rmmod

Remove a kernel module

$ sudo rmmod module_name

$ sudo rmmod --verbose module_name

$ sudo rmmod --syslog module_name

$ sudo rmmod --force module_name

rmmod [-f] [-s] [-v] modulename...

rmmod is a simple program to remove a module from the Linux kernel. It removes only the specified module without handling dependent modules.

-f, --force

Force removal even if module is in use (dangerous)

Send errors to syslog instead of stderr

Print verbose information

Display version

Display help

A module cannot be removed if it is in use by another module or process. Use modprobe -r instead for most cases as it handles dependencies. The --force option is dangerous and can crash the system.

rmmod is part of kmod. It provides direct module removal without the intelligence of modprobe -r.

modprobe(8), insmod(8), lsmod(8)