Valgrind Package Description
Valgrind is a system for debugging and profiling Linux programs. With its tool suite you can automatically detect many memory management and threading bugs, avoiding hours of frustrating bug-hunting and making your programs more stable. You can also perform detailed profiling to help speed up your programs and use Valgrind to build new tools. The Valgrind distribution currently includes six production-quality tools:
- a memory error detector (Memcheck)
- two thread error detectors (Helgrind and DRD)
- a cache and branch-prediction profiler (Cachegrind)
- a call-graph generating cache and branch-prediction profiler (Callgrind)
- a heap profiler (Massif)
It also includes three experimental tools:
- a stack/global array overrun detector (SGCheck)
- a second heap profiler that examines how heap blocks are used (DHAT)
- a SimPoint basic block vector generator (BBV)
Valgrind Homepage | Kali Valgrind Repo
- Author: Julian Seward
- License: GPLv2
Tools included in the valgrind package
callgrind_annotate – Post-processing tool for the Callgrind
[email protected]:~# callgrind_annotate -h
usage: callgrind_annotate [options] [callgrind-out-file [source-files...]]
options for the user, with defaults in [ ], are:
-h --help show this message
--version show version
--show=A,B,C only show figures for events A,B,C [all]
--sort=A,B,C sort columns by events A,B,C [event column order]
--threshold=<0--100> percentage of counts (of primary sort event) we
are interested in [99%]
--auto=yes|no annotate all source files containing functions
that helped reach the event count threshold [no]
--context=N print N lines of context before and after
annotated lines [8]
--inclusive=yes|no add subroutine costs to functions calls [no]
--tree=none|caller| print for each function their callers,
calling|both the called functions or both [none]
-I --include=<dir> add <dir> to list of directories to search for
source files
callgrind_control – Observe and control programs being run by Callgrind
[email protected]:~# callgrind_control -h
Observe the status and control currently active callgrind runs.
(C) 2003-2011, Josef Weidendorfer ([email protected])
Usage: callgrind_control [options] [pid|program-name...]
If no pids/names are given, an action is applied to all currently
active Callgrind runs. Default action is printing short information.
Options:
-h --help Show this help text
--version Show version
-s --stat Show statistics
-b --back Show stack/back trace
-e [<A>,...] Show event counters for <A>,... (default: all)
--dump[=<s>] Request a dump optionally using <s> as description
-z --zero Zero all event counters
-k --kill Kill
-i --instr=on|off Switch instrumentation state on/off
cg_annotate – Post-processing tool for Cachegrind
[email protected]:~# cg_annotate -h
usage: cg_annotate [options] cachegrind-out-file [source-files...]
options for the user, with defaults in [ ], are:
-h --help show this message
--version show version
--show=A,B,C only show figures for events A,B,C [all]
--sort=A,B,C sort columns by events A,B,C [event column order]
--threshold=<0--20> a function is shown if it accounts for more than x% of
the counts of the primary sort event [0.1]
--auto=yes|no annotate all source files containing functions
that helped reach the event count threshold [no]
--context=N print N lines of context before and after
annotated lines [8]
-I<d> --include=<d> add <d> to list of directories to search for
source files
cg_annotate is Copyright (C) 2002-2007 Nicholas Nethercote.
and licensed under the GNU General Public License, version 2.
Bug reports, feedback, admiration, abuse, etc, to: [email protected]
cg_diff – Diffs cachegrind files
[email protected]:~# cg_diff -h
usage: cg_diff [options] <cachegrind-out-file1> <cachegrind-out-file2>
options for the user, with defaults in [ ], are:
-h --help show this message
-v --version show version
--mod-filename=<expr> a Perl search-and-replace expression that is applied
to filenames, eg. --mod-filename='s/prog[0-9]/projN/'
--mod-funcname=<expr> like --mod-filename, but applied to function names
cg_diff is Copyright (C) 2010-2010 Nicholas Nethercote.
and licensed under the GNU General Public License, version 2.
Bug reports, feedback, admiration, abuse, etc, to: [email protected]
cg_merge – Merges multiple cachegrind output files into one
[email protected]:~# cg_merge
cg_merge: Merges multiple cachegrind output files into one
cg_merge: usage: cg_merge [-o outfile] [files-to-merge]
ms_print – Post-processing tool for Massif
[email protected]:~# ms_print -h
usage: ms_print [options] massif-out-file
options for the user, with defaults in [ ], are:
-h --help show this message
--version show version
--threshold=<m.n> significance threshold, in percent [1]
--x=<4..1000> graph width, in columns [72]
--y=<4..1000> graph height, in rows [20]
ms_print is Copyright (C) 2007-2007 Nicholas Nethercote.
and licensed under the GNU General Public License, version 2.
Bug reports, feedback, admiration, abuse, etc, to: [email protected]
valgrind – Suite of tools for debugging and profiling programs
[email protected]:~# valgrind -h
usage: valgrind [options] prog-and-args
tool-selection option, with default in [ ]:
--tool=<name> use the Valgrind tool named <name> [memcheck]
basic user options for all Valgrind tools, with defaults in [ ]:
-h --help show this message
--help-debug show this message, plus debugging options
--version show version
-q --quiet run silently; only print error msgs
-v --verbose be more verbose -- show misc extra info
--trace-children=no|yes Valgrind-ise child processes (follow execve)? [no]
--trace-children-skip=patt1,patt2,... specifies a list of executables
that --trace-children=yes should not trace into
--trace-children-skip-by-arg=patt1,patt2,... same as --trace-children-skip=
but check the argv[] entries for children, rather
than the exe name, to make a follow/no-follow decision
--child-silent-after-fork=no|yes omit child output between fork & exec? [no]
--vgdb=no|yes|full activate gdbserver? [yes]
full is slower but provides precise watchpoint/step
--vgdb-error=<number> invoke gdbserver after <number> errors [999999999]
to get started quickly, use --vgdb-error=0
and follow the on-screen directions
--track-fds=no|yes track open file descriptors? [no]
--time-stamp=no|yes add timestamps to log messages? [no]
--log-fd=<number> log messages to file descriptor [2=stderr]
--log-file=<file> log messages to <file>
--log-socket=ipaddr:port log messages to socket ipaddr:port
user options for Valgrind tools that report errors:
--xml=yes emit error output in XML (some tools only)
--xml-fd=<number> XML output to file descriptor
--xml-file=<file> XML output to <file>
--xml-socket=ipaddr:port XML output to socket ipaddr:port
--xml-user-comment=STR copy STR verbatim into XML output
--demangle=no|yes automatically demangle C++ names? [yes]
--num-callers=<number> show <number> callers in stack traces [12]
--error-limit=no|yes stop showing new errors if too many? [yes]
--error-exitcode=<number> exit code to return if errors found [0=disable]
--show-below-main=no|yes continue stack traces below main() [no]
--suppressions=<filename> suppress errors described in <filename>
--gen-suppressions=no|yes|all print suppressions for errors? [no]
--db-attach=no|yes start debugger when errors detected? [no]
--db-command=<command> command to start debugger [/usr/bin/gdb -nw %f %p]
--input-fd=<number> file descriptor for input [0=stdin]
--dsymutil=no|yes run dsymutil on Mac OS X when helpful? [no]
--max-stackframe=<number> assume stack switch for SP changes larger
than <number> bytes [2000000]
--main-stacksize=<number> set size of main thread's stack (in bytes)
[use current 'ulimit' value]
user options for Valgrind tools that replace malloc:
--alignment=<number> set minimum alignment of heap allocations [8]
--redzone-size=<number> set minimum size of redzones added before/after
heap blocks (in bytes). [16]
uncommon user options for all Valgrind tools:
--fullpath-after= (with nothing after the '=')
show full source paths in call stacks
--fullpath-after=string like --fullpath-after=, but only show the
part of the path after 'string'. Allows removal
of path prefixes. Use this flag multiple times
to specify a set of prefixes to remove.
--smc-check=none|stack|all|all-non-file [stack]
checks for self-modifying code: none, only for
code found in stacks, for all code, or for all
code except that from file-backed mappings
--read-var-info=yes|no read debug info on stack and global variables
and use it to print better error messages in
tools that make use of it (Memcheck, Helgrind,
DRD) [no]
--vgdb-poll=<number> gdbserver poll max every <number> basic blocks [5000]
--vgdb-shadow-registers=no|yes let gdb see the shadow registers [no]
--vgdb-prefix=<prefix> prefix for vgdb FIFOs [/tmp/vgdb-pipe]
--run-libc-freeres=no|yes free up glibc memory at exit on Linux? [yes]
--sim-hints=hint1,hint2,... known hints:
lax-ioctls, enable-outer, fuse-compatible [none]
--fair-sched=no|yes|try schedule threads fairly on multicore systems [no]
--kernel-variant=variant1,variant2,... known variants: bproc [none]
handle non-standard kernel variants
--show-emwarns=no|yes show warnings about emulation limits? [no]
--require-text-symbol=:sonamepattern:symbolpattern abort run if the
stated shared object doesn't have the stated
text symbol. Patterns can contain ? and *.
--soname-synonyms=syn1=pattern1,syn2=pattern2,... synonym soname
specify patterns for function wrapping or replacement.
To use a non-libc malloc library that is
in the main exe: --soname-synonyms=somalloc=NONE
in libxyzzy.so: --soname-synonyms=somalloc=libxyzzy.so
user options for Memcheck:
--leak-check=no|summary|full search for memory leaks at exit? [summary]
--leak-resolution=low|med|high differentiation of leak stack traces [high]
--show-reachable=no|yes show reachable blocks in leak check? [no]
--show-possibly-lost=no|yes show possibly lost blocks in leak check?
[yes]
--undef-value-errors=no|yes check for undefined value errors [yes]
--track-origins=no|yes show origins of undefined values? [no]
--partial-loads-ok=no|yes too hard to explain here; see manual [no]
--freelist-vol=<number> volume of freed blocks queue [20000000]
--freelist-big-blocks=<number> releases first blocks with size >= [1000000]
--workaround-gcc296-bugs=no|yes self explanatory [no]
--ignore-ranges=0xPP-0xQQ[,0xRR-0xSS] assume given addresses are OK
--malloc-fill=<hexnumber> fill malloc'd areas with given value
--free-fill=<hexnumber> fill free'd areas with given value
Extra options read from ~/.valgrindrc, $VALGRIND_OPTS, ./.valgrindrc
Memcheck is Copyright (C) 2002-2012, and GNU GPL'd, by Julian Seward et al.
Valgrind is Copyright (C) 2000-2012, and GNU GPL'd, by Julian Seward et al.
LibVEX is Copyright (C) 2004-2012, and GNU GPL'd, by OpenWorks LLP et al.
Bug reports, feedback, admiration, abuse, etc, to: www.valgrind.org.
valgrind-listener – A simple listener program for valgrind log redirection
[email protected]:~# valgrind-listener -h
usage is:
valgrind-listener [--exit-at-zero|-e] [port-number]
where --exit-at-zero or -e causes the listener to exit
when the number of connections falls back to zero
(the default is to keep listening forever)
port-number is the default port on which to listen for
connections. It must be between 1024 and 65535.
Current default is 1500.
vgdb – Send monitor commands to a Valgrind gdbserver
[email protected]:~# vgdb -h
Usage: vgdb [OPTION]... [[-c] COMMAND]...
vgdb (valgrind gdb) has two usages
1. standalone to send monitor commands to a Valgrind gdbserver.
The OPTION(s) must be followed by the command to send
To send more than one command, separate the commands with -c
2. relay application between gdb and a Valgrind gdbserver.
Only OPTION(s) can be given.
OPTIONS are [--pid=<number>] [--vgdb-prefix=<prefix>]
[--wait=<number>] [--max-invoke-ms=<number>]
[--port=<portnr>
[--cmd-time-out=<number>] [-l] [-D] [-d]
--pid arg must be given if multiple Valgrind gdbservers are found.
--vgdb-prefix arg must be given to both Valgrind and vgdb utility
if you want to change the default prefix for the FIFOs communication
between the Valgrind gdbserver and vgdb.
--wait (default 0) tells vgdb to check during the specified number
of seconds if a Valgrind gdbserver can be found.
--max-invoke-ms (default 100) gives the nr of milli-seconds after which vgdb
will force the invocation of the Valgrind gdbserver (if the Valgrind
process is blocked in a system call).
--port instructs vgdb to listen for gdb on the specified port nr.
--cmd-time-out (default 99999999) tells vgdb to exit if the found Valgrind
gdbserver has not processed a command after number seconds
-l arg tells to show the list of running Valgrind gdbserver and then exit.
-D arg tells to show shared mem status and then exit.
-d arg tells to show debug info. Multiple -d args for more debug info
-h --help shows this message
To get help from the Valgrind gdbserver, use vgdb help
valgrind Usage Example
[email protected]:~# coming soon