modprobe

Dry run loading a module

$ sudo modprobe -n module_name

$ sudo modprobe module_name

$ sudo modprobe -r module_name

$ sudo modprobe -r --remove-holders module_name

$ sudo modprobe -D module_name

$ modprobe -c

modprobe [-v] [-n] [-r] [modulename] [parameters...]

modprobe intelligently adds or removes modules from the Linux kernel. It handles module dependencies automatically using modules.dep and searches for modules in /lib/modules/$(uname -r).

-v, --verbose

Print detailed information about operations

Preview actions without executing them

Remove module instead of inserting

Force loading despite version mismatch

Suppress errors for missing modules

Apply blacklist rules from configuration

Display effective configuration

List module dependencies

Fail if module already loaded/not loaded

Ignore install commands in configuration

Wait and retry if module is busy (on removal)

Use specified kernel version

Also remove dependent modules (with -r)

Configuration files in /etc/modprobe.d/ control module behavior including aliases, options, blacklists, and install/remove commands.

Module names treat underscores and dashes interchangeably. Some modules require parameters for proper operation. Blacklisted modules can still be loaded explicitly.

modprobe is part of kmod, replacing the older module-init-tools. It provides intelligent module management with automatic dependency resolution.

lsmod(8), rmmod(8), insmod(8), modinfo(8), depmod(8)