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1da177e4 | 1 | Linux Magic System Request Key Hacks |
d346cce3 | 2 | Documentation for sysrq.c |
1da177e4 LT |
3 | |
4 | * What is the magic SysRq key? | |
5 | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
6 | It is a 'magical' key combo you can hit which the kernel will respond to | |
7 | regardless of whatever else it is doing, unless it is completely locked up. | |
8 | ||
9 | * How do I enable the magic SysRq key? | |
10 | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
11 | You need to say "yes" to 'Magic SysRq key (CONFIG_MAGIC_SYSRQ)' when | |
12 | configuring the kernel. When running a kernel with SysRq compiled in, | |
13 | /proc/sys/kernel/sysrq controls the functions allowed to be invoked via | |
8eaede49 BH |
14 | the SysRq key. The default value in this file is set by the |
15 | CONFIG_MAGIC_SYSRQ_DEFAULT_ENABLE config symbol, which itself defaults | |
16 | to 1. Here is the list of possible values in /proc/sys/kernel/sysrq: | |
1da177e4 LT |
17 | 0 - disable sysrq completely |
18 | 1 - enable all functions of sysrq | |
19 | >1 - bitmask of allowed sysrq functions (see below for detailed function | |
20 | description): | |
e8b5cbb0 BH |
21 | 2 = 0x2 - enable control of console logging level |
22 | 4 = 0x4 - enable control of keyboard (SAK, unraw) | |
23 | 8 = 0x8 - enable debugging dumps of processes etc. | |
24 | 16 = 0x10 - enable sync command | |
25 | 32 = 0x20 - enable remount read-only | |
26 | 64 = 0x40 - enable signalling of processes (term, kill, oom-kill) | |
27 | 128 = 0x80 - allow reboot/poweroff | |
28 | 256 = 0x100 - allow nicing of all RT tasks | |
1da177e4 LT |
29 | |
30 | You can set the value in the file by the following command: | |
31 | echo "number" >/proc/sys/kernel/sysrq | |
32 | ||
8eaede49 BH |
33 | The number may be written here either as decimal or as hexadecimal |
34 | with the 0x prefix. CONFIG_MAGIC_SYSRQ_DEFAULT_ENABLE must always be | |
35 | written in hexadecimal. | |
e8b5cbb0 | 36 | |
1da177e4 LT |
37 | Note that the value of /proc/sys/kernel/sysrq influences only the invocation |
38 | via a keyboard. Invocation of any operation via /proc/sysrq-trigger is always | |
d346cce3 | 39 | allowed (by a user with admin privileges). |
1da177e4 LT |
40 | |
41 | * How do I use the magic SysRq key? | |
42 | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
43 | On x86 - You press the key combo 'ALT-SysRq-<command key>'. Note - Some | |
44 | keyboards may not have a key labeled 'SysRq'. The 'SysRq' key is | |
45 | also known as the 'Print Screen' key. Also some keyboards cannot | |
46 | handle so many keys being pressed at the same time, so you might | |
dfb0042d | 47 | have better luck with "press Alt", "press SysRq", "release SysRq", |
1da177e4 LT |
48 | "press <command key>", release everything. |
49 | ||
50 | On SPARC - You press 'ALT-STOP-<command key>', I believe. | |
51 | ||
52 | On the serial console (PC style standard serial ports only) - | |
53 | You send a BREAK, then within 5 seconds a command key. Sending | |
54 | BREAK twice is interpreted as a normal BREAK. | |
55 | ||
56 | On PowerPC - Press 'ALT - Print Screen (or F13) - <command key>, | |
57 | Print Screen (or F13) - <command key> may suffice. | |
58 | ||
59 | On other - If you know of the key combos for other architectures, please | |
60 | let me know so I can add them to this section. | |
61 | ||
d346cce3 | 62 | On all - write a character to /proc/sysrq-trigger. e.g.: |
1da177e4 LT |
63 | |
64 | echo t > /proc/sysrq-trigger | |
65 | ||
66 | * What are the 'command' keys? | |
67 | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
1da177e4 LT |
68 | 'b' - Will immediately reboot the system without syncing or unmounting |
69 | your disks. | |
70 | ||
cab8bd34 HS |
71 | 'c' - Will perform a system crash by a NULL pointer dereference. |
72 | A crashdump will be taken if configured. | |
86b1ae38 | 73 | |
d346cce3 RD |
74 | 'd' - Shows all locks that are held. |
75 | ||
78831ba6 | 76 | 'e' - Send a SIGTERM to all processes, except for init. |
1da177e4 | 77 | |
78831ba6 | 78 | 'f' - Will call oom_kill to kill a memory hog process. |
1da177e4 | 79 | |
003bb8ab | 80 | 'g' - Used by kgdb (kernel debugger) |
1da177e4 | 81 | |
78831ba6 | 82 | 'h' - Will display help (actually any other key than those listed |
09736bd3 | 83 | here will display help. but 'h' is easy to remember :-) |
1da177e4 | 84 | |
78831ba6 RD |
85 | 'i' - Send a SIGKILL to all processes, except for init. |
86 | ||
c2d75438 ES |
87 | 'j' - Forcibly "Just thaw it" - filesystems frozen by the FIFREEZE ioctl. |
88 | ||
78831ba6 RD |
89 | 'k' - Secure Access Key (SAK) Kills all programs on the current virtual |
90 | console. NOTE: See important comments below in SAK section. | |
1da177e4 | 91 | |
5045bcae RR |
92 | 'l' - Shows a stack backtrace for all active CPUs. |
93 | ||
1da177e4 LT |
94 | 'm' - Will dump current memory info to your console. |
95 | ||
d346cce3 RD |
96 | 'n' - Used to make RT tasks nice-able |
97 | ||
78831ba6 RD |
98 | 'o' - Will shut your system off (if configured and supported). |
99 | ||
100 | 'p' - Will dump the current registers and flags to your console. | |
101 | ||
99ebcf82 LT |
102 | 'q' - Will dump per CPU lists of all armed hrtimers (but NOT regular |
103 | timer_list timers) and detailed information about all | |
104 | clockevent devices. | |
acf11fae | 105 | |
78831ba6 RD |
106 | 'r' - Turns off keyboard raw mode and sets it to XLATE. |
107 | ||
108 | 's' - Will attempt to sync all mounted filesystems. | |
109 | ||
110 | 't' - Will dump a list of current tasks and their information to your | |
111 | console. | |
112 | ||
113 | 'u' - Will attempt to remount all mounted filesystems read-only. | |
114 | ||
003bb8ab RD |
115 | 'v' - Forcefully restores framebuffer console |
116 | 'v' - Causes ETM buffer dump [ARM-specific] | |
1da177e4 | 117 | |
d346cce3 RD |
118 | 'w' - Dumps tasks that are in uninterruptable (blocked) state. |
119 | ||
120 | 'x' - Used by xmon interface on ppc/powerpc platforms. | |
916ca14a | 121 | Show global PMU Registers on sparc64. |
d346cce3 | 122 | |
003bb8ab RD |
123 | 'y' - Show global CPU Registers [SPARC-64 specific] |
124 | ||
3871f2ff RD |
125 | 'z' - Dump the ftrace buffer |
126 | ||
1da177e4 LT |
127 | '0'-'9' - Sets the console log level, controlling which kernel messages |
128 | will be printed to your console. ('0', for example would make | |
129 | it so that only emergency messages like PANICs or OOPSes would | |
130 | make it to your console.) | |
131 | ||
1da177e4 LT |
132 | * Okay, so what can I use them for? |
133 | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
e2a8b0a7 | 134 | Well, unraw(r) is very handy when your X server or a svgalib program crashes. |
1da177e4 | 135 | |
e2a8b0a7 | 136 | sak(k) (Secure Access Key) is useful when you want to be sure there is no |
d346cce3 RD |
137 | trojan program running at console which could grab your password |
138 | when you would try to login. It will kill all programs on given console, | |
139 | thus letting you make sure that the login prompt you see is actually | |
1da177e4 | 140 | the one from init, not some trojan program. |
3eecd1dc JJ |
141 | IMPORTANT: In its true form it is not a true SAK like the one in a :IMPORTANT |
142 | IMPORTANT: c2 compliant system, and it should not be mistaken as :IMPORTANT | |
143 | IMPORTANT: such. :IMPORTANT | |
d346cce3 | 144 | It seems others find it useful as (System Attention Key) which is |
1da177e4 LT |
145 | useful when you want to exit a program that will not let you switch consoles. |
146 | (For example, X or a svgalib program.) | |
147 | ||
e2a8b0a7 J |
148 | reboot(b) is good when you're unable to shut down. But you should also |
149 | sync(s) and umount(u) first. | |
1da177e4 | 150 | |
e2a8b0a7 | 151 | crash(c) can be used to manually trigger a crashdump when the system is hung. |
cab8bd34 | 152 | Note that this just triggers a crash if there is no dump mechanism available. |
86b1ae38 | 153 | |
e2a8b0a7 | 154 | sync(s) is great when your system is locked up, it allows you to sync your |
1da177e4 LT |
155 | disks and will certainly lessen the chance of data loss and fscking. Note |
156 | that the sync hasn't taken place until you see the "OK" and "Done" appear | |
157 | on the screen. (If the kernel is really in strife, you may not ever get the | |
158 | OK or Done message...) | |
159 | ||
e2a8b0a7 J |
160 | umount(u) is basically useful in the same ways as sync(s). I generally sync(s), |
161 | umount(u), then reboot(b) when my system locks. It's saved me many a fsck. | |
1da177e4 LT |
162 | Again, the unmount (remount read-only) hasn't taken place until you see the |
163 | "OK" and "Done" message appear on the screen. | |
164 | ||
d346cce3 RD |
165 | The loglevels '0'-'9' are useful when your console is being flooded with |
166 | kernel messages you do not want to see. Selecting '0' will prevent all but | |
1da177e4 LT |
167 | the most urgent kernel messages from reaching your console. (They will |
168 | still be logged if syslogd/klogd are alive, though.) | |
169 | ||
e2a8b0a7 | 170 | term(e) and kill(i) are useful if you have some sort of runaway process you |
1da177e4 LT |
171 | are unable to kill any other way, especially if it's spawning other |
172 | processes. | |
173 | ||
e2a8b0a7 | 174 | "just thaw it(j)" is useful if your system becomes unresponsive due to a frozen |
c2d75438 ES |
175 | (probably root) filesystem via the FIFREEZE ioctl. |
176 | ||
1da177e4 LT |
177 | * Sometimes SysRq seems to get 'stuck' after using it, what can I do? |
178 | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
179 | That happens to me, also. I've found that tapping shift, alt, and control | |
180 | on both sides of the keyboard, and hitting an invalid sysrq sequence again | |
d346cce3 | 181 | will fix the problem. (i.e., something like alt-sysrq-z). Switching to another |
1da177e4 LT |
182 | virtual console (ALT+Fn) and then back again should also help. |
183 | ||
184 | * I hit SysRq, but nothing seems to happen, what's wrong? | |
185 | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
a2056ffd PF |
186 | There are some keyboards that produce a different keycode for SysRq than the |
187 | pre-defined value of 99 (see KEY_SYSRQ in include/linux/input.h), or which | |
188 | don't have a SysRq key at all. In these cases, run 'showkey -s' to find an | |
189 | appropriate scancode sequence, and use 'setkeycodes <sequence> 99' to map | |
190 | this sequence to the usual SysRq code (e.g., 'setkeycodes e05b 99'). It's | |
191 | probably best to put this command in a boot script. Oh, and by the way, you | |
192 | exit 'showkey' by not typing anything for ten seconds. | |
1da177e4 LT |
193 | |
194 | * I want to add SysRQ key events to a module, how does it work? | |
195 | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
196 | In order to register a basic function with the table, you must first include | |
197 | the header 'include/linux/sysrq.h', this will define everything else you need. | |
198 | Next, you must create a sysrq_key_op struct, and populate it with A) the key | |
199 | handler function you will use, B) a help_msg string, that will print when SysRQ | |
200 | prints help, and C) an action_msg string, that will print right before your | |
338cec32 | 201 | handler is called. Your handler must conform to the prototype in 'sysrq.h'. |
1da177e4 | 202 | |
d346cce3 RD |
203 | After the sysrq_key_op is created, you can call the kernel function |
204 | register_sysrq_key(int key, struct sysrq_key_op *op_p); this will | |
205 | register the operation pointed to by 'op_p' at table key 'key', | |
206 | if that slot in the table is blank. At module unload time, you must call | |
207 | the function unregister_sysrq_key(int key, struct sysrq_key_op *op_p), which | |
1da177e4 LT |
208 | will remove the key op pointed to by 'op_p' from the key 'key', if and only if |
209 | it is currently registered in that slot. This is in case the slot has been | |
210 | overwritten since you registered it. | |
211 | ||
212 | The Magic SysRQ system works by registering key operations against a key op | |
213 | lookup table, which is defined in 'drivers/char/sysrq.c'. This key table has | |
214 | a number of operations registered into it at compile time, but is mutable, | |
d346cce3 RD |
215 | and 2 functions are exported for interface to it: |
216 | register_sysrq_key and unregister_sysrq_key. | |
217 | Of course, never ever leave an invalid pointer in the table. I.e., when | |
218 | your module that called register_sysrq_key() exits, it must call | |
219 | unregister_sysrq_key() to clean up the sysrq key table entry that it used. | |
220 | Null pointers in the table are always safe. :) | |
1da177e4 LT |
221 | |
222 | If for some reason you feel the need to call the handle_sysrq function from | |
223 | within a function called by handle_sysrq, you must be aware that you are in | |
224 | a lock (you are also in an interrupt handler, which means don't sleep!), so | |
225 | you must call __handle_sysrq_nolock instead. | |
226 | ||
47c33d9c AW |
227 | * When I hit a SysRq key combination only the header appears on the console? |
228 | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
229 | Sysrq output is subject to the same console loglevel control as all | |
230 | other console output. This means that if the kernel was booted 'quiet' | |
231 | as is common on distro kernels the output may not appear on the actual | |
232 | console, even though it will appear in the dmesg buffer, and be accessible | |
233 | via the dmesg command and to the consumers of /proc/kmsg. As a specific | |
234 | exception the header line from the sysrq command is passed to all console | |
235 | consumers as if the current loglevel was maximum. If only the header | |
236 | is emitted it is almost certain that the kernel loglevel is too low. | |
237 | Should you require the output on the console channel then you will need | |
238 | to temporarily up the console loglevel using alt-sysrq-8 or: | |
239 | ||
240 | echo 8 > /proc/sysrq-trigger | |
241 | ||
242 | Remember to return the loglevel to normal after triggering the sysrq | |
243 | command you are interested in. | |
244 | ||
1da177e4 LT |
245 | * I have more questions, who can I ask? |
246 | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
21106b01 RD |
247 | Just ask them on the linux-kernel mailing list: |
248 | linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org | |
1da177e4 LT |
249 | |
250 | * Credits | |
251 | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
5e03e2c4 | 252 | Written by Mydraal <vulpyne@vulpyne.net> |
1da177e4 LT |
253 | Updated by Adam Sulmicki <adam@cfar.umd.edu> |
254 | Updated by Jeremy M. Dolan <jmd@turbogeek.org> 2001/01/28 10:15:59 | |
255 | Added to by Crutcher Dunnavant <crutcher+kernel@datastacks.com> |