Provided by: dhcpcd-base_10.0.6-1ubuntu3.1_amd64 
NAME
dhcpcd — a DHCP client
SYNOPSIS
dhcpcd [-146ABbDdEGgHJKLMNPpqTV] [-C, --nohook hook] [-c, --script script] [-e, --env value]
[-F, --fqdn FQDN] [-f, --config file] [-h, --hostname hostname]
[-I, --clientid clientid] [-i, --vendorclassid vendorclassid] [-j, --logfile logfile]
[-l, --leasetime seconds] [-m, --metric metric] [-O, --nooption option]
[-o, --option option] [-Q, --require option] [-r, --request address]
[-S, --static value] [-s, --inform address[/cidr[/broadcast_address]]] [--inform6]
[-t, --timeout seconds] [-u, --userclass class] [-v, --vendor code, value]
[-W, --whitelist address[/cidr]] [-w] [--waitip=[4 | 6]] [-y, --reboot seconds]
[-X, --blacklist address[/cidr]] [-Z, --denyinterfaces pattern]
[-z, --allowinterfaces pattern] [--inactive] [--configure] [--noconfigure]
[interface] [...]
dhcpcd -n, --rebind [interface]
dhcpcd -k, --release [interface]
dhcpcd -U, --dumplease [interface]
dhcpcd --version
dhcpcd -x, --exit [interface]
DESCRIPTION
dhcpcd is an implementation of the DHCP client specified in RFC 2131. dhcpcd gets the host
information (IP address, routes, etc) from a DHCP server and configures the network
interface of the machine on which it is running. dhcpcd then runs the configuration script
which writes DNS information to resolvconf(8), if available, otherwise directly to
/etc/resolv.conf. If the hostname is currently blank, (null) or localhost, or
force_hostname is YES or TRUE or 1 then dhcpcd sets the hostname to the one supplied by the
DHCP server. dhcpcd then daemonises and waits for the lease renewal time to lapse. It will
then attempt to renew its lease and reconfigure if the new lease changes when the lease
begins to expire or the DHCP server sends a message to renew early.
If any interface reports a working carrier then dhcpcd will try to obtain a lease before
forking to the background, otherwise it will fork right away. This behaviour can be
modified with the -b, --background and -w, --waitip options.
dhcpcd is also an implementation of the BOOTP client specified in RFC 951.
dhcpcd is also an implementation of the IPv6 Router Solicitor as specified in RFC 4861 and
RFC 6106.
dhcpcd is also an implementation of the IPv6 Privacy Extensions to AutoConf as specified in
RFC 4941. This feature needs to be enabled in the kernel and dhcpcd will start using it.
dhcpcd is also an implementation of the DHCPv6 client as specified in RFC 3315. By default,
dhcpcd only starts DHCPv6 when instructed to do so by an IPV6 Router Advertisement. If no
Identity Association is configured, then a Non-temporary Address is requested.
Local Link configuration
If dhcpcd failed to obtain a lease, it probes for a valid IPv4LL address (aka ZeroConf, aka
APIPA). Once obtained it restarts the process of looking for a DHCP server to get a proper
address.
When using IPv4LL, dhcpcd nearly always succeeds and returns an exit code of 0. In the rare
case it fails, it normally means that there is a reverse ARP proxy installed which always
defeats IPv4LL probing. To disable this behaviour, you can use the -L, --noipv4ll option.
Multiple interfaces
If a list of interfaces are given on the command line, then dhcpcd only works with those
interfaces, otherwise dhcpcd discovers available Ethernet interfaces that can be configured.
When dhcpcd is not limited to one interface on the command line, it is running in Manager
mode. The dhcpcd-ui project expects dhcpcd to be running this way.
If a single interface is given then dhcpcd only works for that interface and runs as a
separate instance to other dhcpcd processes. The -w, --waitip option is enabled in this
instance to maintain compatibility with older versions. Using a single interface,
optionally further limited to an address protocol, also affects the -k, -N, -n and -x
options, where the same interface and any address protocol will need to be specified, as a
lack of an interface will imply Manager mode which this is not. To force starting in
Manager mode with only one interface, the -M, --manager option can be used.
Interfaces are preferred by carrier, DHCP lease/IPv4LL and then lowest metric. For systems
that support route metrics, each route will be tagged with the metric, otherwise dhcpcd
changes the routes to use the interface with the same route and the lowest metric. See
options below for controlling which interfaces we allow and deny through the use of
patterns.
Non-ethernet interfaces and some virtual ethernet interfaces such as TAP and bridge are
ignored by default, as is the FireWire interface. To work with these devices they either
need to be specified on the command line, be listed in --allowinterfaces or have an
interface directive in /etc/dhcpcd.conf.
Hooking into events
dhcpcd runs /usr/lib/dhcpcd/dhcpcd-run-hooks, or the script specified by the -c, --script
option. This script runs each script found in /usr/lib/dhcpcd/dhcpcd-hooks in a lexical
order. The default installation supplies the scripts 01-test, 20-resolv.conf and
30-hostname. You can disable each script by using the -C, --nohook option. See
dhcpcd-run-hooks(8) for details on how these scripts work. dhcpcd currently ignores the
exit code of the script.
More scripts are supplied in /usr/share/dhcpcd/hooks and need to be copied to
/usr/lib/dhcpcd/dhcpcd-hooks if you intend to use them. For example, you could install
29-lookup-hostname so that dhcpcd can lookup the hostname of the IP address in DNS if no
hostname is given by the lease and one is not already set.
Fine tuning
You can fine-tune the behaviour of dhcpcd with the following options:
-b, --background
Background immediately. This is useful for startup scripts which don't disable link
messages for carrier status.
-c, --script script
Use this script instead of the default /usr/lib/dhcpcd/dhcpcd-run-hooks.
-D, --duid [ll | lt | uuid | value]
Use a DHCP Unique Identifier. If a system UUID is available, that will be used to
create a DUID-UUID, otherwise if persistent storage is available then a DUID-LLT
(link local address + time) is generated, otherwise DUID-LL is generated (link local
address). The DUID type can be hinted as an optional parameter if the file
/var/lib/dhcpcd/duid does not exist. If not ll, lt or uuid then value will be
converted from 00:11:22:33 format. This, plus the IAID will be used as the -I,
--clientid. The DUID generated will be held in /var/lib/dhcpcd/duid and should not
be copied to other hosts. This file also takes precedence over the above rules
except for setting a value.
-d, --debug
Echo debug messages to the stderr and syslog.
-E, --lastlease
If dhcpcd cannot obtain a lease, then try to use the last lease acquired for the
interface.
--lastleaseextend
Same as the above, but the lease will be retained even if it expires. dhcpcd will
give it up if any other host tries to claim it for their own via ARP. This violates
RFC 2131, section 3.7, which states the lease should be dropped once it has expired.
-e, --env value
Push value to the environment for use in dhcpcd-run-hooks(8). For example, you can
force the hostname hook to always set the hostname with -e force_hostname=YES.
-g, --reconfigure
dhcpcd will re-apply IP address, routing and run dhcpcd-run-hooks(8) for each
interface. This is useful so that a 3rd party such as PPP or VPN can change the
routing table and / or DNS, etc and then instruct dhcpcd to put things back
afterwards. dhcpcd does not read a new configuration when this happens - you should
rebind if you need that functionality.
-F, --fqdn fqdn
Requests that the DHCP server update DNS using FQDN instead of just a hostname.
Valid values for fqdn are disable, none, ptr and both. dhcpcd itself never does any
DNS updates. dhcpcd encodes the FQDN hostname as specified in RFC 1035.
-f, --config file
Specify a config to load instead of /etc/dhcpcd.conf. dhcpcd always processes the
config file before any command line options.
-h, --hostname hostname
Sends hostname to the DHCP server so it can be registered in DNS. If hostname is an
empty string then the current system hostname is sent. If hostname is a FQDN (i.e.,
contains a .) then it will be encoded as such.
-I, --clientid clientid
Send the clientid. If the string is of the format 01:02:03 then it is encoded as
hex. For interfaces whose hardware address is longer than 8 bytes, or if the
clientid is an empty string then dhcpcd sends a default clientid of the hardware
family and the hardware address.
-i, --vendorclassid vendorclassid
Override the DHCPv4 vendorclassid field sent. The default is
dhcpcd-<version>:<os>:<machine>:<platform>. For example
dhcpcd-5.5.6:NetBSD-6.99.5:i386:i386
If not set then none is sent. Some badly configured DHCP servers reject unknown
vendorclassids. To work around it, try and impersonate Windows by using the MSFT
vendorclassid.
-j, --logfile logfile
Writes to the specified logfile. dhcpcd still writes to syslog(3). The logfile is
reopened when dhcpcd receives the SIGUSR2 signal.
-k, --release [interface]
This causes an existing dhcpcd process running on the interface to release its lease
and de-configure the interface regardless of the -p, --persistent option. If no
interface is specified then this applies to all interfaces in Manager mode. If no
interfaces are left running, dhcpcd will exit.
-l, --leasetime seconds
Request a lease time of seconds. -1 represents an infinite lease time. By default
dhcpcd does not request any lease time and leaves it in the hands of the DHCP
server.
-M, --manager
Start dhcpcd in Manager mode even if only one interface specified on the command
line. See the Multiple Interfaces section above.
-m, --metric metric
Metrics are used to prefer an interface over another one, lowest wins. dhcpcd will
supply a default metric of 1000 + if_nametoindex(3). This will be offset by 2000
for wireless interfaces, with additional offsets of 1000000 for IPv4LL and 2000000
for roaming interfaces.
-n, --rebind [interface]
Notifies dhcpcd to reload its configuration and rebind the specified interface. If
no interface is specified then this applies to all interfaces in Manager mode. If
dhcpcd is not running, then it starts up as normal.
-N, --renew [interface]
Notifies dhcpcd to renew existing addresses on the specified interface. If no
interface is specified then this applies to all interfaces in Manager mode. If
dhcpcd is not running, then it starts up as normal. Unlike the -n, --rebind option
above, the configuration for dhcpcd is not reloaded.
-o, --option option
Request the DHCP option variable for use in /usr/lib/dhcpcd/dhcpcd-run-hooks.
-p, --persistent
dhcpcd de-configures the interface when it exits unless this option is enabled.
Sometimes, this isn't desirable if, for example, you have root mounted over NFS or
SSH clients connect to this host and they need to be notified of the host shutting
down. You can use this option to stop this from happening.
-r, --request address
Request the address in the DHCP DISCOVER message. There is no guarantee this is the
address the DHCP server will actually give. If no address is given then the first
address currently assigned to the interface is used.
-s, --inform address[/cidr[/broadcast_address]]
Behaves like -r, --request as above, but sends a DHCP INFORM instead of
DISCOVER/REQUEST. This does not get a lease as such, just notifies the DHCP server
of the address in use. You should also include the optional cidr network number in
case the address is not already configured on the interface. dhcpcd remains running
and pretends it has an infinite lease. dhcpcd will not de-configure the interface
when it exits. If dhcpcd fails to contact a DHCP server then it returns a failure
instead of falling back on IPv4LL.
--inform6
Performs a DHCPv6 Information Request. No address is requested or specified, but
all other DHCPv6 options are allowed. This is normally performed automatically when
the IPv6 Router Advertises that the client should perform this operation. This
option is only needed when dhcpcd is not processing IPv6RA messages and the need for
DHCPv6 Information Request exists.
-S, --static value
Configures a static DHCP value. If you set ip_address then dhcpcd will not attempt
to obtain a lease and just use the value for the address with an infinite lease
time.
Here is an example which configures a static address, routes and DNS.
dhcpcd -S ip_address=192.168.0.10/24 \
-S routers=192.168.0.1 \
-S domain_name_servers=192.168.0.1 \
eth0
You cannot presently set static DHCPv6 values. Use the -e, --env option instead.
-t, --timeout seconds
Timeout after seconds, instead of the default 30. A setting of 0 seconds causes
dhcpcd to wait forever to get a lease. If dhcpcd is working on a single interface
then dhcpcd will exit when a timeout occurs, otherwise dhcpcd will fork into the
background.
-u, --userclass class
Tags the DHCPv4 message with the userclass class. DHCP servers use this to give
members of the class DHCP options other than the default, without having to know
things like hardware address or hostname.
-v, --vendor code,value
Add an encapsulated vendor option. code should be between 1 and 254 inclusive. To
add a raw vendor string, omit code but keep the comma. Examples.
Set the vendor option 01 with an IP address.
dhcpcd -v 01,192.168.0.2 eth0
Set the vendor option 02 with a hex code.
dhcpcd -v 02,01:02:03:04:05 eth0
Set the vendor option 03 with an IP address as a string.
dhcpcd -v 03,\"192.168.0.2\" eth0
Set un-encapsulated vendor option to hello world.
dhcpcd -v ,"hello world" eth0
--version
Display both program version and copyright information. dhcpcd then exits before
doing any configuration.
-w Wait for an address to be assigned before forking to the background. Does not take
an argument, unlike the below option.
--waitip=[4 | 6]
Wait for an address to be assigned before forking to the background. 4 means wait
for an IPv4 address to be assigned. 6 means wait for an IPv6 address to be
assigned. If no argument is given, dhcpcd will wait for any address protocol to be
assigned. It is possible to wait for more than one address protocol and dhcpcd will
only fork to the background when all waiting conditions are satisfied.
-x, --exit [interface]
This will signal an existing dhcpcd process running on the interface to exit. If no
interface is specified, then the above is applied to all interfaces in Manager mode.
See the -p, --persistent option to control configuration persistence on exit, which
is enabled by default in dhcpcd.conf(5). dhcpcd then waits until this process has
exited.
-y, --reboot seconds
Allow reboot seconds before moving to the discover phase if we have an old lease to
use. Allow reboot seconds before starting fallback states from the discover phase.
IPv4LL is started when the first reboot timeout is reached. The default is 5
seconds. A setting of 0 seconds causes dhcpcd to skip the reboot phase and go
straight into discover. This has no effect on DHCPv6 other than skipping the reboot
phase.
Restricting behaviour
dhcpcd will try to do as much as it can by default. However, there are sometimes situations
where you don't want the things to be configured exactly how the DHCP server wants. Here
are some options that deal with turning these bits off.
Note that when dhcpcd is restricted to a single interface then the interface also needs to
be specified when asking dhcpcd to exit using the commandline. If the protocol is
restricted as well then the protocol needs to be included with the exit instruction.
-1, --oneshot
Exit after configuring an interface. Use the -w, --waitip option to specify which
protocol(s) to configure before exiting.
-4, --ipv4only
Configure IPv4 only.
-6, --ipv6only
Configure IPv6 only.
-A, --noarp
Don't request or claim the address by ARP. This also disables IPv4LL.
-B, --nobackground
Don't run in the background when we acquire a lease. This is mainly useful for
running under the control of another process, such as a debugger or a network
manager.
-C, --nohook script
Don't run this hook script. Matches full name, or prefixed with 2 numbers
optionally ending with .sh.
So to stop dhcpcd from touching your DNS settings you would do:-
dhcpcd -C resolv.conf eth0
-G, --nogateway
Don't set any default routes.
-H, --xidhwaddr
Use the last four bytes of the hardware address as the DHCP xid instead of a
randomly generated number.
-J, --broadcast
Instructs the DHCP server to broadcast replies back to the client. Normally this is
only set for non-Ethernet interfaces, such as FireWire and InfiniBand. In most
instances, dhcpcd will set this automatically.
-K, --nolink
Don't receive link messages for carrier status. You should only have to use this
with buggy device drivers or running dhcpcd through a network manager.
-L, --noipv4ll
Don't use IPv4LL (aka APIPA, aka Bonjour, aka ZeroConf).
-O, --nooption option
Removes the option from the DHCP message before processing.
-P, --printpidfile
Print the pidfile dhcpcd will use based on command-line arguments to stdout.
-Q, --require option
Requires the option to be present in all DHCP messages, otherwise the message is
ignored. To enforce that dhcpcd only responds to DHCP servers and not BOOTP
servers, you can -Q dhcp_message_type.
-q, --quiet
Quiet dhcpcd on the command line, only warnings and errors will be displayed. If
this option is used another time then all console output is disabled. These
messages are still logged via syslog(3).
-T, --test
On receipt of DHCP messages just call /usr/lib/dhcpcd/dhcpcd-run-hooks with the
reason of TEST which echos the DHCP variables found in the message to the console.
The interface configuration isn't touched and neither are any configuration files.
The rapid_commit option is not sent in TEST mode so that the server does not lease
an address. To test INFORM the interface needs to be configured with the desired
address before starting dhcpcd.
-U, --dumplease [interface]
Dumps the current lease for the interface to stdout. If no interface is given then
all interfaces are dumped. Use the -4 or -6 flags to specify an address family. If
a lease is piped in via standard input then that is dumped. In this case,
specifying an address family is mandatory.
-V, --variables
Display a list of option codes, the associated variable and encoding for use in
dhcpcd-run-hooks(8). Variables are prefixed with new_ and old_ unless the option
number is -. Variables without an option are part of the DHCP message and cannot be
directly requested.
-W, --whitelist address[/cidr]
Only accept packets from address[/cidr]. -X, --blacklist is ignored if -W,
--whitelist is set.
-X, --blacklist address[/cidr]
Ignore all packets from address[/cidr].
-Z, --denyinterfaces pattern
When discovering interfaces, the interface name must not match pattern which is a
space or comma separated list of patterns passed to fnmatch(3).
-z, --allowinterfaces pattern
When discovering interfaces, the interface name must match pattern which is a space
or comma separated list of patterns passed to fnmatch(3). If the same interface is
matched in -Z, --denyinterfaces then it is still denied.
--inactive
Don't start any interfaces other than those specified on the command line. This
allows dhcpcd to be started in Manager mode and then wait for subsequent dhcpcd
commands to start each interface as required.
--configure
Allows dhcpcd to configure the system. This is the default behaviour and sets
if_configured=true.
--noconfigure
dhcpcd will not configure the system at all. This is only of use if the --script
that dhcpcd calls at each network event configures the system instead. This is
different from -T, --test mode in that it's not one shot and the only change to the
environment is the addition of if_configured=false.
--nodev
Don't load any /dev management modules.
3RDPARTY LINK MANAGEMENT
Some interfaces require configuration by 3rd parties, such as PPP or VPN. When an interface
configuration in dhcpcd is marked as STATIC or INFORM without an address then dhcpcd will
monitor the interface until an address is added or removed from it and act accordingly. For
point to point interfaces (like PPP), a default route to its destination is automatically
added to the configuration. If the point to point interface is configured for INFORM, then
dhcpcd unicasts INFORM to the destination, otherwise it defaults to STATIC.
NOTES
dhcpcd requires a Berkeley Packet Filter, or BPF device on BSD based systems and a Linux
Socket Filter, or LPF device on Linux based systems for all IPv4 configuration.
If restricting dhcpcd to a single interface and optionally address family via the command-
line then all further calls to dhcpcd to rebind, reconfigure or exit need to include the
same restrictive flags so that dhcpcd knows which process to signal.
Some DHCP servers implement ClientID filtering. If dhcpcd is replacing an in-use DHCP
client then you might need to adjust the clientid option dhcpcd sends to match. If using a
DUID in place of the ClientID, edit /var/lib/dhcpcd/duid accordingly.
FILES
/etc/dhcpcd.conf
Configuration file for dhcpcd. If you always use the same options, put them here.
/usr/lib/dhcpcd/dhcpcd-run-hooks
Bourne shell script that is run to configure or de-configure an interface.
/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dhcpcd/dev
Linux /dev management modules.
/usr/lib/dhcpcd/dhcpcd-hooks
A directory containing Bourne shell scripts that are run by the above script. Each script
can be disabled by using the -C, --nohook option described above.
/var/lib/dhcpcd/duid
Text file that holds the DUID used to identify the host.
/var/lib/dhcpcd/secret
Text file that holds a secret key known only to the host.
/var/lib/dhcpcd/interface-ssid.lease
The actual DHCP message sent by the server. We use this when reading the last lease and use
the file's mtime as when it was issued.
/var/lib/dhcpcd/interface-ssid.lease6
The actual DHCPv6 message sent by the server. We use this when reading the last lease and
use the file's mtime as when it was issued.
/var/lib/dhcpcd/rdm_monotonic
Stores the monotonic counter used in the replay field in Authentication Options.
/run/dhcpcd/pid
Stores the PID of dhcpcd running on all interfaces.
/run/dhcpcd/interface.pid
Stores the PID of dhcpcd running on the interface.
/run/dhcpcd/sock
Control socket to the manager daemon.
/run/dhcpcd/unpriv.sock
Unprivileged socket to the manager daemon, only allows state retrieval.
/run/dhcpcd/interface.sock
Control socket to per interface daemon.
/run/dhcpcd/interface.unpriv.sock
Unprivileged socket to per interface daemon, only allows state retrieval.
SEE ALSO
fnmatch(3), if_nametoindex(3), dhcpcd.conf(5), resolv.conf(5), dhcpcd-run-hooks(8),
resolvconf(8)
STANDARDS
RFC 951, RFC 1534, RFC 2104, RFC 2131, RFC 2132, RFC 2563, RFC 2855, RFC 3004, RFC 3118,
RFC 3203, RFC 3315, RFC 3361, RFC 3633, RFC 3396, RFC 3397, RFC 3442, RFC 3495, RFC 3925,
RFC 3927, RFC 4039, RFC 4075, RFC 4242, RFC 4361, RFC 4390, RFC 4702, RFC 4074, RFC 4861,
RFC 4833, RFC 4941, RFC 5227, RFC 5942, RFC 5969, RFC 6106, RFC 6334, RFC 6355, RFC 6603,
RFC 6704, RFC 7217, RFC 7550, RFC 7844.
AUTHORS
Roy Marples <roy@marples.name>
BUGS
Please report them to https://roy.marples.name/projects/dhcpcd