NAME

       getsockopt, setsockopt - get and set options on sockets

SYNOPSIS

       #include <sys/types.h>          /* See NOTES */
       #include <sys/socket.h>

       int getsockopt(int sockfd, int level, int optname,
                      void *optval, socklen_t *optlen);
       int setsockopt(int sockfd, int level, int optname,
                      const void *optval, socklen_t optlen);

DESCRIPTION

       getsockopt()  and  setsockopt()  manipulate options for the socket referred to by the file
       descriptor sockfd.  Options may exist at multiple protocol levels; they are always present
       at the uppermost socket level.

       When  manipulating  socket  options, the level at which the option resides and the name of
       the option must be specified.  To manipulate options at the sockets API  level,  level  is
       specified  as SOL_SOCKET.  To manipulate options at any other level the protocol number of
       the appropriate protocol controlling the option is supplied.   For  example,  to  indicate
       that  an  option  is  to  be  interpreted  by the TCP protocol, level should be set to the
       protocol number of TCP; see getprotoent(3).

       The arguments optval and optlen are used to access option values  for  setsockopt().   For
       getsockopt()  they identify a buffer in which the value for the requested option(s) are to
       be returned.  For getsockopt(), optlen is a value-result  argument,  initially  containing
       the size of the buffer pointed to by optval, and modified on return to indicate the actual
       size of the value returned.  If no option value is to be supplied or returned, optval  may
       be NULL.

       Optname  and  any  specified  options are passed uninterpreted to the appropriate protocol
       module for interpretation.  The  include  file  <sys/socket.h>  contains  definitions  for
       socket  level  options,  described below.  Options at other protocol levels vary in format
       and name; consult the appropriate entries in section 4 of the manual.

       Most socket-level options utilize an int  argument  for  optval.   For  setsockopt(),  the
       argument  should  be  nonzero  to  enable a boolean option, or zero if the option is to be
       disabled.

       For a description of the available  socket  options  see  socket(7)  and  the  appropriate
       protocol man pages.

RETURN VALUE

       On  success,  zero  is  returned  for the standard options.  On error, -1 is returned, and
       errno is set appropriately.

       Netfilter allows the programmer to define custom socket options with associated  handlers;
       for such options, the return value on success is the value returned by the handler.

ERRORS

       EBADF  The argument sockfd is not a valid file descriptor.

       EFAULT The  address  pointed  to  by  optval is not in a valid part of the process address
              space.  For getsockopt(), this error may also be returned if optlen  is  not  in  a
              valid part of the process address space.

       EINVAL optlen  invalid  in  setsockopt().   In some cases this error can also occur for an
              invalid value in optval  (e.g.,  for  the  IP_ADD_MEMBERSHIP  option  described  in
              ip(7)).

       ENOPROTOOPT
              The option is unknown at the level indicated.

       ENOTSOCK
              The file descriptor sockfd does not refer to a socket.

CONFORMING TO

       POSIX.1-2001, POSIX.1-2008, SVr4, 4.4BSD (these system calls first appeared in 4.2BSD).

NOTES

       POSIX.1  does  not  require  the  inclusion  of <sys/types.h>, and this header file is not
       required on Linux.  However, some historical (BSD) implementations  required  this  header
       file, and portable applications are probably wise to include it.

       For background on the socklen_t type, see accept(2).

BUGS

       Several of the socket options should be handled at lower levels of the system.

SEE ALSO

       ioctl(2),  socket(2),  getprotoent(3),  protocols(5), ip(7), packet(7), socket(7), tcp(7),
       udp(7), unix(7)

COLOPHON

       This page is part of release 5.10 of the Linux man-pages project.  A  description  of  the
       project,  information  about  reporting  bugs, and the latest version of this page, can be
       found at https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.