strace

Introduction

This cheat sheet provides a quick reference for some common strace commands and concepts. strace is a command-line tool used for tracing system calls and signals in Linux and Unix-like operating systems.

`strace` Concepts

Basic `strace` Usage

strace is used for monitoring system calls made by a program.

Trace a program's system calls:
```
strace command [arguments]
```
Trace a running process by its PID:
```
strace -p PID
```

Output Control

Control the output format and verbosity of strace traces.

Write trace output to a file:
```
strace -o output.txt command
```
Increase or decrease the level of detail:
```
strace -v command
strace -vv command
```

Filtering

Filter the output to focus on specific system calls.

Trace only a specific system call (e.g., open):
```
strace -e trace=open command
```
Exclude specific system calls from the trace:
```
strace -e trace=!open command
```
Trace calls only for a specific process (by name or PID):
```
strace -e trace=open -p PID
```

Timing Information

Gather timing information for system calls.

Display timestamps for each call:
```
strace -t command
```
Display relative timestamps:
```
strace -r command
```

Signal Tracing

Trace signals sent to a process.

Trace signals sent to a process:
```
strace -e trace=signal command
```

Network Tracing

Trace network-related system calls.

Trace network-related calls (e.g., socket, connect):
```
strace -e trace=network command
```

`strace` Command-Line

Trace a program's system calls:
```
strace command [arguments]
```
Trace a running process by its PID:
```
strace -p PID
```
Write trace output to a file:
```
strace -o output.txt command
```
Increase or decrease the level of detail:
```
strace -v command
strace -vv command
```
Trace only a specific system call (e.g., open):
```
strace -e trace=open command
```
Exclude specific system calls from the trace:
```
strace -e trace=!open command
```
Trace calls only for a specific process (by name or PID):
```
strace -e trace=open -p PID
```
Display timestamps for each call:
```
strace -t command
```
Display relative timestamps:
```
strace -r command
```
Trace signals sent to a process:
```
strace -e trace=signal command
```
Trace network-related calls (e.g., socket, connect):
```
strace -e trace=network command
```

Conclusion

This cheat sheet covers some common strace commands and concepts. strace is a valuable tool for tracing system calls and signals in Linux and Unix-like operating systems, aiding in debugging and performance analysis; refer to the strace manual for more in-depth information and advanced usage.

Introduction​

strace Concepts​

Basic strace Usage​

Output Control​

Filtering​

Timing Information​

Signal Tracing​

Network Tracing​

strace Command-Line​

Conclusion​