NAME

       kvm_stat - Report KVM kernel module event counters

SYNOPSIS

       kvm_stat [OPTION]...

DESCRIPTION

       kvm_stat prints counts of KVM kernel module trace events. These events signify state transitions such as
       guest mode entry and exit.

       This tool is useful for observing guest behavior from the host perspective. Often conclusions about
       performance or buggy behavior can be drawn from the output. While running in regular mode, use any of the
       keys listed in section Interactive Commands below. Use batch and logging modes for scripting purposes.

       The set of KVM kernel module trace events may be specific to the kernel version or architecture. It is
       best to check the KVM kernel module source code for the meaning of events.

INTERACTIVE COMMANDS

       b
           toggle events by guests (debugfs
           only, honors filters)

       c   clear filter

       f   filter by regular expression

           Note: Child events pull in their
           parents, and parents' stats summarize
           all child events, not just the
           filtered ones

       g   filter by guest name/PID

       h   display interactive commands
           reference

       o   toggle sorting order (Total vs
           CurAvg/s)

       p   filter by guest name/PID

       q   quit

       r   reset stats

       s   set delay between refreshs

       x   toggle reporting of stats for child
           trace events

           Note: The stats for the parents
           summarize the respective child trace
           events

       Press any other key to refresh statistics immediately.

OPTIONS

       -1, --once, --batch
           run in batch mode for one second

       -c, --csv
           log in csv format. Requires option -l/--log or -L/--log-to-file. When used with option
           -L/--log-to-file, the header is only ever written to start of file to preserve the format.

       -d, --debugfs
           retrieve statistics from debugfs

       -f<fields>, --fields=<fields>
           fields to display (regex), "-f help" for a list of available events

       -g<guest>, --guest=<guest_name>
           limit statistics to one virtual machine (guest name)

       -h, --help
           show help message

       -i, --debugfs-include-past
           include all available data on past events for debugfs

       -l, --log
           run in logging mode (like vmstat)

       -L<file>, --log-to-file=<file>
           like -l/--log, but logging to a file. Appends to existing files.

       -p<pid>, --pid=<pid>
           limit statistics to one virtual machine (pid)

       -s, --set-delay
           set delay between refreshs (value range: 0.1-25.5 secs)

       -t, --tracepoints
           retrieve statistics from tracepoints

       -z, --skip-zero-records
           omit records with all zeros in logging mode

SEE ALSO

       perf(1), trace-cmd(1)

AUTHOR

       Stefan Hajnoczi <stefanha@redhat.com>

                                                   06/15/2025                                        KVM_STAT(1)