KLDSTAT(8)

💖 NAME 💖

okay so this is kldstat(8), straight outta the System Manager's Manual, and she is here to show you the status of anything dynamically linked into the kernel. 💅

kldstat — display status of dynamic kernel linker. periodt.

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

       kldstat [-h] [-q] [-v] [-d] [-i id] [-n filename]
       kldstat [-q] [-d] [-m modname]

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

the kldstat utility displays the status of any files dynamically linked into the kernel. no cap, that's her whole job. 🫶

here's the option menu, bestie:

• -d — shows the module specific data, literally as int, unsigned int, and unsigned long. data reveal slay. ✨
• -h — displays the size field in a human-readable form, using unit suffixes instead of hex values. so much easier to read, iykyk. 💖
• -i id — displays the status of only the file with this ID.
• -m modname — displays the status of only the module with this modname.
• -n filename — displays the status of only the file with this filename.
• -q — quietly checks if the file is loaded or compiled into the kernel. stealth mode, no extra chatter. 🤫
• -v — be more verbose. give us the extra tea. 🍓

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🎀 EXIT STATUS 🎀

the kldstat utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs. simple as that, bestie. 💀

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🦋 EXAMPLES 🦋

show files dynamically linked into the kernel. pro tip from the page: the kernel itself is shown in the list too, and Refs shows the number of modules referenced by each file:

             $ kldstat
             Id Refs Address                Size Name
              1   38 0xffffffff80200000  2448f20 kernel
              2    3 0xffffffff82649000    b7bd8 linux.ko
              3    5 0xffffffff82701000     9698 linux_common.ko
              4    1 0xffffffff82b11000     1eae linsysfs.ko
              5    1 0xffffffff82b13000    f2af8 nvidia-modeset.ko
              6    1 0xffffffff82c06000  122b020 nvidia.ko
              7    1 0xffffffff83e32000     2668 intpm.ko
              8    1 0xffffffff83e35000      b50 smbus.ko
              9    1 0xffffffff83e36000     18a0 uhid.ko
             10    1 0xffffffff83e38000     2928 ums.ko
             11    1 0xffffffff83e3b000     1aa0 wmt.ko
             12    1 0xffffffff83e3d000     cd70 snd_uaudio.ko

show the verbose status of the linux file and show the size in a human readable fashion. say less:

             $ kldstat -h -v -n linux
             Id Refs Address             Size Name
              2    3 0xffffffff82649000  735K linux.ko (/boot/kernel/linux.ko)
                     Contains modules:
                              Id Name
                               2 linuxelf

same energy as above, but using the id of the file:

             $ kldstat -h -i 2 -v
             Id Refs Address             Size Name
              2    3 0xffffffff82649000  735K linux.ko (/boot/kernel/linux.ko)
                     Contains modules:
                              Id Name
                               2 linuxelf

show the status of the linuxelf module obtained from the example above:

             $ kldstat -v -m linuxelf
             Id  Refs Name
               2    1 linuxelf

show the module specific data for the g_raid module:

             $ kldstat -d -m g_raid
             Id  Refs Name data..(int, uint, ulong)
             366    1 g_raid (0, 0, 0x0)

check if the module fakefile is linked. returns 0 if it is, 1 otherwise:

             $ kldstat -q -n fakefile || echo file not linked
             file not linked

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• kldstat(2)
• kldload(8)
• kldunload(8)

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👑 HISTORY 👑

the kldstat utility first appeared in FreeBSD 3.0, replacing the lkm interface. iconic behavior, honestly. ⭐

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💜 AUTHORS 💜

Doug Rabson <dfr@FreeBSD.org>

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okay that's the whole page, bestie 🫶 — this KLDSTAT(8) manual is Debian flavored and dated January 4, 2025. mwah 💋