hwinfo

What hwinfo is

hwinfo is a Linux hardware-probing project with two parts: the libhd.so library and the hwinfo command-line tool. Together, they detect hardware in a system and can produce an overview log for support. Detailed output can include graphics-card identifiers, model and vendor, driver information, memory ranges, I/O ports, and IRQ. For a shorter view, the command can produce abbreviated output, including a device listing of disks and CD-ROM drives. Probing can be adjusted with the hwprobe environment variable or a kernel boot option. These controls can turn probing modules on or off and add some hardware devices to a degree. They cannot usefully add devices whose entries need information the configuration does not provide; disks and floppies are examples. YaST, the SUSE installation tool, is identified as a major user of libhd. The project documentation links hardware-detection references for SMBIOS, VESA BIOS Extensions, PCI, SDIO, USB, and SCSI. The repository identifies GPL-2.0 as its license. The README describes building the library with make and installing it with make install.

Who it suits

hwinfo suits Linux users who need to identify system hardware or create an overview log for support. It may also suit developers and tools that use its libhd library, including projects such as YaST.

Limits

Probe configuration cannot usefully add devices that require information beyond their entries; disks and floppies are cited examples.

Getting started

1. Open the project website on GitHub.
2. Build the library with make.
3. Install it with make install.
4. Run the hwinfo command-line tool on Linux.

Verdict

Choose hwinfo if you need Linux hardware probing through a command-line tool or the libhd library, with detailed device output and support logs. Its GPL-2.0 license suits users looking for open-source software. Look elsewhere if you need a platform beyond Linux or need to add devices that require more probe information than their entries provide.