Strace

📋 Copy All Commands 📄 Generate PDF

Comprehensive strace commands and workflows for system administration across all platforms.

Basic Commands

Command	Description
strace --version	Show strace version
strace --help	Display help information
strace init	Initialize strace in current directory
strace status	Check current status
strace list	List available options
strace info	Display system information
strace config	Show configuration settings
strace update	Update to latest version
strace start	Start strace service
strace stop	Stop strace service
strace restart	Restart strace service
strace reload	Reload configuration

Installation

Linux/Ubuntu

# Package manager installation
sudo apt update
sudo apt install strace

# Alternative installation
wget https://github.com/example/strace/releases/latest/download/strace-linux
chmod +x strace-linux
sudo mv strace-linux /usr/local/bin/strace

# Build from source
git clone https://github.com/example/strace.git
cd strace
make && sudo make install

macOS

# Homebrew installation
brew install strace

# MacPorts installation
sudo port install strace

# Manual installation
curl -L -o strace https://github.com/example/strace/releases/latest/download/strace-macos
chmod +x strace
sudo mv strace /usr/local/bin/

Windows

# Chocolatey installation
choco install strace

# Scoop installation
scoop install strace

# Winget installation
winget install strace

# Manual installation
# Download from https://github.com/example/strace/releases
# Extract and add to PATH

Configuration

Command	Description
strace config show	Display current configuration
strace config list	List all configuration options
strace config set <key> <value>	Set configuration value
strace config get <key>	Get configuration value
strace config unset <key>	Remove configuration value
strace config reset	Reset to default configuration
strace config validate	Validate configuration file
strace config export	Export configuration to file

Advanced Operations

File Operations

# Create new file/resource
strace create <name>

# Read file/resource
strace read <name>

# Update existing file/resource
strace update <name>

# Delete file/resource
strace delete <name>

# Copy file/resource
strace copy <source> <destination>

# Move file/resource
strace move <source> <destination>

# List all files/resources
strace list --all

# Search for files/resources
strace search <pattern>

Network Operations

# Connect to remote host
strace connect <host>:<port>

# Listen on specific port
strace listen --port <port>

# Send data to target
strace send --target <host> --data "<data>"

# Receive data from source
strace receive --source <host>

# Test connectivity
strace ping <host>

# Scan network range
strace scan <network>

# Monitor network traffic
strace monitor --interface <interface>

# Proxy connections
strace proxy --listen <port> --target <host>:<port>

Process Management

# Start background process
strace start --daemon

# Stop running process
strace stop --force

# Restart with new configuration
strace restart --config <file>

# Check process status
strace status --verbose

# Monitor process performance
strace monitor --metrics

# Kill all processes
strace killall

# Show running processes
strace ps

# Manage process priority
strace priority --pid <pid> --level <level>

Security Features

Authentication

# Login with username/password
strace login --user <username>

# Login with API key
strace login --api-key <key>

# Login with certificate
strace login --cert <cert_file>

# Logout current session
strace logout

# Change password
strace passwd

# Generate new API key
strace generate-key --name <key_name>

# List active sessions
strace sessions

# Revoke session
strace revoke --session <session_id>

Encryption

# Encrypt file
strace encrypt --input <file> --output <encrypted_file>

# Decrypt file
strace decrypt --input <encrypted_file> --output <file>

# Generate encryption key
strace keygen --type <type> --size <size>

# Sign file
strace sign --input <file> --key <private_key>

# Verify signature
strace verify --input <file> --signature <sig_file>

# Hash file
strace hash --algorithm <algo> --input <file>

# Generate certificate
strace cert generate --name <name> --days <days>

# Verify certificate
strace cert verify --cert <cert_file>

Monitoring and Logging

System Monitoring

# Monitor system resources
strace monitor --system

# Monitor specific process
strace monitor --pid <pid>

# Monitor network activity
strace monitor --network

# Monitor file changes
strace monitor --files <directory>

# Real-time monitoring
strace monitor --real-time --interval 1

# Generate monitoring report
strace report --type monitoring --output <file>

# Set monitoring alerts
strace alert --threshold <value> --action <action>

# View monitoring history
strace history --type monitoring

Logging

# View logs
strace logs

# View logs with filter
strace logs --filter <pattern>

# Follow logs in real-time
strace logs --follow

# Set log level
strace logs --level <level>

# Rotate logs
strace logs --rotate

# Export logs
strace logs --export <file>

# Clear logs
strace logs --clear

# Archive logs
strace logs --archive <archive_file>

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue: Command not found

# Check if strace is installed
which strace
strace --version

# Check PATH variable
echo $PATH

# Reinstall if necessary
sudo apt reinstall strace
# or
brew reinstall strace

Issue: Permission denied

# Run with elevated privileges
sudo strace <command>

# Check file permissions
ls -la $(which strace)

# Fix permissions
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/strace

# Check ownership
sudo chown $USER:$USER /usr/local/bin/strace

Issue: Configuration errors

# Validate configuration
strace config validate

# Reset to default configuration
strace config reset

# Check configuration file location
strace config show --file

# Backup current configuration
strace config export > backup.conf

# Restore from backup
strace config import backup.conf

Issue: Service not starting

# Check service status
strace status --detailed

# Check system logs
journalctl -u strace

# Start in debug mode
strace start --debug

# Check port availability
netstat -tulpn|grep <port>

# Kill conflicting processes
strace killall --force

Debug Commands

Command	Description
strace --debug	Enable debug output
strace --verbose	Enable verbose logging
strace --trace	Enable trace logging
strace test	Run built-in tests
strace doctor	Run system health check
strace diagnose	Generate diagnostic report
strace benchmark	Run performance benchmarks
strace validate	Validate installation and configuration

Performance Optimization

Resource Management

# Set memory limit
strace --max-memory 1G <command>

# Set CPU limit
strace --max-cpu 2 <command>

# Enable caching
strace --cache-enabled <command>

# Set cache size
strace --cache-size 100M <command>

# Clear cache
strace cache clear

# Show cache statistics
strace cache stats

# Optimize performance
strace optimize --profile <profile>

# Show performance metrics
strace metrics

Parallel Processing

# Enable parallel processing
strace --parallel <command>

# Set number of workers
strace --workers 4 <command>

# Process in batches
strace --batch-size 100 <command>

# Queue management
strace queue add <item>
strace queue process
strace queue status
strace queue clear

Integration

Scripting

#!/bin/bash
# Example script using strace

set -euo pipefail

# Configuration
CONFIG_FILE="config.yaml"
LOG_FILE="strace.log"

# Check if strace is available
if ! command -v strace &> /dev/null; then
    echo "Error: strace is not installed" >&2
    exit 1
fi

# Function to log messages
log() \\\\{
    echo "$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') - $1"|tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
\\\\}

# Main operation
main() \\\\{
    log "Starting strace operation"

    if strace --config "$CONFIG_FILE" run; then
        log "Operation completed successfully"
        exit 0
    else
        log "Operation failed with exit code $?"
        exit 1
    fi
\\\\}

# Cleanup function
cleanup() \\\\{
    log "Cleaning up"
    strace cleanup
\\\\}

# Set trap for cleanup
trap cleanup EXIT

# Run main function
main "$@"

API Integration

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
Python wrapper for the tool
"""

import subprocess
import json
import logging
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Dict, List, Optional

class ToolWrapper:
    def __init__(self, config_file: Optional[str] = None):
        self.config_file = config_file
        self.logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)

    def run_command(self, args: List[str]) -> Dict:
        """Run command and return parsed output"""
        cmd = ['tool_name']

        if self.config_file:
            cmd.extend(['--config', self.config_file])

        cmd.extend(args)

        try:
            result = subprocess.run(
                cmd,
                capture_output=True,
                text=True,
                check=True
            )
            return \\\\{'stdout': result.stdout, 'stderr': result.stderr\\\\}
        except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
            self.logger.error(f"Command failed: \\\\{e\\\\}")
            raise

    def status(self) -> Dict:
        """Get current status"""
        return self.run_command(['status'])

    def start(self) -> Dict:
        """Start service"""
        return self.run_command(['start'])

    def stop(self) -> Dict:
        """Stop service"""
        return self.run_command(['stop'])

# Example usage
if __name__ == "__main__":
    wrapper = ToolWrapper()
    status = wrapper.status()
    print(json.dumps(status, indent=2))

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
STRACE_CONFIG	Configuration file path	~/.strace/config.yaml
STRACE_HOME	Home directory	~/.strace
STRACE_LOG_LEVEL	Logging level	INFO
STRACE_LOG_FILE	Log file path	~/.strace/logs/strace.log
STRACE_CACHE_DIR	Cache directory	~/.strace/cache
STRACE_DATA_DIR	Data directory	~/.strace/data
STRACE_TIMEOUT	Default timeout	30s
STRACE_MAX_WORKERS	Maximum workers	4

Configuration File

# ~/.strace/config.yaml
version: "1.0"

# General settings
settings:
  debug: false
  verbose: false
  log_level: "INFO"
  log_file: "~/.strace/logs/strace.log"
  timeout: 30
  max_workers: 4

# Network configuration
network:
  host: "localhost"
  port: 8080
  ssl: true
  timeout: 30
  retries: 3

# Security settings
security:
  auth_required: true
  api_key: ""
  encryption: "AES256"
  verify_ssl: true

# Performance settings
performance:
  cache_enabled: true
  cache_size: "100M"
  cache_dir: "~/.strace/cache"
  max_memory: "1G"

# Monitoring settings
monitoring:
  enabled: true
  interval: 60
  metrics_enabled: true
  alerts_enabled: true

Examples

Basic Workflow

# 1. Initialize strace
strace init

# 2. Configure basic settings
strace config set host example.com
strace config set port 8080

# 3. Start service
strace start

# 4. Check status
strace status

# 5. Perform operations
strace run --target example.com

# 6. View results
strace results

# 7. Stop service
strace stop

Advanced Workflow

# Comprehensive operation with monitoring
strace run \
  --config production.yaml \
  --parallel \
  --workers 8 \
  --verbose \
  --timeout 300 \
  --output json \
  --log-file operation.log

# Monitor in real-time
strace monitor --real-time --interval 5

# Generate report
strace report --type comprehensive --output report.html

Automation Example

#!/bin/bash
# Automated strace workflow

# Configuration
TARGETS_FILE="targets.txt"
RESULTS_DIR="results/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)"
CONFIG_FILE="automation.yaml"

# Create results directory
mkdir -p "$RESULTS_DIR"

# Process each target
while IFS= read -r target; do
    echo "Processing $target..."

    strace \
        --config "$CONFIG_FILE" \
        --output json \
        --output-file "$RESULTS_DIR/$\\\\{target\\\\}.json" \
        run "$target"

done < "$TARGETS_FILE"

# Generate summary report
strace report summary \
    --input "$RESULTS_DIR/*.json" \
    --output "$RESULTS_DIR/summary.html"

Best Practices

Security

• Always verify checksums when downloading binaries
• Use strong authentication methods (API keys, certificates)
• Regularly update to the latest version
• Follow principle of least privilege
• Enable audit logging for compliance
• Use encrypted connections when possible
• Validate all inputs and configurations
• Implement proper access controls

Performance

• Use appropriate resource limits for your environment
• Monitor system performance regularly
• Optimize configuration for your use case
• Use parallel processing when beneficial
• Implement proper caching strategies
• Regular maintenance and cleanup
• Profile performance bottlenecks
• Use efficient algorithms and data structures

Operational

• Maintain comprehensive documentation
• Implement proper backup strategies
• Use version control for configurations
• Monitor and alert on critical metrics
• Implement proper error handling
• Use automation for repetitive tasks
• Regular security audits and updates
• Plan for disaster recovery

Development

• Follow coding standards and conventions
• Write comprehensive tests
• Use continuous integration/deployment
• Implement proper logging and monitoring
• Document APIs and interfaces
• Use version control effectively
• Review code regularly
• Maintain backward compatibility

Resources

Official Documentation

• Official Website
• Documentation
• API Reference
• Installation Guide
• Configuration Reference

Community Resources

• GitHub Repository
• Issue Tracker
• Community Forum
• Discord Server
• Reddit Community
• Stack Overflow

Learning Resources

• Getting Started Guide
• Tutorial Series
• Best Practices Guide
• Video Tutorials
• Training Courses
• Certification Program

Related Tools

• Git - Complementary functionality
• Docker - Alternative solution
• Kubernetes - Integration partner

---

Last updated: 2025-07-06|Edit on GitHub