For modprobe to accurately install dependent modules, it reads the modules.dep file to identify how modules are linked to one another. The depmod command is used to update this database of dependencies so that modprobe can function properly.
The depmod command searches the contents of /lib/modules// for each module. A module may export a “symbol”, indicating that it can provide a service to other modules. Other modules may call these exported symbols in their own code to leverage their capabilities. So, depmod builds the modules.dep file by aggregating all instances of symbols being exported and used.
Syntax
The syntax of the depmod command is:
# depmod [options]
If you encounter the below error while running the depmod command:
depmod: command not found
you may try installing the below package as per your choice of distribution:
| OS Distribution | Command |
|---|---|
| Debian | apt-get install kmod |
| Ubuntu | apt-get install kmod |
| Alpine | apk add kmod |
| Arch Linux | pacman -S kmod |
| Kali Linux | apt-get install kmod |
| CentOS | yum install kmod |
| Fedora | dnf install kmod |
| Raspbian | apt-get install kmod |