Manual: dhcpcd
DHCPCD(8) System Manager's Manual DHCPCD(8)
NAME
dhcpcd ā 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 opā
tions.
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 norā
mally means that there is a reverse ARP proxy installed which always defeats IPv4LL probing. To disable this behavā
iour, 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 opā
tions, 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 metā
rics, 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/libexec/dhcpcd-run-hooks, or the script specified by the -c, --script option. This script runs each
script found in /usr/libexec/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/libexec/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 adā
dress 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/libexec/dhcpcd-run-hooks.
-D, --duid [ll | lt | uuid | value]
Use a DHCP Unique Identifier. 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 opā
tional 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 generā
ated 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 reā
bind 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-:::.
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 reā
ceives 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 Inā
terfaces 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. Unā
like the -n, --rebind option above, the configuration for dhcpcd is not reloaded.
-o, --option option
Request the DHCP option variable for use in /usr/libexec/dhcpcd-run-hooks.
-p, --persistent
dhcpcd de-configures the interface when it exits unless this option is enabled. Sometimes, this isn't desirā
able 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. On timeout, dhcpcd will exit if the -1, --oneshot option
has been given, otherwise it will fork into the background and keep on trying. A setting of 0 seconds causes
dhcpcd to wait forever to get a lease.
-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 conā
figuration 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 secā
onds before starting fallback states from the discover phase. IPv4LL is started when the first reboot timeā
out 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-Etherā
net 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/libexec/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 startā
ing 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
use the special interface named - to dump it. 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). Variā
ables 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 uniā
casts 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/libexec/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/libexec/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
BUGS
Please report them to https://roy.marples.name/projects/dhcpcd
Debian May 8, 2025 DHCPCD(8)