xref: /linux/Documentation/core-api/printk-formats.rst (revision 6fdcba32711044c35c0e1b094cbd8f3f0b4472c9)
1=========================================
2How to get printk format specifiers right
3=========================================
4
5:Author: Randy Dunlap <rdunlap@infradead.org>
6:Author: Andrew Murray <amurray@mpc-data.co.uk>
7
8
9Integer types
10=============
11
12::
13
14	If variable is of Type,		use printk format specifier:
15	------------------------------------------------------------
16		char			%d or %x
17		unsigned char		%u or %x
18		short int		%d or %x
19		unsigned short int	%u or %x
20		int			%d or %x
21		unsigned int		%u or %x
22		long			%ld or %lx
23		unsigned long		%lu or %lx
24		long long		%lld or %llx
25		unsigned long long	%llu or %llx
26		size_t			%zu or %zx
27		ssize_t			%zd or %zx
28		s8			%d or %x
29		u8			%u or %x
30		s16			%d or %x
31		u16			%u or %x
32		s32			%d or %x
33		u32			%u or %x
34		s64			%lld or %llx
35		u64			%llu or %llx
36
37
38If <type> is dependent on a config option for its size (e.g., sector_t,
39blkcnt_t) or is architecture-dependent for its size (e.g., tcflag_t), use a
40format specifier of its largest possible type and explicitly cast to it.
41
42Example::
43
44	printk("test: sector number/total blocks: %llu/%llu\n",
45		(unsigned long long)sector, (unsigned long long)blockcount);
46
47Reminder: sizeof() returns type size_t.
48
49The kernel's printf does not support %n. Floating point formats (%e, %f,
50%g, %a) are also not recognized, for obvious reasons. Use of any
51unsupported specifier or length qualifier results in a WARN and early
52return from vsnprintf().
53
54Pointer types
55=============
56
57A raw pointer value may be printed with %p which will hash the address
58before printing. The kernel also supports extended specifiers for printing
59pointers of different types.
60
61Some of the extended specifiers print the data on the given address instead
62of printing the address itself. In this case, the following error messages
63might be printed instead of the unreachable information::
64
65	(null)	 data on plain NULL address
66	(efault) data on invalid address
67	(einval) invalid data on a valid address
68
69Plain Pointers
70--------------
71
72::
73
74	%p	abcdef12 or 00000000abcdef12
75
76Pointers printed without a specifier extension (i.e unadorned %p) are
77hashed to prevent leaking information about the kernel memory layout. This
78has the added benefit of providing a unique identifier. On 64-bit machines
79the first 32 bits are zeroed. The kernel will print ``(ptrval)`` until it
80gathers enough entropy. If you *really* want the address see %px below.
81
82Error Pointers
83--------------
84
85::
86
87	%pe	-ENOSPC
88
89For printing error pointers (i.e. a pointer for which IS_ERR() is true)
90as a symbolic error name. Error values for which no symbolic name is
91known are printed in decimal, while a non-ERR_PTR passed as the
92argument to %pe gets treated as ordinary %p.
93
94Symbols/Function Pointers
95-------------------------
96
97::
98
99	%pS	versatile_init+0x0/0x110
100	%ps	versatile_init
101	%pSR	versatile_init+0x9/0x110
102		(with __builtin_extract_return_addr() translation)
103	%pB	prev_fn_of_versatile_init+0x88/0x88
104
105
106The ``S`` and ``s`` specifiers are used for printing a pointer in symbolic
107format. They result in the symbol name with (S) or without (s)
108offsets. If KALLSYMS are disabled then the symbol address is printed instead.
109
110The ``B`` specifier results in the symbol name with offsets and should be
111used when printing stack backtraces. The specifier takes into
112consideration the effect of compiler optimisations which may occur
113when tail-calls are used and marked with the noreturn GCC attribute.
114
115Kernel Pointers
116---------------
117
118::
119
120	%pK	01234567 or 0123456789abcdef
121
122For printing kernel pointers which should be hidden from unprivileged
123users. The behaviour of %pK depends on the kptr_restrict sysctl - see
124Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/kernel.rst for more details.
125
126Unmodified Addresses
127--------------------
128
129::
130
131	%px	01234567 or 0123456789abcdef
132
133For printing pointers when you *really* want to print the address. Please
134consider whether or not you are leaking sensitive information about the
135kernel memory layout before printing pointers with %px. %px is functionally
136equivalent to %lx (or %lu). %px is preferred because it is more uniquely
137grep'able. If in the future we need to modify the way the kernel handles
138printing pointers we will be better equipped to find the call sites.
139
140Pointer Differences
141-------------------
142
143::
144
145	%td	2560
146	%tx	a00
147
148For printing the pointer differences, use the %t modifier for ptrdiff_t.
149
150Example::
151
152	printk("test: difference between pointers: %td\n", ptr2 - ptr1);
153
154Struct Resources
155----------------
156
157::
158
159	%pr	[mem 0x60000000-0x6fffffff flags 0x2200] or
160		[mem 0x0000000060000000-0x000000006fffffff flags 0x2200]
161	%pR	[mem 0x60000000-0x6fffffff pref] or
162		[mem 0x0000000060000000-0x000000006fffffff pref]
163
164For printing struct resources. The ``R`` and ``r`` specifiers result in a
165printed resource with (R) or without (r) a decoded flags member.
166
167Passed by reference.
168
169Physical address types phys_addr_t
170----------------------------------
171
172::
173
174	%pa[p]	0x01234567 or 0x0123456789abcdef
175
176For printing a phys_addr_t type (and its derivatives, such as
177resource_size_t) which can vary based on build options, regardless of the
178width of the CPU data path.
179
180Passed by reference.
181
182DMA address types dma_addr_t
183----------------------------
184
185::
186
187	%pad	0x01234567 or 0x0123456789abcdef
188
189For printing a dma_addr_t type which can vary based on build options,
190regardless of the width of the CPU data path.
191
192Passed by reference.
193
194Raw buffer as an escaped string
195-------------------------------
196
197::
198
199	%*pE[achnops]
200
201For printing raw buffer as an escaped string. For the following buffer::
202
203		1b 62 20 5c 43 07 22 90 0d 5d
204
205A few examples show how the conversion would be done (excluding surrounding
206quotes)::
207
208		%*pE		"\eb \C\a"\220\r]"
209		%*pEhp		"\x1bb \C\x07"\x90\x0d]"
210		%*pEa		"\e\142\040\\\103\a\042\220\r\135"
211
212The conversion rules are applied according to an optional combination
213of flags (see :c:func:`string_escape_mem` kernel documentation for the
214details):
215
216	- a - ESCAPE_ANY
217	- c - ESCAPE_SPECIAL
218	- h - ESCAPE_HEX
219	- n - ESCAPE_NULL
220	- o - ESCAPE_OCTAL
221	- p - ESCAPE_NP
222	- s - ESCAPE_SPACE
223
224By default ESCAPE_ANY_NP is used.
225
226ESCAPE_ANY_NP is the sane choice for many cases, in particularly for
227printing SSIDs.
228
229If field width is omitted then 1 byte only will be escaped.
230
231Raw buffer as a hex string
232--------------------------
233
234::
235
236	%*ph	00 01 02  ...  3f
237	%*phC	00:01:02: ... :3f
238	%*phD	00-01-02- ... -3f
239	%*phN	000102 ... 3f
240
241For printing small buffers (up to 64 bytes long) as a hex string with a
242certain separator. For larger buffers consider using
243:c:func:`print_hex_dump`.
244
245MAC/FDDI addresses
246------------------
247
248::
249
250	%pM	00:01:02:03:04:05
251	%pMR	05:04:03:02:01:00
252	%pMF	00-01-02-03-04-05
253	%pm	000102030405
254	%pmR	050403020100
255
256For printing 6-byte MAC/FDDI addresses in hex notation. The ``M`` and ``m``
257specifiers result in a printed address with (M) or without (m) byte
258separators. The default byte separator is the colon (:).
259
260Where FDDI addresses are concerned the ``F`` specifier can be used after
261the ``M`` specifier to use dash (-) separators instead of the default
262separator.
263
264For Bluetooth addresses the ``R`` specifier shall be used after the ``M``
265specifier to use reversed byte order suitable for visual interpretation
266of Bluetooth addresses which are in the little endian order.
267
268Passed by reference.
269
270IPv4 addresses
271--------------
272
273::
274
275	%pI4	1.2.3.4
276	%pi4	001.002.003.004
277	%p[Ii]4[hnbl]
278
279For printing IPv4 dot-separated decimal addresses. The ``I4`` and ``i4``
280specifiers result in a printed address with (i4) or without (I4) leading
281zeros.
282
283The additional ``h``, ``n``, ``b``, and ``l`` specifiers are used to specify
284host, network, big or little endian order addresses respectively. Where
285no specifier is provided the default network/big endian order is used.
286
287Passed by reference.
288
289IPv6 addresses
290--------------
291
292::
293
294	%pI6	0001:0002:0003:0004:0005:0006:0007:0008
295	%pi6	00010002000300040005000600070008
296	%pI6c	1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8
297
298For printing IPv6 network-order 16-bit hex addresses. The ``I6`` and ``i6``
299specifiers result in a printed address with (I6) or without (i6)
300colon-separators. Leading zeros are always used.
301
302The additional ``c`` specifier can be used with the ``I`` specifier to
303print a compressed IPv6 address as described by
304http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5952
305
306Passed by reference.
307
308IPv4/IPv6 addresses (generic, with port, flowinfo, scope)
309---------------------------------------------------------
310
311::
312
313	%pIS	1.2.3.4		or 0001:0002:0003:0004:0005:0006:0007:0008
314	%piS	001.002.003.004	or 00010002000300040005000600070008
315	%pISc	1.2.3.4		or 1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8
316	%pISpc	1.2.3.4:12345	or [1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8]:12345
317	%p[Ii]S[pfschnbl]
318
319For printing an IP address without the need to distinguish whether it's of
320type AF_INET or AF_INET6. A pointer to a valid struct sockaddr,
321specified through ``IS`` or ``iS``, can be passed to this format specifier.
322
323The additional ``p``, ``f``, and ``s`` specifiers are used to specify port
324(IPv4, IPv6), flowinfo (IPv6) and scope (IPv6). Ports have a ``:`` prefix,
325flowinfo a ``/`` and scope a ``%``, each followed by the actual value.
326
327In case of an IPv6 address the compressed IPv6 address as described by
328http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5952 is being used if the additional
329specifier ``c`` is given. The IPv6 address is surrounded by ``[``, ``]`` in
330case of additional specifiers ``p``, ``f`` or ``s`` as suggested by
331https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-6man-text-addr-representation-07
332
333In case of IPv4 addresses, the additional ``h``, ``n``, ``b``, and ``l``
334specifiers can be used as well and are ignored in case of an IPv6
335address.
336
337Passed by reference.
338
339Further examples::
340
341	%pISfc		1.2.3.4		or [1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8]/123456789
342	%pISsc		1.2.3.4		or [1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8]%1234567890
343	%pISpfc		1.2.3.4:12345	or [1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8]:12345/123456789
344
345UUID/GUID addresses
346-------------------
347
348::
349
350	%pUb	00010203-0405-0607-0809-0a0b0c0d0e0f
351	%pUB	00010203-0405-0607-0809-0A0B0C0D0E0F
352	%pUl	03020100-0504-0706-0809-0a0b0c0e0e0f
353	%pUL	03020100-0504-0706-0809-0A0B0C0E0E0F
354
355For printing 16-byte UUID/GUIDs addresses. The additional ``l``, ``L``,
356``b`` and ``B`` specifiers are used to specify a little endian order in
357lower (l) or upper case (L) hex notation - and big endian order in lower (b)
358or upper case (B) hex notation.
359
360Where no additional specifiers are used the default big endian
361order with lower case hex notation will be printed.
362
363Passed by reference.
364
365dentry names
366------------
367
368::
369
370	%pd{,2,3,4}
371	%pD{,2,3,4}
372
373For printing dentry name; if we race with :c:func:`d_move`, the name might
374be a mix of old and new ones, but it won't oops.  %pd dentry is a safer
375equivalent of %s dentry->d_name.name we used to use, %pd<n> prints ``n``
376last components.  %pD does the same thing for struct file.
377
378Passed by reference.
379
380block_device names
381------------------
382
383::
384
385	%pg	sda, sda1 or loop0p1
386
387For printing name of block_device pointers.
388
389struct va_format
390----------------
391
392::
393
394	%pV
395
396For printing struct va_format structures. These contain a format string
397and va_list as follows::
398
399	struct va_format {
400		const char *fmt;
401		va_list *va;
402	};
403
404Implements a "recursive vsnprintf".
405
406Do not use this feature without some mechanism to verify the
407correctness of the format string and va_list arguments.
408
409Passed by reference.
410
411Device tree nodes
412-----------------
413
414::
415
416	%pOF[fnpPcCF]
417
418
419For printing device tree node structures. Default behaviour is
420equivalent to %pOFf.
421
422	- f - device node full_name
423	- n - device node name
424	- p - device node phandle
425	- P - device node path spec (name + @unit)
426	- F - device node flags
427	- c - major compatible string
428	- C - full compatible string
429
430The separator when using multiple arguments is ':'
431
432Examples::
433
434	%pOF	/foo/bar@0			- Node full name
435	%pOFf	/foo/bar@0			- Same as above
436	%pOFfp	/foo/bar@0:10			- Node full name + phandle
437	%pOFfcF	/foo/bar@0:foo,device:--P-	- Node full name +
438	                                          major compatible string +
439						  node flags
440							D - dynamic
441							d - detached
442							P - Populated
443							B - Populated bus
444
445Passed by reference.
446
447Fwnode handles
448--------------
449
450::
451
452	%pfw[fP]
453
454For printing information on fwnode handles. The default is to print the full
455node name, including the path. The modifiers are functionally equivalent to
456%pOF above.
457
458	- f - full name of the node, including the path
459	- P - the name of the node including an address (if there is one)
460
461Examples (ACPI)::
462
463	%pfwf	\_SB.PCI0.CIO2.port@1.endpoint@0	- Full node name
464	%pfwP	endpoint@0				- Node name
465
466Examples (OF)::
467
468	%pfwf	/ocp@68000000/i2c@48072000/camera@10/port/endpoint - Full name
469	%pfwP	endpoint				- Node name
470
471Time and date (struct rtc_time)
472-------------------------------
473
474::
475
476	%ptR		YYYY-mm-ddTHH:MM:SS
477	%ptRd		YYYY-mm-dd
478	%ptRt		HH:MM:SS
479	%ptR[dt][r]
480
481For printing date and time as represented by struct rtc_time structure in
482human readable format.
483
484By default year will be incremented by 1900 and month by 1. Use %ptRr (raw)
485to suppress this behaviour.
486
487Passed by reference.
488
489struct clk
490----------
491
492::
493
494	%pC	pll1
495	%pCn	pll1
496
497For printing struct clk structures. %pC and %pCn print the name of the clock
498(Common Clock Framework) or a unique 32-bit ID (legacy clock framework).
499
500Passed by reference.
501
502bitmap and its derivatives such as cpumask and nodemask
503-------------------------------------------------------
504
505::
506
507	%*pb	0779
508	%*pbl	0,3-6,8-10
509
510For printing bitmap and its derivatives such as cpumask and nodemask,
511%*pb outputs the bitmap with field width as the number of bits and %*pbl
512output the bitmap as range list with field width as the number of bits.
513
514Passed by reference.
515
516Flags bitfields such as page flags, gfp_flags
517---------------------------------------------
518
519::
520
521	%pGp	referenced|uptodate|lru|active|private
522	%pGg	GFP_USER|GFP_DMA32|GFP_NOWARN
523	%pGv	read|exec|mayread|maywrite|mayexec|denywrite
524
525For printing flags bitfields as a collection of symbolic constants that
526would construct the value. The type of flags is given by the third
527character. Currently supported are [p]age flags, [v]ma_flags (both
528expect ``unsigned long *``) and [g]fp_flags (expects ``gfp_t *``). The flag
529names and print order depends on the particular	type.
530
531Note that this format should not be used directly in the
532:c:func:`TP_printk()` part of a tracepoint. Instead, use the show_*_flags()
533functions from <trace/events/mmflags.h>.
534
535Passed by reference.
536
537Network device features
538-----------------------
539
540::
541
542	%pNF	0x000000000000c000
543
544For printing netdev_features_t.
545
546Passed by reference.
547
548Thanks
549======
550
551If you add other %p extensions, please extend <lib/test_printf.c> with
552one or more test cases, if at all feasible.
553
554Thank you for your cooperation and attention.
555