Vxworks Command Cheat Sheet Patched Site

Essential VxWorks Shell Command Cheat Sheet Navigating the VxWorks RTOS environment requires familiarity with its command-line interfaces. Whether you are using the Kernel Shell (resident on the target) or the Host Shell

(running on your development station), these commands are essential for debugging, task management, and system interrogation. 1. Task Management & Information Manage the lifecycle and execution of real-time tasks. : Displays a synopsis of all running tasks in the system. sp (entryPt, args) : Spawns a task with default parameters. sps (entryPt, args) : Spawns a task and leaves it in a suspended state. td (taskId) : Deletes a specific task. ts (taskId) : Suspends a task. tr (taskId) : Resumes a suspended task. ti (taskId)

: Shows detailed information from the Task Control Block (TCB). tt (taskId) : Displays a stack trace for the specified task. checkStack (taskId) : Prints a summary of a task's stack usage. 2. System Interrogation & Diagnostics

Gather data about the hardware environment and system status. : Lists all devices currently known on the target. lkup "string"

: Searches the system symbol table for symbols matching the string. : Displays a summary of system memory usage and statistics. moduleShow : Lists all downloaded or loaded object modules. printErrno(n) : Describes the specified error status value (use for the latest error). iosDevShow : Shows all loaded I/O devices. 3. Memory & Register Modification Interact directly with memory addresses and CPU registers. d (address, n)

: Displays memory contents starting at a specific hex address. m (address)

: Allows manual modification of memory at the specified address. : Allows modification of CPU registers. : Returns the current contents of the program counter. 4. File System & Navigation

Standard utilities for navigating the target's local or remote file systems. : Displays the current default directory. : Changes the default directory. : Lists files in the current directory. mkdir "name" : Creates a new directory. : Deletes a specified file. 5. Shell Control & Utilities : Displays command history or sets the history buffer size. : Prints a synopsis of available shell routines.

: Resets network devices and transfers control back to the boot ROMs. : Loads an object module into memory from a file. unld "module" : Unloads a previously loaded object module. usrLib - the triumf daq wiki

Navigating the VxWorks shell (WindSh) can feel like a throwback to pure C programming. Unlike standard Linux shells, VxWorks often expects function-call syntax: arguments must be comma-separated and strings quoted. Task Management i: Displays a summary of all active tasks in the system.

ti [taskId]: Shows detailed information from the Task Control Block (TCB) for a specific task.

sp [entryPt], [arg1], ...: Spawns a new task with default priority (100) and stack size (20000 bytes). vxworks command cheat sheet

sps [entryPt]: Spawns a task and leaves it in a suspended state. td [taskId]: Deletes a specified task. ts [taskId]: Suspends a running task. tr [taskId]: Resumes a suspended task.

checkStack [taskId]: Displays stack usage for a task; use 0 to check all. System & Information

devs: Lists all devices currently known to the target system.

lkup "[string]": Searches the system symbol table for functions or variables containing the specified string.

printErrno [value]: Translates a numerical error code into a human-readable description. moduleShow: Lists all loaded object modules (programs).

memShow: Displays current memory partition and allocation statistics. h: Shows the command history. Memory & Debugging

d [address], [count], [width]: Displays memory contents starting at a specific hex address.

m [address]: Opens a prompt to modify memory at that address. b [address]: Sets a breakpoint at the specified address. bd [address]: Deletes a breakpoint. tt [taskId]: Shows a stack trace for the specified task. Filesystem & Booting ls: Lists the contents of the current directory. cd "[dir]": Changes the default directory. pwd: Prints the current working directory.

bootChange: Allows you to modify the saved boot parameters (bootline). reboot (or CTRL+X): Restarts the processor. VxWorks Command Line Cheat Sheet | PDF | Booting - Scribd

8. File System & I/O

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | ls [“path”] | List directory contents | | cd “path” | Change current directory | | pwd | Print working directory | | cat “file” | Display file content | | cp <src> <dst> | Copy file | | rm “file” | Delete file | | mkdir “dir” | Create directory | | rmdir “dir” | Remove empty directory | | ioHelp | Show I/O system help (device drivers) |

2. Memory & Heap

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | memShow | Show system memory usage (total, free, allocated) | | m <address> | Display memory contents (hex & ASCII) | | d <address> | Display memory as bytes | | l <address> | Display memory as longs | | mfill <addr> <len> <value> | Fill memory with a value | | mcopy <src> <dst> <len> | Copy memory region | | checkStack <taskId> | Check task stack usage | Essential VxWorks Shell Command Cheat Sheet Navigating the

12. Learning and reference

Official VxWorks documentation, BSP-specific manuals, and driver references are the authoritative sources for exact command signatures and available utilities—because available commands depend on OS version, configured components, and board support packages. Familiarity with the runtime configuration used on your target is essential.

Conclusion The VxWorks shell is a powerful on-target interface for real-time system control, debugging, and configuration. Mastering task management, memory and cache handling, device and network utilities, and synchronization primitives—along with careful attention to priorities, stack usage, and cache coherency—enables reliable and debuggable embedded systems development. The concise command categories and examples above provide a practical cheat-sheet-style overview for engineers working with VxWorks systems.

Related search terms submission forthcoming.

11. Time & Tick Management

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | tickGet | Get current tick count | | tickAnnounce | Manually announce a tick (for testing) | | tickShow | Show tick rate and system time | | sysClkRateGet | Get system clock ticks per second | | sysClkRateSet <hz> | Change clock rate | | delay <ticks> | Delay current task by ticks | | taskDelay <ticks> | Same as delay |

⚙️ Kernel & Module Loading

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | ld <filename> | Load object module (e.g., .out file) | | unld <moduleId> | Unload module | | moduleShow | List loaded modules | | symShow [pattern] | Show global symbols | | symFind <name> | Find symbol address |

5. Message Queues

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | msgQShow | Show all message queues | | msgQSend <qId>, <msg>, <size>, <timeout> | Send message | | msgQReceive <qId>, <buffer>, <size>, <timeout> | Receive message | | msgQDelete <qId> | Delete queue |

Understanding the taskSpawn parameters:

Other

Note: This is not an exhaustive list, and some commands may have additional options or arguments. Refer to the VxWorks documentation for more information.

A VxWorks command cheat sheet is an essential reference for developers interacting with the

(shell) environment. Unlike modern Linux shells, WindSh is an interactive C expression interpreter, meaning commands often look like C function calls with quoted strings and comma-separated arguments. Core Command Review

Common cheat sheets typically categorize commands into the following functional groups: 1. Task & Execution Management

These are the most used commands for controlling the real-time processes (tasks) that define a VxWorks system. sp (entryPt, arg1, ...) : Spawns a new task with default parameters. sps (entryPt) Understanding the taskSpawn parameters:

: Spawns a task but leaves it in a suspended state for debugging. td (taskNameOrId) : Deletes a task immediately. : Suspend and Resume a task, respectively. : Displays a synopsis of all running tasks (similar to in Linux). 2. Memory & Object Inspection

Essential for debugging real-time resource allocation and synchronization. d (address, nItems)

: Displays memory contents starting at a specific hex address. m (address) : Modifies memory at the specified address.

: Provides a high-level summary of free and allocated system memory. semShow (semId)

: Shows the status of a specific semaphore (e.g., owner, count, blocked tasks). 3. System & Symbol Information : Lists all registered devices on the target system. lkup "string"

: Searches the system symbol table for functions or variables matching the string. printErrno(n)

: Explains the meaning of the most recent error status code.

: Displays the command history; the default size is usually 20. 4. File System & Module Loading

While VxWorks supports standard Unix-like navigation, the syntax requires quotes. : Basic directory navigation and listing. ld < filename : Loads an object module into memory from a file. unld "moduleName" : Unloads a previously loaded module. Usage Tips for Developers : Always remember to quote strings (e.g., cd "host:C/" Vi Editing : The shell supports a subset of

command-line editing for history navigation and line editing. or the shortcut to restart the processor if a task crash hangs the system. Further Exploration View the original VxWorks Command Cheat Sheet on Scribd for a formatted PDF version. For more complex operations, consult the VxWorks Application Programmer's Guide which details real-time process management. Learn about setting up the Device Debug Perspective for a visual alternative to CLI-based debugging. kernel-level debugging VxWorks Command Line Cheat Sheet | PDF | Booting - Scribd

Here’s a VxWorks command cheat sheet covering the most commonly used shell and kernel commands (for VxWorks 6.x/7.x).