proc_sysvipc(5)

💖 proc_sysvipc — the System V IPC gossip corner of /proc 💖

okay bestie, so this is a page from the File Formats Manual section of the Linux man-pages, and it's literally just about one little directory that's holding so much tea. pull up a chair 🫶

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🌸 NAME 🌸

/proc/sysvipc/ — System V IPC, no cap

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

🎀 /proc/sysvipc/

so this is a subdirectory, right? and inside it live three absolutely iconic pseudo-files: msg, sem, and shm. those are the whole squad. 👑

and what do they do?? they list the System V Interprocess Communication (IPC) objects that are currently existing on your system — and yes, each one gets its own file, because we love organization in this house:

• msg → message queues 📬
• sem → semaphores 🚦
• shm → shared memory 🧠

the info they give you is basically the same energy as what you'd get from ipcs(1) — like, similar information, different delivery. both valid. both slay.

and here's the part that makes it so easy to read: these files have headers, and they're formatted with one IPC object per line. it's giving organized. it's giving readable. it's giving "you don't need to squint at this, bestie." 😭💅

oh and if you want the ✨lore✨ — the actual background on what all that information means — go read sysvipc(7). it's the director's commentary, fr fr.

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🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

• proc(5) — the mothership, the main character, the whole vibe 🌈

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and that's the whole page, periodt. 💀

sign-off time: this one's from Linux man-pages 6.20, dated 2026-02-08, and it lives in section 5 of the manual (that's proc_sysvipc(5) for the folks at home 💖). go forth, read your /proc, and stay hydrated. 🌸✨🫶