1=========================================
2How to get printk format specifiers right
3=========================================
4
5.. _printk-specifiers:
6
7:Author: Randy Dunlap <rdunlap@infradead.org>
8:Author: Andrew Murray <amurray@mpc-data.co.uk>
9
10
11Integer types
12=============
13
14::
15
16	If variable is of Type,		use printk format specifier:
17	------------------------------------------------------------
18		char			%d or %x
19		unsigned char		%u or %x
20		short int		%d or %x
21		unsigned short int	%u or %x
22		int			%d or %x
23		unsigned int		%u or %x
24		long			%ld or %lx
25		unsigned long		%lu or %lx
26		long long		%lld or %llx
27		unsigned long long	%llu or %llx
28		size_t			%zu or %zx
29		ssize_t			%zd or %zx
30		s8			%d or %x
31		u8			%u or %x
32		s16			%d or %x
33		u16			%u or %x
34		s32			%d or %x
35		u32			%u or %x
36		s64			%lld or %llx
37		u64			%llu or %llx
38
39
40If <type> is dependent on a config option for its size (e.g., sector_t,
41blkcnt_t) or is architecture-dependent for its size (e.g., tcflag_t), use a
42format specifier of its largest possible type and explicitly cast to it.
43
44Example::
45
46	printk("test: sector number/total blocks: %llu/%llu\n",
47		(unsigned long long)sector, (unsigned long long)blockcount);
48
49Reminder: sizeof() returns type size_t.
50
51The kernel's printf does not support %n. Floating point formats (%e, %f,
52%g, %a) are also not recognized, for obvious reasons. Use of any
53unsupported specifier or length qualifier results in a WARN and early
54return from vsnprintf().
55
56Pointer types
57=============
58
59A raw pointer value may be printed with %p which will hash the address
60before printing. The kernel also supports extended specifiers for printing
61pointers of different types.
62
63Some of the extended specifiers print the data on the given address instead
64of printing the address itself. In this case, the following error messages
65might be printed instead of the unreachable information::
66
67	(null)	 data on plain NULL address
68	(efault) data on invalid address
69	(einval) invalid data on a valid address
70
71Plain Pointers
72--------------
73
74::
75
76	%p	abcdef12 or 00000000abcdef12
77
78Pointers printed without a specifier extension (i.e unadorned %p) are
79hashed to prevent leaking information about the kernel memory layout. This
80has the added benefit of providing a unique identifier. On 64-bit machines
81the first 32 bits are zeroed. The kernel will print ``(ptrval)`` until it
82gathers enough entropy. If you *really* want the address see %px below.
83
84Error Pointers
85--------------
86
87::
88
89	%pe	-ENOSPC
90
91For printing error pointers (i.e. a pointer for which IS_ERR() is true)
92as a symbolic error name. Error values for which no symbolic name is
93known are printed in decimal, while a non-ERR_PTR passed as the
94argument to %pe gets treated as ordinary %p.
95
96Symbols/Function Pointers
97-------------------------
98
99::
100
101	%pS	versatile_init+0x0/0x110
102	%ps	versatile_init
103	%pSR	versatile_init+0x9/0x110
104		(with __builtin_extract_return_addr() translation)
105	%pB	prev_fn_of_versatile_init+0x88/0x88
106
107
108The ``S`` and ``s`` specifiers are used for printing a pointer in symbolic
109format. They result in the symbol name with (S) or without (s)
110offsets. If KALLSYMS are disabled then the symbol address is printed instead.
111
112The ``B`` specifier results in the symbol name with offsets and should be
113used when printing stack backtraces. The specifier takes into
114consideration the effect of compiler optimisations which may occur
115when tail-calls are used and marked with the noreturn GCC attribute.
116
117Probed Pointers from BPF / tracing
118----------------------------------
119
120::
121
122	%pks	kernel string
123	%pus	user string
124
125The ``k`` and ``u`` specifiers are used for printing prior probed memory from
126either kernel memory (k) or user memory (u). The subsequent ``s`` specifier
127results in printing a string. For direct use in regular vsnprintf() the (k)
128and (u) annotation is ignored, however, when used out of BPF's bpf_trace_printk(),
129for example, it reads the memory it is pointing to without faulting.
130
131Kernel Pointers
132---------------
133
134::
135
136	%pK	01234567 or 0123456789abcdef
137
138For printing kernel pointers which should be hidden from unprivileged
139users. The behaviour of %pK depends on the kptr_restrict sysctl - see
140Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/kernel.rst for more details.
141
142Unmodified Addresses
143--------------------
144
145::
146
147	%px	01234567 or 0123456789abcdef
148
149For printing pointers when you *really* want to print the address. Please
150consider whether or not you are leaking sensitive information about the
151kernel memory layout before printing pointers with %px. %px is functionally
152equivalent to %lx (or %lu). %px is preferred because it is more uniquely
153grep'able. If in the future we need to modify the way the kernel handles
154printing pointers we will be better equipped to find the call sites.
155
156Pointer Differences
157-------------------
158
159::
160
161	%td	2560
162	%tx	a00
163
164For printing the pointer differences, use the %t modifier for ptrdiff_t.
165
166Example::
167
168	printk("test: difference between pointers: %td\n", ptr2 - ptr1);
169
170Struct Resources
171----------------
172
173::
174
175	%pr	[mem 0x60000000-0x6fffffff flags 0x2200] or
176		[mem 0x0000000060000000-0x000000006fffffff flags 0x2200]
177	%pR	[mem 0x60000000-0x6fffffff pref] or
178		[mem 0x0000000060000000-0x000000006fffffff pref]
179
180For printing struct resources. The ``R`` and ``r`` specifiers result in a
181printed resource with (R) or without (r) a decoded flags member.
182
183Passed by reference.
184
185Physical address types phys_addr_t
186----------------------------------
187
188::
189
190	%pa[p]	0x01234567 or 0x0123456789abcdef
191
192For printing a phys_addr_t type (and its derivatives, such as
193resource_size_t) which can vary based on build options, regardless of the
194width of the CPU data path.
195
196Passed by reference.
197
198DMA address types dma_addr_t
199----------------------------
200
201::
202
203	%pad	0x01234567 or 0x0123456789abcdef
204
205For printing a dma_addr_t type which can vary based on build options,
206regardless of the width of the CPU data path.
207
208Passed by reference.
209
210Raw buffer as an escaped string
211-------------------------------
212
213::
214
215	%*pE[achnops]
216
217For printing raw buffer as an escaped string. For the following buffer::
218
219		1b 62 20 5c 43 07 22 90 0d 5d
220
221A few examples show how the conversion would be done (excluding surrounding
222quotes)::
223
224		%*pE		"\eb \C\a"\220\r]"
225		%*pEhp		"\x1bb \C\x07"\x90\x0d]"
226		%*pEa		"\e\142\040\\\103\a\042\220\r\135"
227
228The conversion rules are applied according to an optional combination
229of flags (see :c:func:`string_escape_mem` kernel documentation for the
230details):
231
232	- a - ESCAPE_ANY
233	- c - ESCAPE_SPECIAL
234	- h - ESCAPE_HEX
235	- n - ESCAPE_NULL
236	- o - ESCAPE_OCTAL
237	- p - ESCAPE_NP
238	- s - ESCAPE_SPACE
239
240By default ESCAPE_ANY_NP is used.
241
242ESCAPE_ANY_NP is the sane choice for many cases, in particularly for
243printing SSIDs.
244
245If field width is omitted then 1 byte only will be escaped.
246
247Raw buffer as a hex string
248--------------------------
249
250::
251
252	%*ph	00 01 02  ...  3f
253	%*phC	00:01:02: ... :3f
254	%*phD	00-01-02- ... -3f
255	%*phN	000102 ... 3f
256
257For printing small buffers (up to 64 bytes long) as a hex string with a
258certain separator. For larger buffers consider using
259:c:func:`print_hex_dump`.
260
261MAC/FDDI addresses
262------------------
263
264::
265
266	%pM	00:01:02:03:04:05
267	%pMR	05:04:03:02:01:00
268	%pMF	00-01-02-03-04-05
269	%pm	000102030405
270	%pmR	050403020100
271
272For printing 6-byte MAC/FDDI addresses in hex notation. The ``M`` and ``m``
273specifiers result in a printed address with (M) or without (m) byte
274separators. The default byte separator is the colon (:).
275
276Where FDDI addresses are concerned the ``F`` specifier can be used after
277the ``M`` specifier to use dash (-) separators instead of the default
278separator.
279
280For Bluetooth addresses the ``R`` specifier shall be used after the ``M``
281specifier to use reversed byte order suitable for visual interpretation
282of Bluetooth addresses which are in the little endian order.
283
284Passed by reference.
285
286IPv4 addresses
287--------------
288
289::
290
291	%pI4	1.2.3.4
292	%pi4	001.002.003.004
293	%p[Ii]4[hnbl]
294
295For printing IPv4 dot-separated decimal addresses. The ``I4`` and ``i4``
296specifiers result in a printed address with (i4) or without (I4) leading
297zeros.
298
299The additional ``h``, ``n``, ``b``, and ``l`` specifiers are used to specify
300host, network, big or little endian order addresses respectively. Where
301no specifier is provided the default network/big endian order is used.
302
303Passed by reference.
304
305IPv6 addresses
306--------------
307
308::
309
310	%pI6	0001:0002:0003:0004:0005:0006:0007:0008
311	%pi6	00010002000300040005000600070008
312	%pI6c	1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8
313
314For printing IPv6 network-order 16-bit hex addresses. The ``I6`` and ``i6``
315specifiers result in a printed address with (I6) or without (i6)
316colon-separators. Leading zeros are always used.
317
318The additional ``c`` specifier can be used with the ``I`` specifier to
319print a compressed IPv6 address as described by
320http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5952
321
322Passed by reference.
323
324IPv4/IPv6 addresses (generic, with port, flowinfo, scope)
325---------------------------------------------------------
326
327::
328
329	%pIS	1.2.3.4		or 0001:0002:0003:0004:0005:0006:0007:0008
330	%piS	001.002.003.004	or 00010002000300040005000600070008
331	%pISc	1.2.3.4		or 1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8
332	%pISpc	1.2.3.4:12345	or [1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8]:12345
333	%p[Ii]S[pfschnbl]
334
335For printing an IP address without the need to distinguish whether it's of
336type AF_INET or AF_INET6. A pointer to a valid struct sockaddr,
337specified through ``IS`` or ``iS``, can be passed to this format specifier.
338
339The additional ``p``, ``f``, and ``s`` specifiers are used to specify port
340(IPv4, IPv6), flowinfo (IPv6) and scope (IPv6). Ports have a ``:`` prefix,
341flowinfo a ``/`` and scope a ``%``, each followed by the actual value.
342
343In case of an IPv6 address the compressed IPv6 address as described by
344http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5952 is being used if the additional
345specifier ``c`` is given. The IPv6 address is surrounded by ``[``, ``]`` in
346case of additional specifiers ``p``, ``f`` or ``s`` as suggested by
347https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-6man-text-addr-representation-07
348
349In case of IPv4 addresses, the additional ``h``, ``n``, ``b``, and ``l``
350specifiers can be used as well and are ignored in case of an IPv6
351address.
352
353Passed by reference.
354
355Further examples::
356
357	%pISfc		1.2.3.4		or [1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8]/123456789
358	%pISsc		1.2.3.4		or [1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8]%1234567890
359	%pISpfc		1.2.3.4:12345	or [1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8]:12345/123456789
360
361UUID/GUID addresses
362-------------------
363
364::
365
366	%pUb	00010203-0405-0607-0809-0a0b0c0d0e0f
367	%pUB	00010203-0405-0607-0809-0A0B0C0D0E0F
368	%pUl	03020100-0504-0706-0809-0a0b0c0e0e0f
369	%pUL	03020100-0504-0706-0809-0A0B0C0E0E0F
370
371For printing 16-byte UUID/GUIDs addresses. The additional ``l``, ``L``,
372``b`` and ``B`` specifiers are used to specify a little endian order in
373lower (l) or upper case (L) hex notation - and big endian order in lower (b)
374or upper case (B) hex notation.
375
376Where no additional specifiers are used the default big endian
377order with lower case hex notation will be printed.
378
379Passed by reference.
380
381dentry names
382------------
383
384::
385
386	%pd{,2,3,4}
387	%pD{,2,3,4}
388
389For printing dentry name; if we race with :c:func:`d_move`, the name might
390be a mix of old and new ones, but it won't oops.  %pd dentry is a safer
391equivalent of %s dentry->d_name.name we used to use, %pd<n> prints ``n``
392last components.  %pD does the same thing for struct file.
393
394Passed by reference.
395
396block_device names
397------------------
398
399::
400
401	%pg	sda, sda1 or loop0p1
402
403For printing name of block_device pointers.
404
405struct va_format
406----------------
407
408::
409
410	%pV
411
412For printing struct va_format structures. These contain a format string
413and va_list as follows::
414
415	struct va_format {
416		const char *fmt;
417		va_list *va;
418	};
419
420Implements a "recursive vsnprintf".
421
422Do not use this feature without some mechanism to verify the
423correctness of the format string and va_list arguments.
424
425Passed by reference.
426
427Device tree nodes
428-----------------
429
430::
431
432	%pOF[fnpPcCF]
433
434
435For printing device tree node structures. Default behaviour is
436equivalent to %pOFf.
437
438	- f - device node full_name
439	- n - device node name
440	- p - device node phandle
441	- P - device node path spec (name + @unit)
442	- F - device node flags
443	- c - major compatible string
444	- C - full compatible string
445
446The separator when using multiple arguments is ':'
447
448Examples::
449
450	%pOF	/foo/bar@0			- Node full name
451	%pOFf	/foo/bar@0			- Same as above
452	%pOFfp	/foo/bar@0:10			- Node full name + phandle
453	%pOFfcF	/foo/bar@0:foo,device:--P-	- Node full name +
454	                                          major compatible string +
455						  node flags
456							D - dynamic
457							d - detached
458							P - Populated
459							B - Populated bus
460
461Passed by reference.
462
463Fwnode handles
464--------------
465
466::
467
468	%pfw[fP]
469
470For printing information on fwnode handles. The default is to print the full
471node name, including the path. The modifiers are functionally equivalent to
472%pOF above.
473
474	- f - full name of the node, including the path
475	- P - the name of the node including an address (if there is one)
476
477Examples (ACPI)::
478
479	%pfwf	\_SB.PCI0.CIO2.port@1.endpoint@0	- Full node name
480	%pfwP	endpoint@0				- Node name
481
482Examples (OF)::
483
484	%pfwf	/ocp@68000000/i2c@48072000/camera@10/port/endpoint - Full name
485	%pfwP	endpoint				- Node name
486
487Time and date
488-------------
489
490::
491
492	%pt[RT]			YYYY-mm-ddTHH:MM:SS
493	%pt[RT]d		YYYY-mm-dd
494	%pt[RT]t		HH:MM:SS
495	%pt[RT][dt][r]
496
497For printing date and time as represented by
498	R  struct rtc_time structure
499	T  time64_t type
500in human readable format.
501
502By default year will be incremented by 1900 and month by 1.
503Use %pt[RT]r (raw) to suppress this behaviour.
504
505Passed by reference.
506
507struct clk
508----------
509
510::
511
512	%pC	pll1
513	%pCn	pll1
514
515For printing struct clk structures. %pC and %pCn print the name of the clock
516(Common Clock Framework) or a unique 32-bit ID (legacy clock framework).
517
518Passed by reference.
519
520bitmap and its derivatives such as cpumask and nodemask
521-------------------------------------------------------
522
523::
524
525	%*pb	0779
526	%*pbl	0,3-6,8-10
527
528For printing bitmap and its derivatives such as cpumask and nodemask,
529%*pb outputs the bitmap with field width as the number of bits and %*pbl
530output the bitmap as range list with field width as the number of bits.
531
532Passed by reference.
533
534Flags bitfields such as page flags, gfp_flags
535---------------------------------------------
536
537::
538
539	%pGp	referenced|uptodate|lru|active|private
540	%pGg	GFP_USER|GFP_DMA32|GFP_NOWARN
541	%pGv	read|exec|mayread|maywrite|mayexec|denywrite
542
543For printing flags bitfields as a collection of symbolic constants that
544would construct the value. The type of flags is given by the third
545character. Currently supported are [p]age flags, [v]ma_flags (both
546expect ``unsigned long *``) and [g]fp_flags (expects ``gfp_t *``). The flag
547names and print order depends on the particular	type.
548
549Note that this format should not be used directly in the
550:c:func:`TP_printk()` part of a tracepoint. Instead, use the show_*_flags()
551functions from <trace/events/mmflags.h>.
552
553Passed by reference.
554
555Network device features
556-----------------------
557
558::
559
560	%pNF	0x000000000000c000
561
562For printing netdev_features_t.
563
564Passed by reference.
565
566Thanks
567======
568
569If you add other %p extensions, please extend <lib/test_printf.c> with
570one or more test cases, if at all feasible.
571
572Thank you for your cooperation and attention.
573