instmodsh

instmodsh [<release>] [<install_dir>]

release
    Kernel release/version (default: `uname -r`)

install_dir
    Module install dir (default: /lib/modules/<release>)

instmodsh is a Bourne shell script in the Linux kernel source tree (scripts/instmodsh). It installs compiled kernel modules into the standard /lib/modules/ hierarchy.

After running make modules in the kernel source, invoke instmodsh (typically as root) to organize modules. It determines the kernel release (default: `uname -r`) and install directory (default: /lib/modules/$release). It creates subdirs like kernel/, updates/, extra/, copies *.ko files, modules.order, modules.builtin, modules.alias, modules.symvers, then runs depmod -a $release for dependencies.

Historically tied to Slackware, it's used manually or in build scripts. Modern kernels prefer make modules_install, which embeds similar logic, but instmodsh persists for compatibility.

Run as root.
Invoke from kernel source root after make modules.
Deprecated; prefer make modules_install.
Exits with usage if >2 args.

cd /usr/src/linux
make modules
sudo ./scripts/instmodsh
or
sudo ./scripts/instmodsh 5.10.0 custom-lib/modules

Present in Linux kernel sources since early 2.x versions; key in Slackware module installs. Retained for backward compatibility as make modules_install superseded it around 2.6+ kernels.

depmod(8), modprobe(8), insmod(8), kmod(8)