drgn/README.rst
Omar Sandoval 7382856a41 docs: improve quick start documentation
Add an example of stack traces and parameters/local variables and use
some more interesting helpers.

Signed-off-by: Omar Sandoval <osandov@osandov.com>
2021-08-02 16:20:30 -07:00

157 lines
4.4 KiB
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drgn
====
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/drgn
:target: https://pypi.org/project/drgn/
:alt: PyPI
.. image:: https://github.com/osandov/drgn/workflows/CI/badge.svg
:target: https://github.com/osandov/drgn/actions
:alt: CI Status
.. image:: https://readthedocs.org/projects/drgn/badge/?version=latest
:target: https://drgn.readthedocs.io/en/latest/?badge=latest
:alt: Documentation Status
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/badge/code%20style-black-000000.svg
:target: https://github.com/psf/black
.. start-introduction
drgn (pronounced "dragon") is a debugger with an emphasis on programmability.
drgn exposes the types and variables in a program for easy, expressive
scripting in Python. For example, you can debug the Linux kernel:
.. code-block:: pycon
>>> from drgn.helpers.linux import list_for_each_entry
>>> for mod in list_for_each_entry('struct module',
... prog['modules'].address_of_(),
... 'list'):
... if mod.refcnt.counter > 10:
... print(mod.name)
...
(char [56])"snd"
(char [56])"evdev"
(char [56])"i915"
Although other debuggers like `GDB <https://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/>`_ have
scripting support, drgn aims to make scripting as natural as possible so that
debugging feels like coding. This makes it well-suited for introspecting the
complex, inter-connected state in large programs. It is also designed as a
library that can be used to build debugging and introspection tools; see the
official `tools <https://github.com/osandov/drgn/tree/main/tools>`_.
drgn was developed for debugging the Linux kernel (as an alternative to the
`crash <http://people.redhat.com/anderson/>`_ utility), but it can also debug
userspace programs written in C. C++ support is in progress.
.. end-introduction
Documentation can be found at `drgn.readthedocs.io
<https://drgn.readthedocs.io>`_.
Installation
------------
.. start-install-dependencies
Install dependencies:
Arch Linux:
.. code-block:: console
$ sudo pacman -S --needed gcc libelf make pkgconf python python-pip python-setuptools
Debian/Ubuntu:
.. code-block:: console
$ sudo apt-get install gcc liblzma-dev libelf-dev libdw-dev make pkgconf python3 python3-dev python3-pip python3-setuptools zlib1g-dev
Note that Debian Stretch, Ubuntu Trusty, and Ubuntu Xenial (and older) ship
Python versions which are too old. Python 3.6 or newer must be installed
manually.
Fedora:
.. code-block:: console
$ sudo dnf install elfutils-devel gcc make pkgconf python3 python3-devel python3-pip python3-setuptools
Optionally, install:
* `libkdumpfile <https://github.com/ptesarik/libkdumpfile>`_ if you want
support for kdump-compressed kernel core dumps
.. end-install-dependencies
Then, run:
.. code-block:: console
$ sudo pip3 install drgn
See the `installation documentation
<https://drgn.readthedocs.io/en/latest/installation.html>`_ for more options.
Quick Start
-----------
.. start-quick-start
drgn debugs the running kernel by default; run ``sudo drgn``. To debug a
running program, run ``sudo drgn -p $PID``. To debug a core dump (either a
kernel vmcore or a userspace core dump), run ``drgn -c $PATH``. The program
must have debugging symbols available.
Then, you can access variables in the program with ``prog['name']`` and access
structure members with ``.``:
.. code-block:: pycon
$ sudo drgn
>>> prog['init_task'].comm
(char [16])"swapper/0"
You can use various predefined helpers:
.. code-block:: pycon
>>> len(list(bpf_prog_for_each(prog)))
11
>>> task = find_task(prog, 115)
>>> cmdline(task)
[b'findmnt', b'-p']
You can get stack traces with ``prog.stack_trace()`` and access parameters or
local variables with ``stack_trace['name']``:
.. code-block:: pycon
>>> trace = prog.stack_trace(task)
>>> trace[5]
#5 at 0xffffffff8a5a32d0 (do_sys_poll+0x400/0x578) in do_poll at ./fs/select.c:961:8 (inlined)
>>> poll_list = trace[5]['list']
>>> file = fget(task, poll_list.entries[0].fd)
>>> d_path(file.f_path.address_of_())
b'/proc/115/mountinfo'
.. end-quick-start
See the `user guide <https://drgn.readthedocs.io/en/latest/user_guide.html>`_
for more details and features.
License
-------
.. start-license
Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates.
drgn is licensed under the `GPLv3
<https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html>`_ or later.
.. end-license