USERCONF(4)

💅 USERCONF(4) — like, the kernel interfaces manual, bestie 🎀

okay so picture this: it's USERCONF(4), from the Kernel Interfaces Manual, and she's literally the moment. strap in ✨

---

🌸 NAME 🌸

userconf — the in-kernel device configuration manager. yes, in-kernel. she lives inside the kernel. main character energy fr 💅

---

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

options USERCONF

that's it. that's the whole synopsis. iconic.

---

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

okay so userconf is the in-kernel device configuration manager. what does that even mean? it means she's the one who's allowed to go in and alter the kernel autoconfiguration framework at runtime. like, while everything's running. no reboot, no nothing. she just does it 😌

and how do you get her to show up? you activate her from the boot loader by passing the -c option to the kernel. that's the summoning ritual. that's it. that's the whole vibe check 🫶

---

💖 COMMAND SYNTAX 💖

the general command syntax is literally just:

command [option]

so, command, and then maybe an option. sometimes. if she feels like it. ngl that's the whole grammar 🎀

now here's the cute part: userconf has a more(1)-like functionality. meaning if a number of lines in a command's output exceeds the number defined in the lines variable, she hits you with the “-- more --” and then waits for a response. and your response can be one of these:

• <return> — one more line. just one. a little sip 🍓
• <space> — one more page. go off, load the whole thing 📄
• q — abort the current command, and return to the command input mode. we're done here, bye 💀

---

👑 COMMANDS 👑

userconf supports the following commands, and yes i'm listing every single one because they all matter:

• lines count — specify the number of lines before more. this is the number that the more-like behaviour up there is checking against, iykyk.
• base 8 | 10 | 16 — base for displaying large numbers. pick your fave: octal, decimal, or hex. choose your fighter 🔥
• change devno | dev — change devices.
• disable devno | dev — disable devices. they're on timeout now 🙈
• enable devno | dev — enable devices. welcome back bestie 🌈
• exit — a synonym for quit. same energy, different spelling.
• find devno | dev — find devices. where'd they go 🔍
• help — display online help. she's helping you help yourself 💜
• list — list current configuration. the whole roster, laid out ⭐
• quit — leave userconf. sad moment but okay 😭
• ? — a synonym for help. shorter, cuter, same thing.

---

🧚 HISTORY 🧚

the userconf framework first appeared in OpenBSD 2.0, and was then integrated into NetBSD 1.6. a whole journey. we love a cross-project glow-up ✨

---

🌺 AUTHORS 🌺

the userconf framework was written by Mats O Jansson ⟨moj@stacken.kth.se⟩. thank you king, we see you 👑

---

okay that's the whole page, no cap. every flag, every command, every devno | dev, all of it. you're welcome bestie 🫶

---

so yeah, that's userconf — shipped in the Debian world on July 1, 2001 🎀 catch you at the boot loader, mwah 💋