udev \- Linux configurable dynamic device naming support
.SH SYNOPSIS
.BI udev " hotplug-subsystem"
+.P
+The environment must provide the following variables:
+.TP
+.B ACTION
+.IR add " or " remove
+signifies the connection or disconnection of a device.
+.TP
+.B DEVPATH
+The sysfs devpath of the device without the mountpoint but a leading slash.
+.P
+Additional optional environment variables:
+.TP
+.B UDEV_CONFIG_FILE
+Overrides the default location of the
+.B udev
+config file.
+.TP
+.B UDEV_NO_SLEEP
+The default behavior of
+.B udev
+is to wait until all the sysfs files of the device chain are populated. If set,
+.B udev
+will continue, regardless of the state of the device representation.
+.TP
+.B UDEV_NO_DEVD
+The default behavior of
+.B udev
+is to execute programs in the
+.I /etc/dev.d/
+directory after device handling. If set,
+.B udev
+will skip this step.
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
.B udev
-creates or removes device node files usually located in the /dev directory.
-Its goal is to provide a dynamic device directory that contains only the files
-for devices that are actually present.
+provides a dynamic device directory containing only the files for actually
+present devices. It creates or removes device node files usually located in
+the /dev directory, or it renames network interfaces.
+.br
+
.P
As part of the
.B hotplug
.B udev
reads the sysfs directory of the given device to collect device attributes
like label, serial number or bus device number.
-These attributes are treated as a key
-to determine a unique name for device file creation.
+These attributes may be used as keys to determine a
+unique name for the device.
.B udev
maintains a database for devices present on the system.
.br
On device removal,
.B udev
-queries the internal database for the name of the device file to be deleted.
+queries its database for the name of the device file to be deleted.
.SH "CONFIGURATION"
-All udev configuration files consist of a set of lines of text. All empty
-lines, and lines beginning with a '#' will be ignored.
+All
+.B udev
+configuration files consist of a set of lines of text. All empty
+lines and lines beginning with a '#' will be ignored.
.P
.B udev
expects its main configuration file at
-.I /etc/udev/udev.conf.
-The file consists of a set of variables and values that allow the user to
-override default udev values. The current set of variables that can be
-overridden in this file is:
+.IR /etc/udev/udev.conf .
+The file consists of a set of variables and values allowing the user to
+override default udev values. The following variables can be overridden
+in this file:
.TP
.B udev_root
-This is the where in the filesystem to place the device nodes. The default
-value for this is
-.I /udev/
+Indicates where to place the device nodes in the filesystem. The default
+value is
+.IR /udev/ .
.TP
.B udev_db
-The name and location of the udev database. The default value for this is
-.I /udev/.udev.tdb
+The name and location of the udev database. The default value is
+.IR /udev/.udev.tdb .
.TP
.B udev_rules
-This is the location of the udev rules file. The default value for this is
-.I /etc/udev/udev.rules
+This is the location of the udev rules file. The default value for this is
+.IR /etc/udev/udev.rules .
+If a directory is specified, the whole directory is
+scanned for files ending with
+.I .rules
+and all rule files are read in lexical order.
.TP
.B udev_permissions
-This is the location of the udev permission file. The default value for this is
-.I /etc/udev/udev.permissions
+This is the location of the udev permission file. The default value for this is
+.IR /etc/udev/udev.permissions .
+If a directory is specified, the whole directory is scanned for files ending with
+.I .permissions
+and all permission files are read in lexical order.
+.TP
+.B udev_log
+If you want udev to log some information to the syslog for every device handled.
+The default value is
+.IR yes .
.TP
.B default_mode
-This is the default mode for all nodes that have no explicit match in the
-permissions file. The default value for this is
-.I 0666
+This is the default mode for all nodes not explicitely matching in the
+permissions file. The default value is
+.IR 0666 .
+.TP
+.B default_owner
+This is the default owner for all nodes not explicitely matching in the
+permissions file. The default value is
+.IR root .
+.TP
+.B default_group
+This is the default group for all nodes not explicitely matching in the
+permissions file. The default value is
+.IR root .
.br
.P
-A sample \fIudev.conf\fP might look like this:
+.RI "A sample " udev.conf " might look like this:
.sp
.nf
-# udev_root - where in the filesystem to place the device nodes
+# udev_root - where to place the device nodes in the filesystem
udev_root="/udev/"
-# udev_db - The name and location of the udev database.
+# udev_db - The name and location of the udev database
udev_db="/udev/.udev.tdb"
-# udev_rules - The name and location of the udev rules file
-udev_rules="/etc/udev/udev.rules"
+# udev_rules - The location of the directory where to look for files
+ which names ending with .rules
+udev_rules="/etc/udev/"
# udev_permissions - The name and location of the udev permission file
udev_permissions="/etc/udev/udev.permissions"
-# default_mode - set the default mode for all nodes that have no
-# explicit match in the permissions file
+# udev_log - set to "yes" if you want logging, else "no"
+udev_log="yes"
+
+# default_mode - set the default mode for all nodes not
+# explicitely matching in the permissions file
default_mode="0666"
+
+# default_owner - set the default owner for all nodes not
+# explicitely matching in the permissions file
+default_owner="root"
+
+# default_group - set the default group for all nodes not
+# explicitely matching in the permissions file
+default_group="root"
.fi
.P
-The rules for udev to use when naming devices may specified at
+The rules for udev to use when naming devices may specified in
.I /etc/udev/udev.rules
-or specified by the
+or by the
.I udev_rules
-value in the
+value in the
.I /etc/udev/udev.conf
file.
.P
-Every line in the rules file define the mapping between device attributes and
-the device file name. It starts with a keyword defining the method used to
-match, followed by one ore more keys to compare and the filename for the
-device. If no matching configuration is found, the default kernel device name
-is used.
+Every line in the rules file defines the mapping between device attributes
+and the device name. One or more keys are specified to match a rule with
+the current device. If all keys are matching, the rule will be applied and
+the name is used to name the device file or the network interface.
+.br
+If no matching rule is found, the default kernel device name is used.
.P
-The line format is:
-.RS
+Every rule consists of a list of comma separated fields:
.sp
-.I method, key,[key,...] name
+.IR "key " ,[ "key " ,...] " name " [, " symlink" ]
.sp
-.RE
-where valid methods with corresponding keys are:
+where fields are:
.TP
-.B CALLOUT
-calling external program, that returns a string to match
-.br
-keys: \fBBUS\fP, \fBPROGRAM\fP, \fBID\fP
+.B BUS
+Match the bus type of the device.
+(The sysfs device bus must be able to be determined by a "device" symlink.)
+.TP
+.B KERNEL
+Match the kernel device name.
+.TP
+.B ID
+Match the device number on the bus, like PCI bus id.
.TP
-.B LABEL
-device label or serial number, like USB serial number, SCSI UUID or
-file system label
+.B PLACE
+Match the topological position on bus, like physical port of USB device
+.TP
+.BI SYSFS{ filename }
+Match sysfs device attribute like label, vendor, USB serial number, SCSI UUID
+or file system label. Up to 5 different sysfs files can be checked, with
+all of the values being required to match the rule.
.br
-keys: \fBBUS\fP, \fIsysfs_attribute\fP
+Trailing whitespace characters in the sysfs attribute value are ignored, if
+the key doesn't have any trailing whitespace characters by itself.
.TP
-.B NUMBER
-device number on the bus, like PCI bus id
+.B PROGRAM
+Call external program. This key is valid if the program returns successful.
+The environment variables of
+.B udev
+are also available for the program.
.br
-keys: \fBBUS\fP, \fBID\fP
+The string returned by the program may be additionally matched with the
+.B RESULT
+key.
+.TP
+.B RESULT
+Match the returned string of the last
+.B PROGRAM
+call. This key may be used in any following rule after a
+.B PROGRAM
+call.
.TP
-.B TOPOLOGY
-device position on bus, like physical port of USB device
+.B NAME
+The name of the node to be created, or the name, the network interface
+should be renamed to.
.br
-keys: \fBBUS\fP, \fBPLACE\fP
+If given with the attribute
+.BR NAME{ all_partitions }
+it will create all 15 partitions of a blockdevice.
+This may be useful for removable media devices.
.TP
-.B REPLACE
-string replacement of the kernel device name
+.B SYMLINK
+The name of a symlink targeting the node. Multiple symlinks may be
+specified by separating the names by the space character.
.br
-key: \fBKERNEL_NAME\fP
-.P
-The methods are applied in the following order:
-.B CALLOUT
-,
-.B LABEL
-,
-.B NUMBER
-,
-.B TOPOLOGY
-,
-.B REPLACE
+If both the name and the symlink fields are omitted or its
+values empty, the device will be ignored and no node will be created.
+.br
+If only the symlink field is given and the name field is omitted,
+the rule will not be applied immediatly, but the symlink field is added
+to the symlink list of the rule which will create the node.
+This makes it possible to specify additional symlinks in a possibly
+separate rules file, while the device nodes are maintained by the
+distribution provided rules file.
+.TP
+.B OWNER, GROUP, MODE
+The permissions for this device. Every specified value overwrites the value
+given in the permissions file.
.P
-The
-.B NAME
-and
-.B PROGRAM
-fields support simple printf-like string subtitution:
-.RS
+.RB "The " NAME " ," SYMLINK " and " PROGRAM
+fields support simple printf-like string substitution:
.TP
.B %n
-the "kernel number" of the device
-for example, 'sda3' has a "kernel number" of '3'
+The "kernel number" of the device.
+For example, 'sda3' has a "kernel number" of '3'.
+.TP
+.B %k
+The "kernel name" for the device.
.TP
.B %M
-the kernel major number for the device
+The kernel major number for the device.
.TP
.B %m
-the kernel minor number for the device
+The kernel minor number for the device.
.TP
.B %b
-the bus id for the device
+The bus id for the device.
.TP
.B %c
-the CALLOUT program returned string
-(this does not work within the PROGRAM field for the obvious reason.)
-.TP
-.B %D
-Use the devfs style disk name for this device.
-For partitions, this will result in 'part%n'
-If this is not a partition, it will result in 'disk'
-.RE
+The string returned from the execution of
+.B PROGRAM
+(This does not work within the
+.B PROGRAM
+field for the obvious reason.)
+.br
+A single part of the string, separated by a space character
+may be selected by specifying the part number as an attribute:
+.BI %c{ N }
+If the number is followed by the + char this part plus
+all remaining parts of the result string are substituted:
+.BI %c{ N+ }
+.TP
+.BI %s{ filename }
+The content of a sysfs attribute.
+.TP
+.B %%
+The '%' character itself.
+.P
+The count of charcters to insert may be limited by specifying
+the format length value. For example, '%3s{file}' will only insert
+the first three characters of the sysfs attribute.
.P
-A sample \fIudev.rules\fP might look like this:
+.RI "A sample " udev.rules " might look like this:"
.sp
.nf
# if /sbin/scsi_id returns "OEM 0815" device will be called disk1
-CALLOUT, BUS="scsi", PROGRAM="/sbin/scsi_id", ID="OEM 0815", NAME="disk1"
+BUS="scsi", PROGRAM="/sbin/scsi_id", RESULT="OEM 0815", NAME="disk1"
# USB printer to be called lp_color
-LABEL, BUS="usb", serial="W09090207101241330", NAME="lp_color"
+BUS="usb", SYSFS{serial}="W09090207101241330", NAME="lp_color"
+
+# SCSI disk with a specific vendor and model number will be called boot
+BUS="scsi", SYSFS{vendor}="IBM", SYSFS{model}="ST336", NAME="boot%n"
# sound card with PCI bus id 00:0b.0 to be called dsp
-NUMBER, BUS="pci", ID="00:0b.0", NAME="dsp"
+BUS="pci", ID="00:0b.0", NAME="dsp"
# USB mouse at third port of the second hub to be called mouse1
-TOPOLOGY, BUS="usb", PLACE="2.3", NAME="mouse1"
+BUS="usb", PLACE="2.3", NAME="mouse1"
-# ttyUSB1 should always be called pda
-REPLACE, KERNEL="ttyUSB1", NAME="pda"
+# ttyUSB1 should always be called pda with two additional symlinks
+KERNEL="ttyUSB1", NAME="pda", SYMLINK="palmtop handheld"
-# USB webcams to be called webcam0, webcam1, ...
-LABEL, BUS="usb", model="WebCam Version 3", NAME="webcam%n"
+# multiple USB webcams with symlinks to be called webcam0, webcam1, ...
+BUS="usb", SYSFS{model}="XV3", NAME="video%n", SYMLINK="webcam%n"
.fi
.P
-Permissions and ownership for the created device files may specified at
+Permissions and ownership for the created device files may specified in
.I /etc/udev/udev.permissions
-or specified by the
+or by the
.I udev_permission
-value in the
+value in the
.I /etc/udev/udev.conf
file.
.br
Every line lists a device name followed by owner, group and permission
mode. All values are separated by colons. The name field may contain a
-wildcard to apply the values to a whole class of devices.
-.br
-If
-.B udev
-was built using klibc or is used before the user database is accessible (e.g.
-.B initrd
-), only numeric owner and group values may be used.
+pattern to apply the values to a whole class of devices.
.sp
-A sample \fIudev.permissions\fP might look like this:
+.RI "A sample " udev.permissions " might look like this:"
.sp
.nf
#name:user:group:mode
dsp1:::0666
.fi
.P
+The value
+.I $local
+can be used instead of a specific username. In that case, udev will determine
+the current local user at the time of device node creation and substitute
+that username as the owner of the new device node. This is useful, for
+example, to let hot-plugged devices, such as cameras, be owned by the user at
+the current console. Note that if no user is currently logged in, or if udev
+otherwise fails to determine a current user, the
+.I default_owner
+value is used in lieu.
+.P
A number of different fields in the above configuration files support a simple
-form of wildcard matching. This form is based on the fnmatch(3) style, and
-supports the following fields:
-.RS
+form of shell style pattern matching. It supports the following pattern characters:
.TP
.B *
Matches zero, one, or more characters.
.B [ ]
Matches any single character specified within the brackets. For example, the
pattern string "tty[SR]" would match either "ttyS" or "ttyR". Ranges are also
-supported within this match with the '-' character. For example, to match on
-the range of all digits, the pattern [0-9] would be used.
-.RE
+supported within this match with the '\-' character. For example, to match on
+the range of all digits, the pattern [0\-9] would be used. If the first character
+following the '[' is a '!', any character not enclosed is matched.
+.P
+After device node creation, removal, or network device renaming,
+.B udev
+executes the programs in the directory tree under
+.IR /etc/dev.d/ .
+The name of a program must end with
+.I .dev
+suffix, to be recognized.
+.br
+In addition to the hotplug environment variables,
+.B DEVNAME
+is exported to make the name of the created node, or the name the network
+device is renamed to, available to the executed program. The programs in every
+directory are sorted in lexical order, while the directories are searched in
+the following order:
+.sp
+.nf
+/etc/dev.d/$(DEVNAME)/*.dev
+/etc/dev.d/$(SUBSYSTEM)/*.dev
+/etc/dev.d/default/*.dev
+.fi
.SH "FILES"
.nf
-.ft B
-.ft
/sbin/udev udev program
/etc/udev/* udev config files
/etc/hotplug.d/default/udev.hotplug hotplug symlink to udev program
+/etc/dev.d/* programs invoked by udev
.fi
.LP
.SH "SEE ALSO"
+.BR udevinfo (8),
+.BR udevd (8),
.BR hotplug (8)
.PP
The
-.I http://linux-hotplug.sourceforge.net/
+.I http://linux\-hotplug.sourceforge.net/
web site.
.SH AUTHORS
.B udev