DEPMOD linux command manual
depmod(8) depmod(8)
NAME
depmod -- program to generate modules.dep and map files.
SYNOPSIS
depmod [-b basedir] [-e] [-F System.map] [-n] [-v] [version] [-A
]
depmod [-e] [-FSystem.map] [-n] [-v] [version] [filename ...]
DESCRIPTION
Linux kernel modules can provide services (called "symbols") for other
modules to use (using EXPORT_SYMBOL in the code). If a second module
uses this symbol, that second module clearly depends on the first mod-
ule. These dependencies can get quite complex.
depmod creates a list of module dependencies, by reading each module
under /lib/modules/version and determining what symbols it exports,
and what symbols it needs. By default this list is written to mod-
ules.dep in the same directory. If filenames are given on the command
line, only those modules are examined (which is rarely useful, unless
all modules are listed).
If a version is provided, then that kernel version's module directory
is used, rather than the current kernel version (as returned by "uname
-r").
depmod will also generate various map files in this directory, for use
by the hotplug infrastructure.
OPTIONS
-b basedir --basedir basedir
If your modules are not currently in the (normal) directory
/lib/modules/version, but in a staging area, you can specify
a basedir which is prepended to the directory name. This
basedir is stripped from the resulting modules.dep file, so
it is ready to be moved into the normal location.
-e --errsyms
When combined with the -F option, this reports any symbols
which a module needs which are not supplied by other modules
or the kernel. Normally, any symbols not provided by mod-
ules are assumed to be provided by the kernel (which should
be true in a perfect world).
-F --filesyms System.map
Supplied with the System.map produced when the kernel was
built, this allows the -e option to report unresolved sym-
bols.
-n --dry-run
This sends the resulting modules.dep, then the various map
files, to standard output, rather than writing them into the
module directory.
-A --quick
This option scans to see if any modules are newer the mod-
ules.dep file before any work is done: if not, it silently
exits rather than regenerating the files.
BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY
This version of depmod is for kernels 2.5.48 and above. If it detects
a kernel with support for old-style modules, or the version specified
is before 2.5.48, it will use previous modutils code, so it is com-
pletely transparent to the user.
COPYRIGHT
This manual page Copyright 2002, Rusty Russell, IBM Corporation.
SEE ALSO
modprobe(8), modules.dep(5), depmod.old(8)
depmod(8)