needrestart

checks which daemons need to be restarted after library upgrades

TLDR

List outdated processes

$ needrestart

Interactively restart services

$ sudo needrestart

List in verbose mode

$ needrestart -v

List in quiet mode

$ needrestart -q

Check if kernel is outdated

$ needrestart -k

Check if CPU microcode is outdated

$ needrestart -w

List in batch mode (non-interactive)

$ needrestart -b

Use specific configuration file

$ needrestart -c [path/to/config]

SYNOPSIS

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 It can also check for outdated kernels and CPU microcode requiring a reboot.

PARAMETERS

-v

Verbose mode; show more details

-q

Quiet mode; suppress output

-k

Check if running kernel is outdated

-w

Check if CPU microcode is outdated

-b

Batch mode; non-interactive, suitable for scripts

-l

List only; do not prompt for restart

-r _mode_

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

-c _config_

Use specified configuration file

-p

Enable nagios plugin mode output

-f _frontend_

Select frontend: debconf, stdio, readline

INSTALL

sudo dnf install needrestart

CAVEATS

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.

HISTORY

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.