Devfsd
title: "Devfsd" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["computer-configuration", "linux-file-system-related-software", "linux-kernel-related-software", "unix-file-system-related-software"] topic_path: "technology/operating-systems" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devfsd" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox Software"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | devfsd |
| developer | Richard Gooch |
| operating system | Linux kernel |
| discontinued | yes |
| genre | daemon |
| license | GNU General Public License (GPL) |
| website | |
| :: |
|name = devfsd |logo = |screenshot = |caption = |collapsible = |author = |developer = Richard Gooch |released = |frequently_updated = |programming language = |operating system = Linux kernel |discontinued = yes |platform = |size = |language = |genre = daemon |license = GNU General Public License (GPL) |website = devfsd is a device manager for the Linux kernel. Primarily, it creates device nodes in the directory when kernel drivers make the underlying hardware accessible. The nodes exist in a virtual device file system named devfs. In systems that support many different types of hardware, each of which has its own device nodes, this is more convenient than creating all possible device nodes beforehand and in a real filesystem.
While devfs was a step forward, it had several disadvantages of its own. Since version 2.5 of the Linux kernel, devfs has been succeeded by udev and devtmpfs.{{cite web | url = https://lwn.net/Articles/331818/ | title = The return of devfs | date = 2009-05-06 | accessdate = 2015-11-22 | author = Jake Edge | publisher = LWN.net
References
References
- Richard Gooch. (20 August 2002). "Linux Devfs (Device File System) FAQ.".
- [[Greg Kroah-Hartman]]. "udev and devfs - The final word".
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