xref: /openbmc/linux/Documentation/core-api/printk-formats.rst (revision a01822e94ee53e8ebc9632fe2764048b81921254)
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
115Probed Pointers from BPF / tracing
116----------------------------------
117
118::
119
120	%pks	kernel string
121	%pus	user string
122
123The ``k`` and ``u`` specifiers are used for printing prior probed memory from
124either kernel memory (k) or user memory (u). The subsequent ``s`` specifier
125results in printing a string. For direct use in regular vsnprintf() the (k)
126and (u) annotation is ignored, however, when used out of BPF's bpf_trace_printk(),
127for example, it reads the memory it is pointing to without faulting.
128
129Kernel Pointers
130---------------
131
132::
133
134	%pK	01234567 or 0123456789abcdef
135
136For printing kernel pointers which should be hidden from unprivileged
137users. The behaviour of %pK depends on the kptr_restrict sysctl - see
138Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/kernel.rst for more details.
139
140Unmodified Addresses
141--------------------
142
143::
144
145	%px	01234567 or 0123456789abcdef
146
147For printing pointers when you *really* want to print the address. Please
148consider whether or not you are leaking sensitive information about the
149kernel memory layout before printing pointers with %px. %px is functionally
150equivalent to %lx (or %lu). %px is preferred because it is more uniquely
151grep'able. If in the future we need to modify the way the kernel handles
152printing pointers we will be better equipped to find the call sites.
153
154Pointer Differences
155-------------------
156
157::
158
159	%td	2560
160	%tx	a00
161
162For printing the pointer differences, use the %t modifier for ptrdiff_t.
163
164Example::
165
166	printk("test: difference between pointers: %td\n", ptr2 - ptr1);
167
168Struct Resources
169----------------
170
171::
172
173	%pr	[mem 0x60000000-0x6fffffff flags 0x2200] or
174		[mem 0x0000000060000000-0x000000006fffffff flags 0x2200]
175	%pR	[mem 0x60000000-0x6fffffff pref] or
176		[mem 0x0000000060000000-0x000000006fffffff pref]
177
178For printing struct resources. The ``R`` and ``r`` specifiers result in a
179printed resource with (R) or without (r) a decoded flags member.
180
181Passed by reference.
182
183Physical address types phys_addr_t
184----------------------------------
185
186::
187
188	%pa[p]	0x01234567 or 0x0123456789abcdef
189
190For printing a phys_addr_t type (and its derivatives, such as
191resource_size_t) which can vary based on build options, regardless of the
192width of the CPU data path.
193
194Passed by reference.
195
196DMA address types dma_addr_t
197----------------------------
198
199::
200
201	%pad	0x01234567 or 0x0123456789abcdef
202
203For printing a dma_addr_t type which can vary based on build options,
204regardless of the width of the CPU data path.
205
206Passed by reference.
207
208Raw buffer as an escaped string
209-------------------------------
210
211::
212
213	%*pE[achnops]
214
215For printing raw buffer as an escaped string. For the following buffer::
216
217		1b 62 20 5c 43 07 22 90 0d 5d
218
219A few examples show how the conversion would be done (excluding surrounding
220quotes)::
221
222		%*pE		"\eb \C\a"\220\r]"
223		%*pEhp		"\x1bb \C\x07"\x90\x0d]"
224		%*pEa		"\e\142\040\\\103\a\042\220\r\135"
225
226The conversion rules are applied according to an optional combination
227of flags (see :c:func:`string_escape_mem` kernel documentation for the
228details):
229
230	- a - ESCAPE_ANY
231	- c - ESCAPE_SPECIAL
232	- h - ESCAPE_HEX
233	- n - ESCAPE_NULL
234	- o - ESCAPE_OCTAL
235	- p - ESCAPE_NP
236	- s - ESCAPE_SPACE
237
238By default ESCAPE_ANY_NP is used.
239
240ESCAPE_ANY_NP is the sane choice for many cases, in particularly for
241printing SSIDs.
242
243If field width is omitted then 1 byte only will be escaped.
244
245Raw buffer as a hex string
246--------------------------
247
248::
249
250	%*ph	00 01 02  ...  3f
251	%*phC	00:01:02: ... :3f
252	%*phD	00-01-02- ... -3f
253	%*phN	000102 ... 3f
254
255For printing small buffers (up to 64 bytes long) as a hex string with a
256certain separator. For larger buffers consider using
257:c:func:`print_hex_dump`.
258
259MAC/FDDI addresses
260------------------
261
262::
263
264	%pM	00:01:02:03:04:05
265	%pMR	05:04:03:02:01:00
266	%pMF	00-01-02-03-04-05
267	%pm	000102030405
268	%pmR	050403020100
269
270For printing 6-byte MAC/FDDI addresses in hex notation. The ``M`` and ``m``
271specifiers result in a printed address with (M) or without (m) byte
272separators. The default byte separator is the colon (:).
273
274Where FDDI addresses are concerned the ``F`` specifier can be used after
275the ``M`` specifier to use dash (-) separators instead of the default
276separator.
277
278For Bluetooth addresses the ``R`` specifier shall be used after the ``M``
279specifier to use reversed byte order suitable for visual interpretation
280of Bluetooth addresses which are in the little endian order.
281
282Passed by reference.
283
284IPv4 addresses
285--------------
286
287::
288
289	%pI4	1.2.3.4
290	%pi4	001.002.003.004
291	%p[Ii]4[hnbl]
292
293For printing IPv4 dot-separated decimal addresses. The ``I4`` and ``i4``
294specifiers result in a printed address with (i4) or without (I4) leading
295zeros.
296
297The additional ``h``, ``n``, ``b``, and ``l`` specifiers are used to specify
298host, network, big or little endian order addresses respectively. Where
299no specifier is provided the default network/big endian order is used.
300
301Passed by reference.
302
303IPv6 addresses
304--------------
305
306::
307
308	%pI6	0001:0002:0003:0004:0005:0006:0007:0008
309	%pi6	00010002000300040005000600070008
310	%pI6c	1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8
311
312For printing IPv6 network-order 16-bit hex addresses. The ``I6`` and ``i6``
313specifiers result in a printed address with (I6) or without (i6)
314colon-separators. Leading zeros are always used.
315
316The additional ``c`` specifier can be used with the ``I`` specifier to
317print a compressed IPv6 address as described by
318http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5952
319
320Passed by reference.
321
322IPv4/IPv6 addresses (generic, with port, flowinfo, scope)
323---------------------------------------------------------
324
325::
326
327	%pIS	1.2.3.4		or 0001:0002:0003:0004:0005:0006:0007:0008
328	%piS	001.002.003.004	or 00010002000300040005000600070008
329	%pISc	1.2.3.4		or 1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8
330	%pISpc	1.2.3.4:12345	or [1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8]:12345
331	%p[Ii]S[pfschnbl]
332
333For printing an IP address without the need to distinguish whether it's of
334type AF_INET or AF_INET6. A pointer to a valid struct sockaddr,
335specified through ``IS`` or ``iS``, can be passed to this format specifier.
336
337The additional ``p``, ``f``, and ``s`` specifiers are used to specify port
338(IPv4, IPv6), flowinfo (IPv6) and scope (IPv6). Ports have a ``:`` prefix,
339flowinfo a ``/`` and scope a ``%``, each followed by the actual value.
340
341In case of an IPv6 address the compressed IPv6 address as described by
342http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5952 is being used if the additional
343specifier ``c`` is given. The IPv6 address is surrounded by ``[``, ``]`` in
344case of additional specifiers ``p``, ``f`` or ``s`` as suggested by
345https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-6man-text-addr-representation-07
346
347In case of IPv4 addresses, the additional ``h``, ``n``, ``b``, and ``l``
348specifiers can be used as well and are ignored in case of an IPv6
349address.
350
351Passed by reference.
352
353Further examples::
354
355	%pISfc		1.2.3.4		or [1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8]/123456789
356	%pISsc		1.2.3.4		or [1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8]%1234567890
357	%pISpfc		1.2.3.4:12345	or [1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8]:12345/123456789
358
359UUID/GUID addresses
360-------------------
361
362::
363
364	%pUb	00010203-0405-0607-0809-0a0b0c0d0e0f
365	%pUB	00010203-0405-0607-0809-0A0B0C0D0E0F
366	%pUl	03020100-0504-0706-0809-0a0b0c0e0e0f
367	%pUL	03020100-0504-0706-0809-0A0B0C0E0E0F
368
369For printing 16-byte UUID/GUIDs addresses. The additional ``l``, ``L``,
370``b`` and ``B`` specifiers are used to specify a little endian order in
371lower (l) or upper case (L) hex notation - and big endian order in lower (b)
372or upper case (B) hex notation.
373
374Where no additional specifiers are used the default big endian
375order with lower case hex notation will be printed.
376
377Passed by reference.
378
379dentry names
380------------
381
382::
383
384	%pd{,2,3,4}
385	%pD{,2,3,4}
386
387For printing dentry name; if we race with :c:func:`d_move`, the name might
388be a mix of old and new ones, but it won't oops.  %pd dentry is a safer
389equivalent of %s dentry->d_name.name we used to use, %pd<n> prints ``n``
390last components.  %pD does the same thing for struct file.
391
392Passed by reference.
393
394block_device names
395------------------
396
397::
398
399	%pg	sda, sda1 or loop0p1
400
401For printing name of block_device pointers.
402
403struct va_format
404----------------
405
406::
407
408	%pV
409
410For printing struct va_format structures. These contain a format string
411and va_list as follows::
412
413	struct va_format {
414		const char *fmt;
415		va_list *va;
416	};
417
418Implements a "recursive vsnprintf".
419
420Do not use this feature without some mechanism to verify the
421correctness of the format string and va_list arguments.
422
423Passed by reference.
424
425Device tree nodes
426-----------------
427
428::
429
430	%pOF[fnpPcCF]
431
432
433For printing device tree node structures. Default behaviour is
434equivalent to %pOFf.
435
436	- f - device node full_name
437	- n - device node name
438	- p - device node phandle
439	- P - device node path spec (name + @unit)
440	- F - device node flags
441	- c - major compatible string
442	- C - full compatible string
443
444The separator when using multiple arguments is ':'
445
446Examples::
447
448	%pOF	/foo/bar@0			- Node full name
449	%pOFf	/foo/bar@0			- Same as above
450	%pOFfp	/foo/bar@0:10			- Node full name + phandle
451	%pOFfcF	/foo/bar@0:foo,device:--P-	- Node full name +
452	                                          major compatible string +
453						  node flags
454							D - dynamic
455							d - detached
456							P - Populated
457							B - Populated bus
458
459Passed by reference.
460
461Fwnode handles
462--------------
463
464::
465
466	%pfw[fP]
467
468For printing information on fwnode handles. The default is to print the full
469node name, including the path. The modifiers are functionally equivalent to
470%pOF above.
471
472	- f - full name of the node, including the path
473	- P - the name of the node including an address (if there is one)
474
475Examples (ACPI)::
476
477	%pfwf	\_SB.PCI0.CIO2.port@1.endpoint@0	- Full node name
478	%pfwP	endpoint@0				- Node name
479
480Examples (OF)::
481
482	%pfwf	/ocp@68000000/i2c@48072000/camera@10/port/endpoint - Full name
483	%pfwP	endpoint				- Node name
484
485Time and date (struct rtc_time)
486-------------------------------
487
488::
489
490	%ptR		YYYY-mm-ddTHH:MM:SS
491	%ptRd		YYYY-mm-dd
492	%ptRt		HH:MM:SS
493	%ptR[dt][r]
494
495For printing date and time as represented by struct rtc_time structure in
496human readable format.
497
498By default year will be incremented by 1900 and month by 1. Use %ptRr (raw)
499to suppress this behaviour.
500
501Passed by reference.
502
503struct clk
504----------
505
506::
507
508	%pC	pll1
509	%pCn	pll1
510
511For printing struct clk structures. %pC and %pCn print the name of the clock
512(Common Clock Framework) or a unique 32-bit ID (legacy clock framework).
513
514Passed by reference.
515
516bitmap and its derivatives such as cpumask and nodemask
517-------------------------------------------------------
518
519::
520
521	%*pb	0779
522	%*pbl	0,3-6,8-10
523
524For printing bitmap and its derivatives such as cpumask and nodemask,
525%*pb outputs the bitmap with field width as the number of bits and %*pbl
526output the bitmap as range list with field width as the number of bits.
527
528Passed by reference.
529
530Flags bitfields such as page flags, gfp_flags
531---------------------------------------------
532
533::
534
535	%pGp	referenced|uptodate|lru|active|private
536	%pGg	GFP_USER|GFP_DMA32|GFP_NOWARN
537	%pGv	read|exec|mayread|maywrite|mayexec|denywrite
538
539For printing flags bitfields as a collection of symbolic constants that
540would construct the value. The type of flags is given by the third
541character. Currently supported are [p]age flags, [v]ma_flags (both
542expect ``unsigned long *``) and [g]fp_flags (expects ``gfp_t *``). The flag
543names and print order depends on the particular	type.
544
545Note that this format should not be used directly in the
546:c:func:`TP_printk()` part of a tracepoint. Instead, use the show_*_flags()
547functions from <trace/events/mmflags.h>.
548
549Passed by reference.
550
551Network device features
552-----------------------
553
554::
555
556	%pNF	0x000000000000c000
557
558For printing netdev_features_t.
559
560Passed by reference.
561
562Thanks
563======
564
565If you add other %p extensions, please extend <lib/test_printf.c> with
566one or more test cases, if at all feasible.
567
568Thank you for your cooperation and attention.
569