---
name: "statsnoop-bpfcc"
section: "8"
platform: "linux"
package: "bpfcc-tools"
version: "0.31.0+ds-7"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/statsnoop-bpfcc"
---

# statsnoop-bpfcc(8)

Trace stat() syscalls. Uses Linux eBPF/bcc.

## NAME

statsnoop - Trace stat() syscalls. Uses Linux eBPF/bcc.

## SYNOPSIS

**statsnoop \[-h\] \[-t\] \[-x\] \[-p PID\]**

## DESCRIPTION

statsnoop traces the different stat() syscalls, showing which processes are attempting to read information about which files. This can be useful for determining the location of config and log files, or for troubleshooting applications that are failing, especially on startup.

This works by tracing various kernel sys\_stat() functions using dynamic tracing, and will need updating to match any changes to these functions.

This makes use of a Linux 4.4 feature (bpf\_perf\_event\_output()); for kernels older than 4.4, see the version under tools/old, which uses an older mechanism.

Since this uses BPF, only the root user can use this tool.

## REQUIREMENTS

CONFIG\_BPF and bcc.

## OPTIONS

- \-h

  Print usage message.

- \-t

  Include a timestamp column: in seconds since the first event, with decimal places.

- \-x

  Only print failed stats.

- \-p PID

  Trace this process ID only (filtered in-kernel).

## EXAMPLES

- Trace all stat() syscalls:

  \# **statsnoop**

- Trace all stat() syscalls, and include timestamps:

  \# **statsnoop -t**

- Trace only stat() syscalls that failed:

  \# **statsnoop -x**

- Trace PID 181 only:

  \# **statsnoop -p 181**

## FIELDS

- TIME(s)

  Time of the call, in seconds.

- PID

  Process ID

- COMM

  Process name

- FD

  File descriptor (if success), or -1 (if failed)

- ERR

  Error number (see the system's errno.h)

- PATH

  Open path

## OVERHEAD

This traces the kernel stat function and prints output for each event. As the rate of this is generally expected to be low (\< 1000/s), the overhead is also expected to be negligible. If you have an application that is calling a high rate of stat()s, then test and understand overhead before use.

## SOURCE

This is from bcc.

-

  https://github.com/iovisor/bcc

Also look in the bcc distribution for a companion \_examples.txt file containing example usage, output, and commentary for this tool.

## OS

Linux

## STABILITY

Unstable - in development.

## AUTHOR

Brendan Gregg

## SEE ALSO

opensnoop(1)