raspi-gpio

Query and set Raspberry Pi GPIO pin states

TLDR

Show all GPIO pin states

$ raspi-gpio get

Get the state of a specific pin

$ raspi-gpio get [17]

Configure a pin as output

$ sudo raspi-gpio set [17] op

Drive a pin high

$ sudo raspi-gpio set [17] dh

Drive a pin low

$ sudo raspi-gpio set [17] dl

Set as input with pull-up

$ sudo raspi-gpio set [18] ip pu

List alternate functions for a pin

$ raspi-gpio funcs [17]

Dump raw register values

$ sudo raspi-gpio raw

SYNOPSIS

raspi-gpio command [pin] [options]

raspi-gpio is a low-level tool for inspecting and manipulating GPIO pins on Raspberry Pi boards. It writes directly to the BCM GPIO controller registers via /dev/gpiomem (or /dev/mem when run as root), bypassing higher-level libraries like libgpiod.The tool is mainly intended for debugging hardware setups, verifying that DT overlays applied the expected pin functions, and one-off scripting. For production use, the kernel gpiod interface (via libgpiod's gpioget/gpioset) is recommended because it integrates with the kernel's GPIO subsystem and respects kernel-claimed lines.

COMMANDS

get [pin|pin1,pin2,...]

Show pin states. Without a pin number, shows all GPIOs (0-53).

set pin options...

Configure pin direction, drive level, pull, or alternate function.

funcs [pin]

Print the BCM-defined alternate functions for the given pin (or all pins).

raw

Print the raw GPIO register values.

OPTIONS FOR SET

ip / op

Set as input / output.

a0 ... a5

Select alternate function 0-5.

dl / dh

Drive low / drive high (only meaningful when op is set).

pu / pd / pn

Pull up / pull down / no pull.

CAVEATS

Raspberry Pi specific. set and raw require root because they write to the hardware. Writing the wrong direction or drive level on a pin connected to external hardware can damage the SoC. The numbering used is BCM (Broadcom) — not the physical board pin numbers.

HISTORY

raspi-gpio is included with Raspberry Pi OS as a small utility maintained by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. It complements higher-level libraries like wiringPi (deprecated) and the kernel gpiod interface.