kextunload(8) [opendarwin man page]
KEXTUNLOAD(8) BSD System Manager's Manual KEXTUNLOAD(8) NAME
kextunload -- terminates objects and unloads code associated with a kernel extension SYNOPSIS
kextunload [-b bundle_id] ... [-c class_name] ... [-h] [-p] [ -v [0-6] | -q ] [ extension ] ... DESCRIPTION
The kextunload program is used to terminate and unregister I/O Kit objects associated with a kernel extension (kext) and to unload the code and personalities for that kext. In order to unload a kext kextunload must be invoked as the superuser. If another loaded kext has a dependency on a kext being unloaded, the unload will fail. You can determine whether a kext has dependents using the kextstat(8) tool. kextunload is a formal interface for unloading kexts in the Darwin OS and in Mac OS X. Software and installers can rely on its presence and invoke it in order to unload kexts. The arguments and options available are these: extension The pathname of a kext to unload. All instances of classes associated with the kext are terminated, and personalities and code are unloaded from the kernel. -b bundle_id Unload code and personalities for the kext whose CFBundleIdentifier is bundle_id. -c class_name Terminate all instances of class class_name if possible but do not unload code or personalities. New load requests for devices driven by these instances may result in the same class being instantiated at any time. -h Print a help message describing each option flag. -m bundle_id Same as -m (remains for backward compatibility). -p Don't remove personalities when unloading (unnecessary when using the -c option). New load requests for devices driven by the kext may result in the same kext being loaded at any time. -q Quiet mode; print no informational or error messages. This option excludes -v. -v [0-6] Verbose mode; print information about the kext scanning and loading process (note that this is generally not useful when unloading). See the man page for kextload(8) to see what each verbose level prints. This option excludes - q . DIAGNOSTICS
kextunload exits with a zero status upon success, or prints an error message and exits with a nonzero status upon failure. An error when multiple kexts are being unloaded causes kextunload to exit immediately, so that some kexts may remain unloaded even if they could have been unloaded without error. BUGS
The results of unload requests as given by the kernel don't allow for determining the reason for a failure, such as that the kext wasn't loaded or that another kext has a dependency on it. You can check these conditions using kextstat(8). SEE ALSO
kextcache(8), kextd(8), kextload(8), kextstat(8) Darwin April 17, 2002 Darwin
Check Out this Related Man Page
KEXTUNLOAD(8) BSD System Manager's Manual KEXTUNLOAD(8) NAME
kextunload -- terminate driver I/O Kit driver instances and unload kernel extensions (kexts) SYNOPSIS
kextunload [options] [--] [kext ...] DESCRIPTION
The kextunload program is used to terminate and unregister I/O Kit objects associated with a kernel extension (kext) and to unload the code and personalities for that kext. kextunload must run with superuser privileges. If another loaded kext has a dependency on the kext being unloaded, the unload will fail. You can determine whether a kext has dependents using the kextstat(8) tool. kextunload is a formal interface for unloading kexts in the Darwin OS and in Mac OS X. Software and installers can rely on its presence and invoke it in order to unload kexts. Note that long options are present as of Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). The arguments and options are: kext Unload the loaded kext whose bundle identifier matches the CFBundleIdentifier of kext. All instances of IOService subclasses defined by the loaded kext and in the IOService plane of the I/O Registry are terminated; the kext is checked to make sure no instances of its libkern C++ classes remain; the kext's C++ static destructores and module stop routine are invoked; then the kext's executable and IOKitPersonalities are unloaded from the kernel. Failure at any stage prevents kext unload. -b identifier, -bundle-id identifier Unload executable and IOKitPersonalities (as described immediately above) for the kext whose CFBundleIdentifier is identifier. -c classname, -class classname Terminate all instances of class classname that are in the IOService plane of the I/O Registry, if possible, but do not unload the defining kext or its IOKitPersonalities. New load requests for devices that were driven by these terminated instances may result in the same class being instantiated at any time. -h, -help Print a help message describing each option flag and exit with a success result, regardless of any other options on the command line. -m identifier Same as -b (remains for backward compatibility). -p, -personalities-only Terminate services and remove personalities only; do not unload kexts. -q, -quiet Quiet mode; print no informational or error messages. -v [0-6 | 0x####], -verbose [0-6 | 0x####] Verbose mode; print information about program operation. Higher levels of verbosity include all lower levels. By default kextunload prints only warnings and errors. You can specify a level from 0-6, or a hexadecimal log specification (as described in kext_logging(8)). The levels of verbose output are: 0 Print only errors (that is, suppress warnings); see also -quiet. 1 (or none) Print basic information about program operation. 2 Prints information about unload stages. 3 Prints information about removal of personalities. 4 Prints information about module stop functions and C++ class destruction. 5 Prints detailed information internal operations such as bookkeping. 6 Identical to level 5 for kextunload. Unlike in other kext tools, the -verbose flag in kextunload applies to all kexts (that is, it turns on hexadecimal bit 0x8 by default). See kext_logging(8) for more information on verbose logging. DIAGNOSTICS
kextunload exits with a zero status upon success, or prints an error message and exits with a nonzero status upon failure. BUGS
Many single-letter options are inconsistent in meaning with (or directly contradictory to) the same letter options in other kext tools. SEE ALSO
kextcache(8), kextd(8), kextload(8), kextstat(8), kext_logging(8) Darwin March 6, 2009 Darwin