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DEVD(8) FreeBSD System Manager's Manual DEVD(8)
NAME
devd - device state change daemon
SYNOPSIS
devd [-dnq] [-f file] [-l num]
DESCRIPTION
The devd daemon provides a way to have userland programs run when certain
kernel events happen.
The following options are accepted.
-d Run in the foreground instead of becoming a daemon and log
additional information for debugging.
-f file Use configuration file file instead of the default
/etc/devd.conf. If option -f is specified more than once, the
last file specified is used.
-l num Limit concurrent socket connections to num. The default
connection limit is 10.
-n Do not process all pending events before becoming a daemon.
Instead, call daemon right away.
-q Quiet mode. Only log messages at priority LOG_WARNING or
above.
IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
The devd utility is a system daemon that runs in the background all the
time. Whenever a device is added to or removed from the device tree,
devd will execute actions specified in devd.conf(5). For example, devd
might execute dhclient(8) when an Ethernet adapter is added to the
system, and kill the dhclient(8) instance when the same adapter is
removed. Another example would be for devd to use a table to locate and
load via kldload(8) the proper driver for an unrecognized device that is
added to the system.
The devd utility hooks into the devctl(4) device driver. This device
driver has hooks into the device configuration system. When nodes are
added or deleted from the tree, this device will deliver information
about the event to devd. Once devd has parsed the message, it will
search its action list for that kind of event and perform the action with
the highest matching value. For most mundane uses, the default handlers
are adequate. However, for more advanced users, the power is present to
tweak every aspect of what happens.
The devd utility reads /etc/devd.conf or the alternate configuration file
specified with a -f option and uses that file to drive the rest of the
process. While the format of this file is described in devd.conf(5),
some basics are covered here.
In the options section, one can define multiple directories to search for
config files. The default config file specifies /etc/devd and
/usr/local/etc/devd as directories to search. All files in these
directories whose names match the pattern *.conf are parsed. These files
are intended to be installed by third party vendors that wish to hook
FILES
/etc/devd.conf The default devd configuration file.
/var/run/devd.seqpacket.pipe The socket used by devd to communicate with
its clients.
/var/run/devd.pipe A deprecated socket retained for use with
old clients.
SEE ALSO
devctl(4), devd.conf(5)
HISTORY
The devd utility first appeared in FreeBSD 5.0.
AUTHORS
M. Warner Losh
FreeBSD 14.0-RELEASE-p11 October 19, 2021 FreeBSD 14.0-RELEASE-p11