe fail in the
 196             case that it actually didn't do anything.
 197           </para>
 198         </listitem>
 199       </varlistentry>
 200       <varlistentry>
 201         <term><option>--force-vermagic</option>
 202         </term>
 203         <listitem>
 204           <para>
 205             Every module contains a small string containing important
 206             information, such as the kernel and compiler versions.  If
 207             a module fails to load and the kernel complains that the
 208             "version magic" doesn't match, you can use this option to
 209             remove it.  Naturally, this check is there for your
 210             protection, so this using option is dangerous unless
 211             you know what you're doing.
 212          </para>
 213          <para>
 214             This applies to any modules inserted: both the module (or
 215             alias) on the command line and any modules on which it depends.
 216          </para>
 217         </listitem>
 218       </varlistentry>
 219       <varlistentry>
 220         <term><option>--force-modversion</option>
 221         </term>
 222         <listitem>
 223           <para>
 224             When modules are compiled with CONFIG_MODVERSIONS set, a
 225             section detailing the versions of every interfaced used
 226             by (or supplied by) the module is created.  If a
 227             module fails to load and the kernel complains that the
 228             module disagrees about a version of some interface, you
 229             can use "--force-modversion" to remove the version
 230             information altogether.  Naturally, this check is there
 231             for your protection, so using this option is dangerous
 232             unless you know what you're doing.
 233          </para>
 234          <para>
 235             This applies any modules inserted: both the module (or
 236             alias) on the command line and any modules on which it depends.
 237          </para>
 238         </listitem>
 239       </varlistentry>
 240       <varlistentry>
 241         <term><option>-f</option> <option>--force</option>
 242         </term>
 243         <listitem>
 244           <para>
 245             Try to strip any versioning information from the module
 246             which might otherwise stop it from loading: this is the
 247             same as using both <option>--force-vermagic</option> and
 248             <option>--force-modversion</option>.  Naturally, these
 249             checks are there for your protection, so using this option
 250             is dangerous unless you know what you are doing.
 251          </para>
 252          <para>
 253             This applies to any modules inserted: both the module (or
 254             alias) on the command line and any modules it on which it depends.
 255          </para>
 256         </listitem>
 257       </varlistentry>
 258       <varlistentry>
 259         <term><option>-i</option> <option>--ignore-install</option> <option>--ignore-remove</option>
 260         </term>
 261         <listitem>
 262           <para>This option causes <command>modprobe</command> to
 263                 ignore <command>install</command> and
 264                 <command>remove</command> commands in the
 265                 configuration file (if any) for the module specified on the
 266                 command line (any dependent modules are still subject
 267                 to commands set for them in the configuration file). Both
 268                 <command>install</command> and <command>remove</command>
 269                 commands will currently be ignored when this option is used
 270                 regardless of whether the request was more specifically
 271                 made with only one or other (and not both) of
 272                 <option>--ignore-install</option> or
 273                 <option>--ignore-remove</option>.
 274                 See <citerefentry>
 275 <refentrytitle>modprobe.conf</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum>
 276 </citerefentry>.
 277           </para>
 278         </listitem>
 279       </varlistentry>
 280       <varlistentry>
 281         <term><option>-l</option> <option>--list</option>
 282         </term>
 283         <listitem>
 284           <para>List all modules matching the given wildcard (or "*"
 285                 if no wildcard is given).  This option is provided for
 286                 backwards compatibility and may go away in future: see
 287             <citerefentry>
 288               <refentrytitle>find</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
 289             </citerefentry> and
 290             <citerefentry>
 291               <refentrytitle>basename</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
 292             </citerefentry> for a more flexible alternative.
 293          </para>
 294         </listitem>
 295       </varlistentry>
 296       <varlistentry>
 297         <term><option>-n</option> <option>--dry-run</option>
 298         <option>--show</option>
 299         </term>
 300         <listitem>
 301           <para>This option does everything but actually insert or
 302                 delete the modules (or run the install or remove
 303                 commands).  Combined with <option>-v</option>, it is
 304                 useful for debugging problems. For historical reasons
 305                 both <option>--dry-run</option> and <option>--show</option>
 306                 actually mean the same thing and are interchangeable.
 307           </para>
 308         </listitem>
 309       </varlistentry>
 310       <varlistentry>
 311         <term><option>-q</option> <option>--quiet</option>
 312         </term>
 313         <listitem>
 314           <para>
 315             With this flag, <command>modprobe</command> won't print an error
 316             message if you try to remove or insert a module it can't find (and
 317             isn't an alias or
 318             <command>install</command>/<command>remove</command> command).
 319             However, it will still return with a non-zero exit status. The
 320             kernel uses this to opportunistically probe for modules which might
 321             exist using request_module.
 322           </para>
 323         </listitem>
 324       </varlistentry>
 325       <varlistentry>
 326         <term><option>-R</option> <option>--resolve-alias</option>
 327         </term>
 328         <listitem>
 329           <para>
 330             Print all module names matching an alias. This can be useful
 331             for debugging module alias problems.
 332           </para>
 333         </listitem>
 334       </varlistentry>
 335       <varlistentry>
 336         <term><option>-r</option> <option>--remove</option>
 337         </term>
 338         <listitem>
 339           <para>
 340             This option causes <command>modprobe</command> to remove
 341             rather than insert a module.  If the modules it depends on
 342             are also unused, <command>modprobe</command> will try to
 343             remove them too.  Unlike insertion, more than one module
 344             can be specified on the command line (it does not make
 345             sense to specify module parameters when removing modules).
 346           </para>
 347           <para>
 348             There is usually no reason to remove modules, but some
 349             buggy modules require it.  Your distribution kernel may not
 350             have been built to support removal of modules at all.
 351           </para>
 352         </listitem>
 353      </varlistentry>
 354      <varlistentry>
 355         <term><option>-S</option> <option>--set-version</option>
 356         </term>
 357         <listitem>
 358           <para>
 359             Set the kernel version, rather than using
 360             <citerefentry><refentrytitle>uname</refentrytitle><manvolnum>2</manvolnum></citerefentry> to decide on the kernel version (which dictates where to
 361             find the modules).
 362           </para>
 363         </listitem>
 364       </varlistentry>
 365       <varlistentry>
 366         <term><option>--show-depends</option>
 367         </term>
 368         <listitem>
 369           <para>
 370             List the dependencies of a module (or alias), including
 371             the module itself.  This produces a (possibly empty) set
 372             of module filenames, one per line, each starting with
 373             "insmod" and is typically used by distributions to determine
 374             which modules to include when generating initrd/initramfs images.
 375             <command>Install</command> commands which apply are shown prefixed by
 376             "install".  It does not run any of the install commands.  Note that
 377             <citerefentry><refentrytitle>modinfo</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum></citerefentry>
 378             can be used to extract dependencies of a module from the
 379             module itself, but knows nothing of aliases or install commands.
 380           </para>
 381         </listitem>
 382      </varlistentry>
 383      <varlistentry>
 384         <term><option>-s</option> <option>--syslog</option>
 385         </term>
 386         <listitem>
 387           <para>
 388             This option causes any error messages to go through the
 389             syslog mechanism (as LOG_DAEMON with level LOG_NOTICE)
 390             rather than to standard error.  This is also automatically
 391             enabled when stderr is unavailable.
 392           </para>
 393           <para>
 394             This option is passed through <command>install</command>
 395             or <command>remove</command> commands to other
 396             <command>modprobe</command> commands in the
 397             MODPROBE_OPTIONS environment variable.
 398           </para>
 399         </listitem>
 400       </varlistentry>
 401       <varlistentry>
 402         <term><option>-t</option> <option>--type</option>
 403         </term>
 404         <listitem>
 405           <para>Restrict <option>-l</option> to modules
 406                 in directories matching the
 407                 <replaceable>dirname</replaceable> given.  This option
 408                 is provided for backwards compatibility and may go
 409                 away in future: see
 410             <citerefentry>
 411               <refentrytitle>find</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
 412             </citerefentry>
 413             and
 414             <citerefentry>
 415               <refentrytitle>basename</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
 416             </citerefentry> for a more flexible alternative.
 417          </para>
 418         </listitem>
 419       </varlistentry>
 420       <varlistentry>
 421         <term><option>-V</option> <option>--version</option>
 422         </term>
 423         <listitem>
 424           <para>Show version of program and exit.</para>
 425         </listitem>
 426       </varlistentry>
 427       <varlistentry>
 428         <term><option>-v</option> <option>--verbose</option>
 429         </term>
 430         <listitem>
 431           <para>
 432             Print messages about what the program is doing.  Usually
 433             <command>modprobe</command> only prints messages if
 434             something goes wrong.
 435           </para>
 436           <para>
 437             This option is passed through <command>install</command>
 438             or <command>remove</command> commands to other
 439             <command>modprobe</command> commands in the
 440             MODPROBE_OPTIONS environment variable.
 441           </para>
 442         </listitem>
 443       </varlistentry>
 444     </variablelist>
 445   </refsect1>
 446   <refsect1>
 447     <title>ENVIRONMENT</title>
 448     <para>
 449       The MODPROBE_OPTIONS environment variable can also be used to
 450       pass arguments to <command>modprobe</command>.
 451     </para>
 452   </refsect1>
 453   <refsect1>
 454     <title>COPYRIGHT</title>
 455     <para>
 456       This manual page originally Copyright 2002, Rusty Russell, IBM
 457       Corporation. Maintained by Jon Masters and others.
 458     </para>
 459   </refsect1>
 460   <refsect1>
 461     <title>SEE ALSO</title>
 462     <para>
 463       <citerefentry>
 464         <refentrytitle>modprobe.conf</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum>
 465       </citerefentry>,
 466       <citerefentry>
 467         <refentrytitle>modprobe.d</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum>
 468       </citerefentry>,
 469       <citerefentry>
 470         <refentrytitle>insmod</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
 471       </citerefentry>,
 472       <citerefentry>
 473         <refentrytitle>rmmod</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
 474       </citerefentry>,
 475       <citerefentry>
 476         <refentrytitle>lsmod</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
 477       </citerefentry>,
 478       <citerefentry>
 479         <refentrytitle>modinfo</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
 480       </citerefentry>
 481     </para>
 482   </refsect1>
 483 </refentry>
 484
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