1: Finding kexts available on the operating system

kmutil find

Motivation: This command is useful when you want to list all kernel extensions (kexts) available on your operating system.

Explanation: The kmutil find command is used to search for kernel extensions (kexts) on the operating system. It looks for kexts at standard paths and returns the list of kexts found.

Example Output:

/System/Library/Extensions/AppleALC.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/AppleHDA.kext
...

2: Displaying logging information about the Kernel Management sub-system

kmutil log

Motivation: This command is helpful for understanding the current status and any potential issues related to the Kernel Management sub-system.

Explanation: The kmutil log command displays logging information about the Kernel Management sub-system. It provides insights into the loading and unloading processes of kernel extensions (kexts), as well as any errors or warnings encountered.

Example Output:

Jul 15 12:34:56 MacBook-Pro kernel[0]: kextload started for AppleALC.kext (...)
Jul 15 12:34:57 MacBook-Pro kernel[0]: AppleALC.kext loaded successfully
...

3: Inspecting and displaying a kext collection’s contents

kmutil inspect options

Motivation: This command allows you to examine the contents of a kext collection and gather information about its components.

Explanation: The kmutil inspect command allows you to inspect and display the contents of a kext collection according to the specified options. You can provide options such as --list, --info, --dependent, or --certificate to retrieve different types of information about the kext collection.

Example Output:

Name: AppleALC.kext
Bundle ID: com.apple.driver.AppleALC
Version: 1.4.0
...

4: Checking the consistency of kext collections against each other

kmutil check

Motivation: This command helps ensure the consistency and integrity of kext collections by checking for any potential conflicts or errors.

Explanation: The kmutil check command is used to verify the consistency of kext collections against each other. It checks whether the kexts present in different collections are compatible and do not conflict with each other.

Example Output:

All kext collections are consistent.

5: Dumping kernelmanagerd state for debugging

sudo kmutil dumpstate

Motivation: This command is useful for troubleshooting and debugging issues related to the kernelmanagerd process.

Explanation: The kmutil dumpstate command allows you to dump the state of the kernelmanagerd process. This can provide valuable information for debugging kernel extension (kext) loading and unloading issues.

Example Output:

Kernel Manager State:
 - Loading Count: 5
 - Unloading Count: 2
...

6: Loading one or more extensions based on the bundle path

kmutil load --bundle-path path/to/extension.kext

Motivation: This command is used to load kernel extensions (kexts) based on the bundle path, enabling you to manually manage kext loading.

Explanation: The kmutil load command allows you to load one or more extensions by specifying the bundle path. It is useful when you need to load specific kexts manually, bypassing the normal system loading process.

Example Output:

Successfully loaded extension: path/to/extension.kext

Conclusion

In this article, we explored several different use cases of the kmutil command. We covered finding kexts on the operating system, displaying logging information, inspecting kext collections, checking consistency, dumping kernelmanagerd state, and loading extensions manually. These examples provide a comprehensive understanding of how to use the kmutil command for managing kernel extensions and kext collections on your Mac system.