SYSCTL.CONF(5)            FreeBSD File Formats Manual           SYSCTL.CONF(5)

NAME

     sysctl.conf - kernel state defaults

DESCRIPTION

     The /etc/sysctl.conf file is read in when the system goes into multi-user
     mode to set default settings for the kernel.  The /etc/sysctl.conf file
     is in the format of the sysctl(8) command, i.e.,

           sysctl_mib=value

     Comments are denoted by a "#" at the beginning of a line.  Comments can
     also exist at the end of a line, as seen in the EXAMPLES section, below.

     For kernel modules loaded via rc.subr(8) system, additional module-
     specific settings can be applied by adding a file in the same format
     named /etc/sysctl.kld.d/<modulename>.conf.

FILES

     /etc/rc.d/sysctl           rc(8) script which processes sysctl.conf early
                                on in the process of transitioning to multi-
                                user mode.
     /etc/rc.d/sysctl_lastload  rc(8) script which processes sysctl.conf
                                shortly before the system reaches the multi-
                                user mode.
     /etc/sysctl.conf           Initial settings for sysctl(8).
     /etc/sysctl.conf.local     Machine-specific settings for sites with a
                                common /etc/sysctl.conf.
     /etc/sysctl.kld.d          Module specific settings for kernel modules
                                loaded via rc.subr(8).

EXAMPLES

     To turn off logging of programs that exit due to fatal signals you may
     use a configuration like

           # Configure logging.
           kern.logsigexit=0       # Do not log fatal signal exits (e.g., sig 11)

SEE ALSO

     rc.conf(5), rc(8), sysctl(8)

HISTORY

     The sysctl.conf file appeared in FreeBSD 4.0.

BUGS

     If loadable kernel modules are used to introduce additional kernel
     functionality and sysctls to manage that functionality, sysctl.conf may
     be processed too early in the boot process to set those sysctls.  Please
     consult rcorder(8) to learn more about the ordering of rc(8) scripts.

FreeBSD 15.1-STABLE-HBSD         June 30, 2022                  SYSCTL.CONF(5)