---
name: "pmGetProgname"
section: "3"
platform: "linux"
package: "pcp"
version: "7.2.2-2"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/pmSetProgname"
---

# pmGetProgname(3)

application name services

Part of [pmSetProgname(3)](/pmSetProgname/3.md).

## NAME

**pmSetProgname**, **pmGetProgname** - application name services

## C SYNOPSIS

**#include \<pcp/pmapi.h\>**

**void pmSetProgname(const char \****program***);**\
 **char \*pmGetProgname(void);**

**cc ... -lpcp**

## DESCRIPTION

Within the Performance Co-Pilot (PCP) run-time libraries the name of a running application is maintained to be used in error and diagnostic messages.

The default application name is **pcp**.

**pmSetProgname** may be used to set the application name to *program* after stripping any leading components that begin with the filesystem path name separator (\`\`/'' for Unix-like systems).

It is the callers responsibility to ensure the memory pointed to by *program* remains available for the life of the application. Typically, the value passed as *program* for a C program would be **argv\[0\]**. If *program* is **NULL**, the default application name is restored.

**pmGetProgname** may be used to return the current application name.

## SEE ALSO

[**PMAPI**(3)](/PMAPI/3.md).