The modprobe command is used to add or remove modules from a kernel. This command is capable of loading all the dependent modules before inserting the specified module. It is therefore preferred over using the insmod and rmmod commands.
To add modules using modprobe, use the -a option and specify the modules you want to add. To unload a module, use the -r option and specify the modules you want to remove.
The syntax of the modprobe command is:
# modprobe [options] [module names]
In addition to options for adding and removing modules, the modprobe command has more options.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -f | Force the module to be inserted or removed. |
| -n | Conduct a dry run, i.e., output results without actually executing operations. |
| -s | Print errors to the system log (syslog) rather than stderr. |
| -v | Enable verbose mode. |
If you encounter the below error while running the modprobe command:
modprobe: 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 |
modprobe Command Examples
1. Pretend to load a module into the kernel, but don’t actually do it:
# modprobe --dry-run module_name
2. Load a module into the kernel:
# modprobe module_name
3. Remove a module from the kernel:
# modprobe --remove module_name
4. Remove a module and those that depend on it from the kernel:
# modprobe --remove-dependencies module_name
5. Show a kernel module’s dependencies:
# modprobe --show-depends module_name