--- name: "pargs" section: "1" platform: "freebsd" package: "base" version: "16.0-CURRENT-20261027-61c70dc16a79" release: "FreeBSD 16.0-CURRENT (2026-10-27)" platforms: ["freebsd"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/pargs" --- # pargs(1) get detailed process information ## NAME **procstat** – get detailed process information ## SYNOPSIS **procstat** \[**--libxo**\] \[**-h**\] \[**-M** *core*\] \[**-N** *system*\] \[**-w** *interval*\] *command* \[*pid* *...* \| *core* *...*\] **procstat** \[**--libxo**\] **-a** \[**-h**\] \[**-M** *core*\] \[**-N** *system*\] \[**-w** *interval*\] *command* **procstat** \[**--libxo**\] \[**-h**\] \[**-M** *core*\] \[**-N** *system*\] \[**-w** *interval*\]\[ **-b** \| **-c** \| **-e** \| **-f** \[**-C**\] \| **-i** \[**-n**\] \| **-j** \[**-n**\] \| **-k** \[**-k**\] \| **-l** \| **-r** \[**-H**\] \| **-s** \| **-S** \| **-t** \| **-v** \| **-x**\] \[*pid* *...* \| *core* *...*\] **procstat** \[**--libxo**\] **-a** \[**-h**\] \[**-M** *core*\] \[**-N** *system*\] \[**-w** *interval*\]\[ **-b** \| **-c** \| **-e** \| **-f** \[**-C**\] \| **-i** \[**-n**\] \| **-j** \[**-n**\] \| **-k** \[**-k**\] \| **-l** \| **-r** \[**-H**\] \| **-s** \| **-S** \| **-t** \| **-v** \| **-x**\] **procstat** \[**--libxo**\] **-L** \[**-h**\] \[**-M** *core*\] \[**-N** *system*\] \[**-w** *interval*\] *core* *...* **pargs** \[**--libxo**\] *pid* *...* **penv** \[**--libxo**\] *pid* *...* **pwdx** \[**--libxo**\] *pid* *...* ## DESCRIPTION **procstat** utility displays detailed information about the processes identified by the *pid* arguments, or if the **-a** flag is used, all processes. It can also display information extracted from a process core file, if the core file is specified as the argument. The **pargs**, **penv** and **pwdx** utilities display the arguments, environment, and current working directory, respectively of the process specified by *pid* argument. They mimic the behavior of Solaris utilities of the same names. If the **--libxo** flag is specified the output is generated via [libxo(3)](/libxo/3.md) in a selection of different human and machine readable formats. See [xo\_options(7)](/xo_options/7.md) for details on command line arguments. The following commands are available for **procstat**: - *advlock* Print information about advisory locks on files. All three types of locks are listed, BSD-style lockf(2), POSIX-style [fcntl(2)](/fcntl/2.md) *F\_SETLK*, and remote [lockd(8)](/lockd/8.md) locks used by NFSv3. Note that neither the **-a** option nor *pid* list can be used to limit the display of the locks, mostly because some types of locks do not have local (or any) owning processes. - *argument(s)* \| **-c** Display command line arguments for the process. Substring commands are accepted. - *auxv* \| **-x** Display ELF auxiliary vector for the process. - *basic* Print basic process statistics (this is the default). - *binary* \| **-b** Display binary information for the process. Substring commands are accepted. - *credential(s)* \| **-s** Display security credential information for the process. Substring commands are accepted. - *cpuset* \| *cs* \| **-S** Display the cpuset information for the thread. - *environment* \| **-e** Display environment variables for the process. Substring commands are accepted. - *file(s)* \| *fd(s)* \| **-f** Display file descriptor information for the process. If the **-C** subcommand flag is used then additional capability information is printed. - *kqueue(s)* \[**-v**\] Display the events registered in the process kqueues. The filter name, filter-specific identifier, flags, filter-specific flags, system and user data, and event status are displayed. If the **-v** verbose flag is provided to the subcommand, the values of the ext array are displayed as well. For flags, a string is printed consisting of the following symbols corresponding to set flags: - O *EV\_ONESHOT* - C *EV\_CLEAR* - R *EV\_RECEIPT* - D *EV\_DISPATCH* - d *EV\_DROP* - 1 *EV\_FLAG1* - 2 *EV\_FLAG2* For status: - A *KNOTE\_STATUS\_ACTIVE* - Q *KNOTE\_STATUS\_QUEUED* - D *KNOTE\_STATUS\_DISABLED* - d *KNOTE\_STATUS\_DETACHED* - K *KNOTE\_STATUS\_KQUEUE* - *kstack* \| **-k** Display the stacks of kernel threads in the process, excluding stacks of threads currently running on a CPU in userspace. If the **-v** subcommand option is used (or the command flag is repeated), function offsets as well as function names are printed. - *pargs* Display arguments for the process. - *penv* Display environment variables for the process. - *ptlwpinfo* \| **-L** Display LWP info for the process pertaining to its signal driven exit. - *pwdx* Display current working directory for the process. - *rlimit* \| **-l** Display resource limits for the process. - *rlimitusage* Display the usage of the resource limits for the process. - *rusage* \| **-r** Display resource usage information for the process. If the **-v** (or **-H**) subcommand flag is used then per-thread statistics are printed, rather than per-process statistics. The second field in the table will list the thread ID to which the row of information corresponds. - *signal(s)* \| **-i** Display signal pending and disposition information for the process. If the **-n** subcommand option is used, the signal numbers are shown instead of signal names. Substring commands are accepted. - *thread(s)* \| **-t** Display thread information for the process. - *tsignal(s)* \| **-j** Display signal pending and blocked information for the process's threads. If the **-n** subcommand option is used, the signal numbers are shown instead of signal names. Substring commands are accepted. - *vm* \| **-v** Display virtual memory mappings for the process. All options generate output in the format of a table, the first field of which is the process ID to which the row of information corresponds. The **-h** flag may be used to suppress table headers. The **-w** flag may be used to specify a wait interval at which to repeat the printing of the requested process information. If the **-w** flag is not specified, the output will not repeat. Information for VM, file descriptor, and cpuset options is available only to the owner of a process or the superuser. A cpuset value displayed as -1 means that the information is either invalid or not available. ### Binary Information Display the process ID, command, and path to the process binary: - PID process ID - COMM command - OSREL osreldate for process binary - PATH path to process binary (if available) ### Command Line Arguments Display the process ID, command, and command line arguments: - PID process ID - COMM command - ARGS command line arguments (if available) ### Environment Variables Display the process ID, command, and environment variables: - PID process ID - COMM command - ENVIRONMENT environment variables (if available) ### File Descriptors Display detailed information about each file descriptor referenced by a process, including the process ID, command, file descriptor number, and per-file descriptor object information, such as object type and file system path. By default, the following information will be printed: - PID process ID - COMM command - FD file descriptor number or cwd/root/jail - T file descriptor type - V vnode type - FLAGS file descriptor flags - REF file descriptor reference count - OFFSET file descriptor offset - PRO network protocol - NAME file path or socket addresses (if available) The following file descriptor types may be displayed: - e POSIX semaphore - E eventfd - f fifo - h shared memory - i inotify descriptor - k kqueue - m message queue - P process descriptor - p pipe - s socket - t pseudo-terminal master - v vnode The following vnode types may be displayed: - \- not a vnode - b block device - c character device - d directory - f fifo - l symbolic link - r regular file - s socket - x revoked device The following file descriptor flags may be displayed: - r read - w write - a append - s async - f fsync - n non-blocking - d direct I/O - l lock held If the **-C** flag is specified, the vnode type, reference count, and offset fields will be omitted, and a new capabilities field will be included listing capabilities, as described in [cap\_rights\_limit(2)](/cap_rights_limit/2.md), present for each capability descriptor. The following network protocols may be displayed (grouped by address family): AF\_INET, AF\_INET6 - ICM IPPROTO\_ICMP; see [icmp(4)](/icmp/4.md). - IP? unknown protocol. - RAW IPPROTO\_RAW; see [ip(4)](/ip/4.md). - SCT IPPROTO\_SCTP; see [sctp(4)](/sctp/4.md). - TCP IPPROTO\_TCP; see [tcp(4)](/tcp/4.md). - UDP IPPROTO\_UDP; see [udp(4)](/udp/4.md). AF\_LOCAL - UDD Datagram socket. - UDS Stream socket. - UDQ Sequential Packet Stream socket. - UD? unknown protocol. AF\_DIVERT - IPD Divert socket; see [divert(4)](/divert/4.md). - ? unknown address family. ### Signal Disposition Information Display signal pending and disposition for a process: - PID process ID - COMM command - SIG signal name - FLAGS process signal disposition details, three symbols - P if signal is pending in the global process queue; - otherwise. - I if signal delivery disposition is SIG\_IGN; - otherwise. - C if the signal will be caught; - otherwise. If **-n** switch is given, the signal numbers are shown instead of signal names. ### Thread Signal Information Display signal pending and blocked for a process's threads: - PID process ID - TID thread ID - COMM command - SIG signal name - FLAGS thread signal delivery status, two symbols - P if signal is pending for the thread, - otherwise - B if signal is blocked in the thread signal mask, - if not blocked The **-n** switch has the same effect as for the **-i** switch: the signal numbers are shown instead of signal names. ### Kernel Thread Stacks Display kernel thread stacks for a process, allowing further interpretation of thread wait channels. If the **-k** flag is repeated, function offsets, not just function names, are printed. This feature requires **options STACK** or **options DDB** to be compiled into the kernel. - PID process ID - TID thread ID - COMM command - TDNAME thread name - KSTACK kernel thread call stack ### Resource Limits Display resource limits for a process: - PID process ID - COMM command - RLIMIT resource limit name - SOFT soft limit - HARD hard limit ### Resource Usage Display resource usage for a process. If the **-H** flag is specified, resource usage for individual threads is displayed instead. - PID process ID - TID thread ID( if **-H** is specified) - COMM command - RESOURCE resource name - VALUE current usage ### Security Credentials Display process credential information: - PID process ID - COMM command - EUID effective user ID - RUID real user ID - SVUID saved user ID - EGID effective group ID - RGID real group ID - SVGID saved group ID - UMASK file creation mode mask - FLAGS credential flags - GROUPS group set The following credential flags may be displayed: - C capability mode ### Thread Information Display per-thread information, including process ID, per-thread ID, name, CPU, and execution state: - PID process ID - TID thread ID - COMM command - TDNAME thread name - CPU current or most recent CPU run on - PRI thread priority - STATE thread state - WCHAN thread wait channel ### Virtual Memory Mappings Display process virtual memory mappings, including addresses, mapping meta-data, and mapped object information: - PID process ID - START starting address of mapping - END ending address of mapping - PRT protection flags - RES resident pages - PRES private resident pages - REF reference count - SHD shadow page count - FLAG mapping flags - TP VM object type The following protection flags may be displayed: - r read - w write - x execute The following VM object types may be displayed: - \-- none - dd dead - df default - dv device - md device with managed pages (GEM/TTM) - ph physical - sg scatter/gather - sw swap - vn vnode - gd guard (pseudo-type) The following mapping flags may be displayed: - C copy-on-write - N needs copy - S one or more superpage mappings are used - D grows down (top-down stack) - U grows up (bottom-up stack) - W pages in this range are locked by [mlock(2)](/mlock/2.md) or [mlockall(2)](/mlockall/2.md) ### ELF Auxiliary Vector Display ELF auxiliary vector values: - PID process ID - COMM command - AUXV auxiliary vector name - VALUE auxiliary vector value ### Advisory Lock Information - RW Read/Write type, *RO* for read, *RW* for write lock - TYPE Type of the lock, one of *FLOCK* for [flock(2)](/flock/2.md), *FCNTL* for [fcntl(2)](/fcntl/2.md), *LOCKD* for remote - PID Process id of the owner, for *FCNTL* and remote types - SYSID Remote system id if applicable - FSID File system id where the locked file resize - RDEV rdev for the file system - INO Unique file identifier (inode number) of the locked file on the file system - START Start offset of the locked range - LEN Length of the locked range. Zero means till EOF - PATH If available, the path of the locked file ## EXIT STATUS The **procstat** utility exits 0 on success, and \>0 if an error occurs. ## EXAMPLES Show binary information about the current shell: ``` $ procstat binary $$ PID COMM OSREL PATH 46620 bash 1201000 /usr/local/bin/bash ``` Same as above but showing information about open file descriptors: ``` $ procstat files $$ PID COMM FD T V FLAGS REF OFFSET PRO NAME 46620 bash text v r r------- - - - /usr/local/bin/bash 46620 bash ctty v c rw------ - - - /dev/pts/12 46620 bash cwd v d r------- - - - /tmp 46620 bash root v d r------- - - - / 46620 bash 0 v c rw------ 7 372071 - /dev/pts/12 46620 bash 1 v c rw------ 7 372071 - /dev/pts/12 46620 bash 2 v c rw------ 7 372071 - /dev/pts/12 46620 bash 255 v c rw------ 7 372071 - /dev/pts/12 ``` Show the arguments used to launch [init(8)](/init/8.md): ``` $ procstat arguments 1 PID COMM ARGS 1 init /sbin/init -- ``` Extract binary information from a core dump: ``` $ procstat binary core.36642 PID COMM OSREL PATH 36642 top 1201000 /usr/bin/top ``` Trying to extract information from a core file generated in a different major FreeBSD version might show an error like this: ``` $ procstat mplayer.core procstat: kinfo_proc structure size mismatch procstat: procstat_getprocs() ``` ## SEE ALSO [fstat(1)](/fstat/1.md), [ps(1)](/ps/1.md), [sockstat(1)](/sockstat/1.md), [cap\_enter(2)](/cap_enter/2.md), [cap\_rights\_limit(2)](/cap_rights_limit/2.md), [inotify(2)](/inotify/2.md), [mlock(2)](/mlock/2.md), [mlockall(2)](/mlockall/2.md), [libprocstat(3)](/libprocstat/3.md), [libxo(3)](/libxo/3.md), [signal(3)](/signal/3.md), [ddb(4)](/ddb/4.md), [divert(4)](/divert/4.md), [icmp(4)](/icmp/4.md), [ip(4)](/ip/4.md), [sctp(4)](/sctp/4.md), [tcp(4)](/tcp/4.md), [udp(4)](/udp/4.md), [xo\_options(7)](/xo_options/7.md), [stack(9)](/stack/9.md) ## AUTHORS Robert N M Watson ⟨*rwatson@FreeBSD.org*⟩.\ [libxo(3)](/libxo/3.md) support was added by Allan Jude ⟨*allanjude@FreeBSD.org*⟩.\ Juraj Lutter ⟨*juraj@lutter.sk*⟩ added the pargs, penv and pwdx functionality. ## BUGS The display of open file or memory mapping pathnames is implemented using the kernel's name cache. If a file system does not use the name cache, or the path to a file is not in the cache, a path will not be displayed. **procstat** currently supports extracting data only from a live kernel, and not from kernel crash dumps.