systemdcoredumpctl

systemdcoredumpctl is a command-line utility used to manage and inspect core dumps generated by the systemd init system. Core dumps are snapshots of a process's memory at the time of a crash, which are invaluable for debugging. systemdcoredumpctl provides a standardized interface to these core dumps, regardless of how they are stored or generated.

The utility allows users to list available core dumps, view their details such as the process ID, executable name, signal that caused the crash, and the time of the crash. It can also be used to retrieve the actual core dump files for further analysis with tools like gdb. By default, systemd stores core dumps in a location specified by the coredump.conf configuration file, often within a dedicated directory.

systemdcoredumpctl helps system administrators and developers diagnose application failures. It integrates with systemd's journal for logging crash information, making it easier to correlate crash events with other system logs. The command offers options to filter core dumps by various criteria, such as executable name or time, simplifying the process of finding specific crash data. It can also be used to clear old or unwanted core dump files to free up disk space. The underlying mechanism relies on systemd's coredump service, which is responsible for capturing and managing the core dumps.