LIBTRACEEVENT(3)

💖 LIBTRACEEVENT — the flags era 💖

ok so bestie, this is the libtraceevent manual page, and today we're talking about tep_set_flag, tep_clear_flag and tep_test_flag — the trio that manages all the flags of your trace event parser context. it's giving switchboard operator energy and honestly? we're obsessed. 🌈

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✨ NAME ✨

tep_set_flag, tep_clear_flag, tep_test_flag — Manage flags of trace event parser context. yes, that's the whole job. and they SLAY at it. 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <event-parse.h>

enum tep_flag {
        TEP_NSEC_OUTPUT,
        TEP_DISABLE_SYS_PLUGINS,
        TEP_DISABLE_PLUGINS
};
void tep_set_flag(struct tep_handle *tep, enum tep_flag flag);
void tep_clear_flag(struct tep_handle *tep, enum tep_flag flag);
bool tep_test_flag(struct tep_handle *tep, enum tep_flag flag);

look at that. three little functions. infinite potential. ✨

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so the trace event parser context flags all live in enum tep_flag, and here's the full rundown because we do not gatekeep:

• TEP_NSEC_OUTPUT — print event's timestamp in nano seconds, instead of micro seconds. tiny numbers, big flex. ⏱️
• TEP_DISABLE_SYS_PLUGINS — disable plugins, located in system's plugin directory. this directory is defined at library compile time, and usually depends on library installation prefix: (install_preffix)/lib/traceevent/plugins. (yes, that spelling in the path is exactly how it's written, don't come for me. 🙈)
• TEP_DISABLE_PLUGINS — disable all library plugins. every last one:
  • in system's plugin directory
  • in directory, defined by the environment variable TRACEEVENT_PLUGIN_DIR
  • in user's home directory, ~/.traceevent/plugins

⚠️ Note: plugin related flags must me set before calling tep_load_plugins() API. (that "me" is the original's typo, bestie, i'm just the messenger — but the meaning is LOUD and CLEAR: set these flags FIRST.)

and now the three icons themselves:

• tep_set_flag() sets flag to tep context. 🎀
• tep_clear_flag() clears flag from tep context. 🧹
• tep_test_flag() tests if flag is set to tep context. 🔍

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🔥 RETURN VALUE 🔥

tep_test_flag() returns true if flag is set, false otherwise. that's it. binary. no nuance. very main character. 👑

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💜 EXAMPLE 💜

here's the whole vibe in code, straight up, exactly as written:

#include <event-parse.h>
...
struct tep_handle *tep = tep_alloc();
...
/* Print timestamps in nanoseconds */
tep_set_flag(tep,  TEP_NSEC_OUTPUT);
...
if (tep_test_flag(tep, TEP_NSEC_OUTPUT)) {
        /* print timestamps in nanoseconds */
} else {
        /* print timestamps in microseconds */
}
...
/* Print timestamps in microseconds */
tep_clear_flag(tep, TEP_NSEC_OUTPUT);
...

set it, check it, clear it, repeat. that's the whole arc. 🫶

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🎀 FILES 🎀

• event-parse.h — Header file to include in order to have access to the library APIs.
• -ltraceevent — Linker switch to add when building a program that uses the library.

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⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

libtraceevent(3), trace-cmd(1)

go read those too, bestie, knowledge is free and it's cute. 📚

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👑 AUTHOR 👑

• Steven Rostedt <rostedt@goodmis.org[1]>, author of libtraceevent.
• Tzvetomir Stoyanov <tz.stoyanov@gmail.com[2]>, author of this man page.

legends, both of them, no cap. 🌟

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😭 REPORTING BUGS 😭

Report bugs to <linux-trace-devel@vger.kernel.org[3]>

(be nice about it, they're doing their best, and their best is honestly iconic. 💖)

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🌈 LICENSE 🌈

libtraceevent is Free Software licensed under the GNU LGPL 2.1

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🍓 RESOURCES 🍓

https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/libs/libtrace/libtraceevent.git/

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🧚 NOTES 🧚

1. rostedt@goodmis.org — mailto:rostedt@goodmis.org
2. tz.stoyanov@gmail.com — mailto:tz.stoyanov@gmail.com
3. linux-trace-devel@vger.kernel.org — mailto:linux-trace-devel@vger.kernel.org

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and that's the page, babes 💕 this was libtraceevent 1.9.0, from the libtraceevent Manual, dated 06/15/2026 — go set some flags, you absolute icon. periodt. 💅✨