How to list the kernel Device Tree

Question

I am using an embedded Arm with a Debian build. How does one list the compiled devices from the device tree? I want to see if a device is already supported.

For those reading this, the "Device Tree" is a specification/standard for adding devices to an (embedded) Linux kernel.

Solution 1

The device tree is exposed as a hierarchy of directories and files in /proc. You can cat the files, eg:

find /proc/device-tree/ -type f -exec head {} + | less

Beware, most file content ends with a null char, and some may contain other non-printing characters.

Solution 2

If dtc is available on your platform (else, install the device-tree-compiler package), you can use:

dtc -I fs /sys/firmware/devicetree/base

Comments

[Kevin P. Fleming]

This was immensely useful!

[Harry Tsai]

If /sys/firmware/devicetree/base doesn't exist on your system, instead try dtc -I fs /proc/device-tree