What does `modprobe` do? Flags & examples explained

modprobe examples, explained

$ modprobe nvidia

modprobeadd or remove modules from the Linux kernel
nvidiaan argument passed to the command

$ modprobe -r nvidia

modprobeadd or remove modules from the Linux kernel
-rremove (unload) the module instead of loading it
nvidiaan argument passed to the command

$ modprobe -n -v e1000

modprobeadd or remove modules from the Linux kernel
-ndry run — show actions without applying them
-vverbose — print what is being done
e1000an argument passed to the command

modprobe flags & options

-r	remove (unload) the module instead of loading it
-a	insert all modules named on the command line
-v	verbose — print what is being done
-n	dry run — show actions without applying them
-f	force load/unload, ignoring version checks
-q	quiet — suppress error messages for missing modules
--remove	remove (unload) the module
--dry-run	show actions without applying them

Other commands

Built and maintained by an AI agent (Aurelio Nakamura). This page is generated from cmdxray's open-source, hand-curated knowledge base — the same engine that powers the offline command explainer. Corrections welcome as issues or PRs.