JCMD
Section: JDK Commands (1)
Updated: 2021
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NAME
jcmd - send diagnostic command requests to a running Java Virtual
Machine (JVM)
SYNOPSIS
jcmd [pid | main-class] command...
| PerfCounter.print | -f filename
jcmd [-l]
jcmd -h
- pid
-
When used, the jcmd utility sends the diagnostic command
request to the process ID for the Java process.
-
- main-class
-
When used, the jcmd utility sends the diagnostic command
request to all Java processes with the specified name of the main class.
-
- command
-
The command must be a valid jcmd command for the
selected JVM.
The list of available commands for jcmd is obtained by running
the help command (jcmd pid help)
where pid is the process ID for the running Java process.
If the pid is 0, commands will be sent to all Java
processes.
The main class argument will be used to match, either partially or
fully, the class used to start Java.
If no options are given, it lists the running Java process identifiers
with the main class and command-line arguments that were used to launch
the process (the same as using -l).
-
- Perfcounter.print
-
Prints the performance counters exposed by the specified Java process.
-
- -f filename
-
Reads and executes commands from a specified file, filename.
-
- -l
-
Displays the list of Java Virtual Machine process identifiers that are
not running in a separate docker process along with the main class and
command-line arguments that were used to launch the process.
If the JVM is in a docker process, you must use tools such as
ps to look up the PID.
-
Note:
Using jcmd without arguments is the same as using
jcmd -l.
- -h
-
Displays the jcmd utility's command-line help.
-
DESCRIPTION
The jcmd utility is used to send diagnostic command requests to
the JVM.
It must be used on the same machine on which the JVM is running, and
have the same effective user and group identifiers that were used to
launch the JVM.
Each diagnostic command has its own set of arguments.
To display the description, syntax, and a list of available arguments
for a diagnostic command, use the name of the command as the argument.
For example:
-
jcmd pid help command
If arguments contain spaces, then you must surround them with single or
double quotation marks (' or ").
In addition, you must escape single or double quotation marks with a
backslash (\) to prevent the operating system shell from
processing quotation marks.
Alternatively, you can surround these arguments with single quotation
marks and then with double quotation marks (or with double quotation
marks and then with single quotation marks).
If you specify the process identifier (pid) or the main class
(main-class) as the first argument, then the jcmd
utility sends the diagnostic command request to the Java process with
the specified identifier or to all Java processes with the specified
name of the main class.
You can also send the diagnostic command request to all available Java
processes by specifying 0 as the process identifier.
COMMANDS FOR JCMD
The command must be a valid jcmd diagnostic command
for the selected JVM.
The list of available commands for jcmd is obtained by running
the help command (jcmd pid help)
where pid is the process ID for a running Java process.
If the pid is 0, commands will be sent to all Java
processes.
The main class argument will be used to match, either partially or
fully, the class used to start Java.
If no options are given, it lists the running Java process identifiers
that are not in separate docker processes along with the main class and
command-line arguments that were used to launch the process (the same
as using -l).
The following commands are available:
- help [options] [arguments]
-
For more information about a specific command.
-
arguments:
- •
-
command name: The name of the command for which we want help
(STRING, no default value)
Note:
The following options must be specified using either
key or key=value syntax.
options:
- •
-
-all: (Optional) Show help for all commands (BOOLEAN, false) .
- Compiler.codecache
-
Prints code cache layout and bounds.
-
Impact: Low
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
- Compiler.codelist
-
Prints all compiled methods in code cache that are alive.
-
Impact: Medium
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
- Compiler.queue
-
Prints methods queued for compilation.
-
Impact: Low
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
- Compiler.directives_add *filename* *arguments*
-
Adds compiler directives from a file.
-
Impact: Low
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
arguments:
filename: The name of the directives file (STRING, no default
value)
- Compiler.directives_clear
-
Remove all compiler directives.
-
Impact: Low
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
- Compiler.directives_print
-
Prints all active compiler directives.
-
Impact: Low
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
- Compiler.directives_remove
-
Remove latest added compiler directive.
-
Impact: Low
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
- GC.class_histogram [options]
-
Provides statistics about the Java heap usage.
-
Impact: High --- depends on Java heap size and content.
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
Note:
The options must be specified using either key or
key=value syntax.
options:
- •
-
-all: (Optional) Inspects all objects, including unreachable
objects (BOOLEAN, false)
- GC.finalizer_info
-
Provides information about the Java finalization queue.
-
Impact: Medium
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
- GC.heap_dump [options] [arguments]
-
Generates a HPROF format dump of the Java heap.
-
Impact: High --- depends on the Java heap size and content.
Request a full GC unless the -all option is specified.
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
Note:
The following options must be specified using either
key or key=value syntax.
options:
- •
-
-all: (Optional) Dump all objects, including unreachable
objects (BOOLEAN, false)
arguments:
- •
-
filename: The name of the dump file (STRING, no default value)
- GC.heap_info
-
Provides generic Java heap information.
-
Impact: Medium
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
- GC.run
-
Calls java.lang.System.gc().
-
Impact: Medium --- depends on the Java heap size and content.
- GC.run_finalization
-
Calls java.lang.System.runFinalization().
-
Impact: Medium --- depends on the Java content.
- JFR.check [options]
-
Show information about a running flight recording
-
Impact: Low
Note:
The options must be specified using either key or
key=value syntax.
If no parameters are entered, information for all active recordings is
shown.
options:
- •
-
name: (Optional) Name of the flight recording.
(STRING, no default value)
- •
-
verbose: (Optional) Flag for printing the event settings for
the recording (BOOLEAN, false)
- JFR.configure [options]
-
Set the parameters for a flight recording
-
Impact: Low
Note:
The options must be specified using either key or
key=value syntax.
If no parameters are entered, the current settings are displayed.
options:
- •
-
globalbuffercount: (Optional) Number of global buffers.
This option is a legacy option: change the memorysize parameter
to alter the number of global buffers.
This value cannot be changed once JFR has been initalized.
(STRING, default determined by the value for memorysize)
- •
-
globalbuffersize: (Optional) Size of the global buffers, in
bytes.
This option is a legacy option: change the memorysize parameter
to alter the size of the global buffers.
This value cannot be changed once JFR has been initalized.
(STRING, default determined by the value for memorysize)
- •
-
maxchunksize: (Optional) Maximum size of an individual data
chunk in bytes if one of the following suffixes is not used: 'm'
or 'M' for megabytes OR 'g' or 'G' for
gigabytes.
This value cannot be changed once JFR has been initialized.
(STRING, 12M)
- •
-
memorysize: (Optional) Overall memory size, in bytes if one of
the following suffixes is not used: 'm' or 'M' for
megabytes OR 'g' or 'G' for gigabytes.
This value cannot be changed once JFR has been initialized.
(STRING, 10M)
- •
-
repositorypath: (Optional) Path to the location where
recordings are stored until they are written to a permanent file.
(STRING, The default location is the temporary directory for the
operating system.
On Linux operating systems, the temporary directory is /tmp.
On Windwows, the temporary directory is specified by the TMP
environment variable.)
- •
-
stackdepth: (Optional) Stack depth for stack traces.
Setting this value greater than the default of 64 may cause a
performance degradation.
This value cannot be changed once JFR has been initialized.
(LONG, 64)
- •
-
thread_buffer_size: (Optional) Local buffer size for each
thread in bytes if one of the following suffixes is not used:
'k' or 'K' for kilobytes or 'm' or 'M'
for megabytes.
Overriding this parameter could reduce performance and is not
recommended.
This value cannot be changed once JFR has been initialized.
(STRING, 8k)
- •
-
samplethreads: (Optional) Flag for activating thread sampling.
(BOOLEAN, true)
- JFR.dump [options]
-
Write data to a file while a flight recording is running
-
Impact: Low
Note:
The options must be specified using either key or
key=value syntax.
No options are required.
The recording continues to run after the data is written.
options:
- •
-
begin: (Optional) Specify the time from which recording data
will be included in the dump file.
The format is specified as local time.
(STRING, no default value)
- •
-
end: (Optional) Specify the time to which recording data will
be included in the dump file.
The format is specified as local time.
(STRING, no default value)
-
Note: For both begin and end, the time must
be in a format that can be read by java.time.LocalTime::parse(STRING),
java.time.LocalDateTime::parse(STRING) or
java.time.Instant::parse(STRING).
For example, "13:20:15", "2020-03-17T09:00:00" or
"2020-03-17T09:00:00Z".
Note: begin and end times correspond to the
timestamps found within the recorded information in the flight recording
data.
Another option is to use a time relative to the current time that is
specified by a negative integer followed by "s", "m" or "h".
For example, "-12h", "-15m" or "-30s"
- •
-
filename: (Optional) Name of the file to which the flight
recording data is dumped.
If no filename is given, a filename is generated from the PID and the
current date.
The filename may also be a directory in which case, the filename is
generated from the PID and the current date in the specified directory.
(STRING, no default value)
- •
-
maxage: (Optional) Length of time for dumping the flight
recording data to a file.
(INTEGER followed by 's' for seconds 'm' for minutes or
'h' for hours, no default value)
- •
-
maxsize: (Optional) Maximum size for the amount of data to dump
from a flight recording in bytes if one of the following suffixes is not
used: 'm' or 'M' for megabytes OR 'g' or
'G' for gigabytes.
(STRING, no default value)
- •
-
name: (Optional) Name of the recording.
If no name is given, data from all recordings is dumped.
(STRING, no default value)
- •
-
path-to-gc-root: (Optional) Flag for saving the path to
garbage collection (GC) roots at the time the recording data is dumped.
The path information is useful for finding memory leaks but collecting
it can cause the application to pause for a short period of time.
Turn on this flag only when you have an application that you suspect has
a memory leak.
(BOOLEAN, false)
- JFR.start [options]
-
Start a flight recording
-
Impact: Low
Note:
The options must be specified using either key or
key=value syntax.
If no parameters are entered, then a recording is started with default
values.
options:
- •
-
delay: (Optional) Length of time to wait before starting to
record (INTEGER followed by 's' for seconds 'm' for
minutes or 'h' for hours, 0s)
- •
-
disk: (Optional) Flag for also writing the data to disk while
recording (BOOLEAN, true)
- •
-
dumponexit: (Optional) Flag for writing the recording to disk
when the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) shuts down.
If set to 'true' and no value is given for filename,
the recording is written to a file in the directory where the process
was started.
The file name is a system-generated name that contains the process ID,
the recording ID and the current time stamp.
(For example: id-1-2019_12_12_10_41.jfr) (BOOLEAN, false)
- •
-
duration: (Optional) Length of time to record.
Note that 0s means forever (INTEGER followed by 's' for
seconds 'm' for minutes or 'h' for hours, 0s)
- •
-
filename: (Optional) Name of the file to which the flight
recording data is written when the recording is stopped.
If no filename is given, a filename is generated from the PID and the
current date and is placed in the directory where the process was
started.
The filename may also be a directory in which case, the filename is
generated from the PID and the current date in the specified directory.
(STRING, no default value)
- •
-
maxage: (Optional) Maximum time to keep the recorded data on
disk.
This parameter is valid only when the disk parameter is set to
true.
Note 0s means forever.
(INTEGER followed by 's' for seconds 'm' for minutes or
'h' for hours, 0s)
- •
-
maxsize: (Optional) Maximum size of the data to keep on disk in
bytes if one of the following suffixes is not used: 'm' or
'M' for megabytes OR 'g' or 'G' for gigabytes.
This parameter is valid only when the disk parameter is set to
'true'.
The value must not be less than the value for the maxchunksize
parameter set with the JFR.configure command.
(STRING, 0 (no maximum size))
- •
-
name: (Optional) Name of the recording.
If no name is provided, a name is generated.
Make note of the generated name that is shown in the response to the
command so that you can use it with other commands.
(STRING, system-generated default name)
- •
-
path-to-gc-root: (Optional) Flag for saving the path to
garbage collection (GC) roots at the end of a recording.
The path information is useful for finding memory leaks but collecting
it is time consuming.
Turn on this flag only when you have an application that you suspect has
a memory leak.
If the settings parameter is set to 'profile', then the
information collected includes the stack trace from where the potential
leaking object was allocated.
(BOOLEAN, false)
- •
-
settings: (Optional) Name of the settings file that identifies
which events to record.
To specify more than one file, separate the names with a comma
(',').
Include the path if the file is not in JAVA-HOME/lib/jfr.
The following profiles are included with the JDK in the
JAVA-HOME/lib/jfr directory: 'default.jfc': collects a
predefined set of information with low overhead, so it has minimal
impact on performance and can be used with recordings that run
continuously; 'profile.jfc': Provides more data than the
'default.jfc' profile, but with more overhead and impact on
performance.
Use this configuration for short periods of time when more information
is needed.
Use none to start a recording without a predefined
configuration file.
(STRING, JAVA-HOME/lib/jfr/default.jfc)
Event settings and .jfc options can be specified using the following
syntax:
- •
-
option: (Optional) Specifies the option value to modify.
To list available options, use the JAVA_HOME/bin/jfr tool.
- •
-
event-setting: (Optional) Specifies the event setting value to
modify.
Use the form: #= To add a new event setting, prefix the event name with
'+'.
You can specify values for multiple event settings and .jfc options by
separating them with a whitespace.
In case of a conflict between a parameter and a .jfc option, the
parameter will take precedence.
The whitespace delimiter can be omitted for timespan values, i.e.
20ms.
For more information about the settings syntax, see Javadoc of the
jdk.jfr package.
- JFR.stop [options]
-
Stop a flight recording
-
Impact: Low
Note:
The options must be specified using either key or
key=value syntax.
If no parameters are entered, then no recording is stopped.
options:
- •
-
filename: (Optional) Name of the file to which the recording is
written when the recording is stopped.
If no path is provided, the data from the recording is discarded.
(STRING, no default value)
- •
-
name: (Optional) Name of the recording (STRING, no default
value)
- JVMTI.agent_load [arguments]
-
Loads JVMTI native agent.
-
Impact: Low
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(control)
arguments:
- •
-
library path: Absolute path of the JVMTI agent to load.
(STRING, no default value)
- •
-
agent option: (Optional) Option string to pass the agent.
(STRING, no default value)
- JVMTI.data_dump
-
Signals the JVM to do a data-dump request for JVMTI.
-
Impact: High
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
- ManagementAgent.start [options]
-
Starts remote management agent.
-
Impact: Low --- no impact
Note:
The following options must be specified using either
key or key=value syntax.
options:
- •
-
config.file: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.config.file (STRING, no default value)
- •
-
jmxremote.host: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.jmxremote.host (STRING, no default value)
- •
-
jmxremote.port: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.jmxremote.port (STRING, no default value)
- •
-
jmxremote.rmi.port: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.jmxremote.rmi.port (STRING, no default
value)
- •
-
jmxremote.ssl: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.jmxremote.ssl (STRING, no default value)
- •
-
jmxremote.registry.ssl: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.jmxremote.registry.ssl (STRING, no default
value)
- •
-
jmxremote.authenticate: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.jmxremote.authenticate (STRING, no default
value)
- •
-
jmxremote.password.file: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.jmxremote.password.file (STRING, no default
value)
- •
-
jmxremote.access.file: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.jmxremote.acce ss.file (STRING, no default
value)
- •
-
jmxremote.login.config: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.jmxremote.log in.config (STRING, no default
value)
- •
-
jmxremote.ssl.enabled.cipher.suites: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.
- •
-
jmxremote.ssl.enabled.cipher.suite: (STRING, no default value)
- •
-
jmxremote.ssl.enabled.protocols: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.jmxr emote.ssl.enabled.protocols (STRING,
no default value)
- •
-
jmxremote.ssl.need.client.auth: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.jmxre mote.need.client.auth (STRING, no
default value)
- •
-
jmxremote.ssl.config.file: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.jmxremote. ssl_config_file (STRING, no
default value)
- •
-
jmxremote.autodiscovery: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.jmxremote.au todiscovery (STRING, no
default value)
- •
-
jdp.port: (Optional) Sets com.sun.management.jdp.port
(INT, no default value)
- •
-
jdp.address: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.jdp.address (STRING, no default value)
- •
-
jdp.source_addr: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.jdp.source_addr (STRING, no default value)
- •
-
jdp.ttl: (Optional) Sets com.sun.management.jdp.ttl
(INT, no default value)
- •
-
jdp.pause: (Optional) Sets
com.sun.management.jdp.pause (INT, no default value)
- •
-
jdp.name: (Optional) Sets com.sun.management.jdp.name
(STRING, no default value)
- ManagementAgent.start_local
-
Starts the local management agent.
-
Impact: Low --- no impact
- ManagementAgent.status
-
Print the management agent status.
-
Impact: Low --- no impact
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
- ManagementAgent.stop
-
Stops the remote management agent.
-
Impact: Low --- no impact
- Thread.print [options]
-
Prints all threads with stacktraces.
-
Impact: Medium --- depends on the number of threads.
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
Note:
The following options must be specified using either
key or key=value syntax.
options:
- •
-
-l: (Optional) Prints java.util.concurrent locks
(BOOLEAN, false)
- VM.classloader_stats
-
Prints statistics about all ClassLoaders.
-
Impact: Low
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
- VM.class_hierarchy [options] [arguments]
-
Prints a list of all loaded classes, indented to show the class
hierarchy.
The name of each class is followed by the ClassLoaderData* of its
ClassLoader, or "null" if it is loaded by the bootstrap class loader.
-
Impact: Medium --- depends on the number of loaded classes.
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
Note:
The following options must be specified using either
key or key=value syntax.
options:
- •
-
-i: (Optional) Inherited interfaces should be printed.
(BOOLEAN, false)
- •
-
-s: (Optional) If a class name is specified, it prints the
subclasses.
If the class name is not specified, only the superclasses are printed.
(BOOLEAN, false)
arguments:
- •
-
classname: (Optional) The name of the class whose hierarchy
should be printed.
If not specified, all class hierarchies are printed.
(STRING, no default value)
- VM.command_line
-
Prints the command line used to start this VM instance.
-
Impact: Low
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
- VM.dynlibs
-
Prints the loaded dynamic libraries.
-
Impact: Low
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
- VM.info
-
Prints information about the JVM environment and status.
-
Impact: Low
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
- VM.log [options]
-
Lists current log configuration, enables/disables/configures a log
output, or rotates all logs.
-
Impact: Low
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(control)
options:
Note:
The following options must be specified using either
key or key=value syntax.
- •
-
output: (Optional) The name or index (#) of output to
configure.
(STRING, no default value)
- •
-
output_options: (Optional) Options for the output.
(STRING, no default value)
- •
-
what: (Optional) Configures what tags to log.
(STRING, no default value )
- •
-
decorators: (Optional) Configures which decorators to use.
Use 'none' or an empty value to remove all.
(STRING, no default value)
- •
-
disable: (Optional) Turns off all logging and clears the log
configuration.
(BOOLEAN, no default value)
- •
-
list: (Optional) Lists current log configuration.
(BOOLEAN, no default value)
- •
-
rotate: (Optional) Rotates all logs.
(BOOLEAN, no default value)
- VM.flags [options]
-
Prints the VM flag options and their current values.
-
Impact: Low
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
Note:
The following options must be specified using either
key or key=value syntax.
options:
- •
-
-all: (Optional) Prints all flags supported by the VM
(BOOLEAN, false).
- VM.native_memory [options]
-
Prints native memory usage
-
Impact: Medium
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
Note:
The following options must be specified using either
key or key=value syntax.
options:
- •
-
summary: (Optional) Requests runtime to report current memory
summary, which includes total reserved and committed memory, along with
memory usage summary by each subsystem.
(BOOLEAN, false)
- •
-
detail: (Optional) Requests runtime to report memory allocation
>= 1K by each callsite.
(BOOLEAN, false)
- •
-
baseline: (Optional) Requests runtime to baseline current
memory usage, so it can be compared against in later time.
(BOOLEAN, false)
- •
-
summary.diff: (Optional) Requests runtime to report memory
summary comparison against previous baseline.
(BOOLEAN, false)
- •
-
detail.diff: (Optional) Requests runtime to report memory
detail comparison against previous baseline, which shows the memory
allocation activities at different callsites.
(BOOLEAN, false)
- •
-
shutdown: (Optional) Requests runtime to shutdown itself and
free the memory used by runtime.
(BOOLEAN, false)
- •
-
statistics: (Optional) Prints tracker statistics for tuning
purpose.
(BOOLEAN, false)
- •
-
scale: (Optional) Memory usage in which scale, KB, MB or GB
(STRING, KB)
- VM.print_touched_methods
-
Prints all methods that have ever been touched during the lifetime of
this JVM.
-
Impact: Medium --- depends on Java content.
- VM.set_flag [arguments]
-
Sets the VM flag option by using the provided value.
-
Impact: Low
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(control)
arguments:
- •
-
flag name: The name of the flag that you want to set (STRING,
no default value)
- •
-
string value: (Optional) The value that you want to set
(STRING, no default value)
- VM.stringtable [options]
-
Dumps the string table.
-
Impact: Medium --- depends on the Java content.
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
Note:
The following options must be specified using either
key or key=value syntax.
options:
- •
-
-verbose: (Optional) Dumps the content of each string in the
table (BOOLEAN, false)
- VM.symboltable [options]
-
Dumps the symbol table.
-
Impact: Medium --- depends on the Java content.
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
Note:
The following options must be specified using either
key or key=value syntax).
options:
- •
-
-verbose: (Optional) Dumps the content of each symbol in the
table (BOOLEAN, false)
- VM.systemdictionary
-
Prints the statistics for dictionary hashtable sizes and bucket length.
-
Impact: Medium
Permission: java.lang.management.ManagementPermission(monitor)
Note:
The following options must be specified using either
key or key=value syntax.
options:
- •
-
verbose: (Optional) Dump the content of each dictionary entry
for all class loaders (BOOLEAN, false) .
- VM.system_properties
-
Prints the system properties.
-
Impact: Low
Permission: java.util.PropertyPermission(*, read)
- VM.uptime [options]
-
Prints the VM uptime.
-
Impact: Low
Note:
The following options must be specified using either
key or key=value syntax.
options:
- •
-
-date: (Optional) Adds a prefix with the current date
(BOOLEAN, false)
- VM.version
-
Prints JVM version information.
-
Impact: Low
Permission:
java.util.PropertyPermission(java.vm.version, read)
Index
- NAME
-
- SYNOPSIS
-
- DESCRIPTION
-
- COMMANDS FOR JCMD
-
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Time: 08:55:12 GMT, December 16, 2021