Procfs

procfs (process filesystem) is a virtual filesystem to output and change system and process information. It's generated by the kernel and mounted at. The information in the sysfs filesystem replaces more and more system information of procfs.

Installation
You need to activate the following kernel options:

Configuration
Change your to mount procfs at boot time to :

Usage
See the Wikipedia article for the file's purpose.


 * Use cat to read the information, e.g. output the version of the currently running kernel:


 * To set values at runtime - if possible - use echo, e.g. to enable the magic SysRq key::

sysctl
sysctl is a mechanism to modify certain kernel parameters at runtime. It is part of procfs and the files are located at. contains documentation of most files.

sysctl work with keys, which can be assembled from the file path by removing the prefix and replace the backsplash with a point. So, e.g. becomes kernel.sysrq.

You can modify at runtime the files like above, but the tool sysctl (part of ) do it in a more structured way:


 * To enable the magic sysrq key:


 * To show all keys and their current values:

To configure kernel parameters at boot, add them to a file in. The recommended location for local settings is. The legacy file is also supported. To enable the magic SysRq key at boot:

OpenRC
The service sysctl read the files at boot and execute the settings. The service is enabled by default.

systemd
systemd knows beside also  for package-provided config files.

The service systemd-sysctl is enabled by default.