.\" $OpenBSD: ktrace.1,v 1.19 2007/05/31 19:20:11 jmc Exp $ .\" .\" Copyright (c) 1990, 1993 .\" The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. .\" .\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without .\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions .\" are met: .\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. .\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the .\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. .\" 3. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors .\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software .\" without specific prior written permission. .\" .\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND .\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE .\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE .\" ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE .\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL .\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS .\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) .\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT .\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY .\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF .\" SUCH DAMAGE. .\" .\" from: @(#)ktrace.1 8.1 (Berkeley) 6/6/93 .\" .Dd $Mdocdate: May 31 2007 $ .Dt KTRACE 1 .Os .Sh NAME .Nm ktrace .Nd enable kernel process tracing .Sh SYNOPSIS .Nm ktrace .Op Fl aCcdi .Op Fl f Ar trfile .Op Fl g Ar pgid .Op Fl p Ar pid .Op Fl t Ar trstr .Nm ktrace .Op Fl adi .Op Fl f Ar trfile .Op Fl t Ar trstr .Ar command .Sh DESCRIPTION .Nm ktrace enables kernel trace logging for the specified processes. By default, kernel trace data is logged to the file .Pa ktrace.out , unless overridden by the .Fl f option. The kernel operations that are traced include system calls, namei translations, signal processing, and I/O. .Pp Once tracing is enabled on a process, trace data will be logged until either the process exits or the trace point is cleared. A traced process can generate enormous amounts of log data quickly; it is strongly suggested that users memorize how to disable tracing before attempting to trace a process. The following command is sufficient to disable tracing on all user owned processes, and, if executed by root, all processes: .Pp .Dl $ ktrace -C .Pp The trace file is not human-readable; use .Xr kdump 1 to decode it. .Pp The options are as follows: .Bl -tag -width "-t trstr" .It Fl a Append to the trace file instead of recreating it. .It Fl C Disable tracing on all user owned processes, and, if executed by root, all processes in the system. .It Fl c Clear the trace points associated with the specified file or processes. .It Fl d Descendants; perform the operation for all current children of the designated processes. .It Fl f Ar trfile Log trace records to .Ar trfile instead of .Pa ktrace.out . .It Fl g Ar pgid Enable (disable) tracing on all processes in the process group (only one .Fl g flag is permitted). .It Fl i Inherit; pass the trace flags to all future children of the designated processes. .It Fl p Ar pid Enable (disable) tracing on the indicated process ID (only one .Fl p flag is permitted). .It Fl t Ar trstr The string argument represents the kernel trace points, one per letter. The default flags are .Cm c , .Cm e , .Cm i , .Cm n , and .Cm s . The following table equates the letters with the tracepoints: .Pp .Bl -tag -width flag -offset indent -compact .It Cm c trace system calls .It Cm e trace emulation changes .It Cm i trace I/O .It Cm n trace namei translations .It Cm s trace signal processing .It Cm w trace context switch points .El .It Ar command Execute .Ar command with the specified trace flags. .El .Pp The .Fl p , .Fl g , and .Ar command options are mutually exclusive. .Sh FILES .Bl -tag -width ktrace.out -compact .It Pa ktrace.out default ktrace dump file .El .Sh EXAMPLES Trace all kernel operations of process ID 34: .Dl $ ktrace -p 34 .Pp Trace all kernel operations of processes in process group 15 and pass the trace flags to all current and future children: .Dl $ ktrace -idg 15 .Pp Disable all tracing of process 65: .Dl $ ktrace -cp 65 .Pp Disable tracing signals on process 70 and all current children: .Dl $ ktrace -t s -cdp 70 .Pp Enable tracing of I/O on process 67: .Dl $ ktrace -ti -p 67 .Pp Run the command .Xr w 1 , tracing only system calls: .Dl $ ktrace -tc w .Pp Disable all tracing to the file "tracedata": .Dl $ ktrace -c -f tracedata .Pp Disable tracing of all processes owned by the user: .Dl $ ktrace -C .Sh SEE ALSO .Xr kdump 1 , .Xr ktrace 2 .Sh HISTORY The .Nm ktrace command appeared in .Bx 4.4 .