modprobe
intelligently adds or removes modules from the Linux kernel
TLDR
Dry run loading a module
$ sudo modprobe -n module_name
Load a module into kernel$ sudo modprobe module_name
Remove a module from kernel$ sudo modprobe -r module_name
Remove module and dependents$ sudo modprobe -r --remove-holders module_name
Show module dependencies$ sudo modprobe -D module_name
Show configuration$ modprobe -c
SYNOPSIS
modprobe [-v] [-n] [-r] [modulename] [parameters...]
DESCRIPTION
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).
PARAMETERS
-v, --verbose
Print detailed information about operations-n, --dry-run
Preview actions without executing them-r, --remove
Remove module instead of inserting-f, --force
Force loading despite version mismatch-q, --quiet
Suppress errors for missing modules-b, --use-blacklist
Apply blacklist rules from configuration-c, --showconfig
Display effective configuration-D, --show-depends
List module dependencies--first-time
Fail if module already loaded/not loaded-i, --ignore-install
Ignore install commands in configuration-w, --wait=TIMEOUT
Wait and retry if module is busy (on removal)-S, --set-version
Use specified kernel version--remove-holders
Also remove dependent modules (with -r)
CONFIGURATION
Configuration files in /etc/modprobe.d/ control module behavior including aliases, options, blacklists, and install/remove commands.
INSTALL
sudo apt install kmod
sudo dnf install kmod
sudo pacman -S kmod
sudo apk add kmod
sudo zypper install kmod
brew install kmod
nix profile install nixpkgs#kmod
CAVEATS
Module names treat underscores and dashes interchangeably. Some modules require parameters for proper operation. Blacklisted modules can still be loaded explicitly.
HISTORY
modprobe is part of kmod, replacing the older module-init-tools. It provides intelligent module management with automatic dependency resolution.
