needrestart

List outdated processes

$ needrestart

$ sudo needrestart

$ needrestart -v

$ needrestart -q

$ needrestart -k

$ needrestart -w

$ needrestart -b

$ needrestart -c [path/to/config]

needrestart [-v|-q] [-k] [-w] [-b] [-c config]

needrestart checks which daemons need to be restarted after library upgrades. When shared libraries are updated, running processes may still use old versions in memory, potentially leaving security vulnerabilities unpatched.
The tool scans running processes for deleted library files (indicating updates) and identifies services that should be restarted. It can also check for outdated kernels and CPU microcode requiring a reboot.

-v

Verbose mode; show more details

Quiet mode; suppress output

Check if running kernel is outdated

Check if CPU microcode is outdated

Batch mode; non-interactive, suitable for scripts

List only; do not prompt for restart

Restart mode: i (interactive), a (automatic), l (list only)

Use specified configuration file

Enable nagios plugin mode output

Select frontend: debconf, stdio, readline

Restarting services may cause brief outages. Kernel and microcode updates require a full reboot. Some processes may be difficult to identify or restart. Running with sudo enables interactive restart prompts.

needrestart was developed by Thomas Liske for Debian-based systems to help administrators identify services needing restart after package updates. It integrates with apt to run automatically after upgrades.

systemctl(1), apt(8), checkrestart(1)