LIBTRACECMD(3)

💅 LIBTRACECMD(3) — the libtrace-cmd girlies' manual

okay so bestie, welcome to the libtracefs manual page for libtracecmd(3) — yes the manual section is a little chaotic but we move. this page is literally all about one function and it's about to become your new fave 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

tracecmd_set_loglevel — sets the log level of the library. that's it. that's the whole job. simple, iconic, ate 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <trace-cmd.h>

int tracecmd_set_loglevel(enum tep_loglevel level);

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so the tracecmd_set_loglevel() function sets the level of the library logs that get printed on the console. if you want the nitty-gritty deets on what each log level actually means, go look at libtraceevent(3) — it's giving read-the-source (jk it's a manpage, it's fine).

the way it works is kinda like a vibe check with a ladder: setting the log level to a specific value means logs from all the previous levels get printed too. so for example, TEP_LOG_WARNING will print any logs with severity TEP_LOG_WARNING, TEP_LOG_ERROR and TEP_LOG_CRITICAL. lowkey generous of it 💖

the default log level is TEP_LOG_CRITICAL — that's the chill baseline, not too chatty, no cap.

and here's the cute part: when you set a new level, it also gets propagated to libtracefs and libtraceevent. so you set it once and everybody in the group chat hears about it 🫶

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🌈 EXAMPLE 🌈

#include <trace-cmd.h>
...
tracecmd_set_loglevel(TEP_LOG_ALL);
...
/* call libtracecmd, libtracefs or libtraceevent APIs and observe any logs they produce */
...
tracecmd_set_loglevel(TEP_LOG_CRITICAL);

see the pattern? crank it all the way up, do your thing, then bring it back down to TEP_LOG_CRITICAL. main character energy, responsible girlie behaviour ✨

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🎀 FILES 🎀

• trace-cmd.h — the header file to include in order to have access to the library APIs. literally the entry ticket to the party 🎟️
• -ltracecmd — the linker switch to add when building a program that uses the library. don't forget it or the linker will simply not let you in 😭

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

libtracefs(3), libtraceevent(3), trace-cmd(1), trace-cmd.dat(5)

iykyk, go read them all 💀

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🌸 AUTHOR 🌸

• Steven Rostedt <rostedt@goodmis.org>
• Tzvetomir Stoyanov <tz.stoyanov@gmail.com>

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🐛 REPORTING BUGS 🐛

found a bug? report bugs to <linux-trace-devel@vger.kernel.org> — the girlies over there will handle it 🫶

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💜 LICENSE 💜

libtracecmd is Free Software licensed under the GNU LGPL 2.1. slay, free as in freedom 🦋

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⭐ RESOURCES ⭐

https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/utils/trace-cmd/trace-cmd.git/

that's the repo, go touch grass (the source code, I mean) 🌱

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🍓 COPYING 🍓

Copyright (C) 2021 VMware, Inc. Free use of this software is granted under the terms of the GNU Public License (GPL). iconic behaviour, ngl 🙈

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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

these are literally just the emails as links, bestie, no extra lore 💅

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that's the whole page!! this was the libtracefs version dated 03/09/2026 for LIBTRACECMD(3) — go forth and log responsibly, mwah 💖🎀✨