SYSCTL.CONF(5)

NAME
sysctl.conf - sysctl configuration file

SYNOPSIS
sysctl.conf

DESCRIPTION
The sysctl.conf file defines the sysctl(7) kernel state tunables that can be set at boot time using sysctl(8) (using the -f switch) via the /etc/rc.d/sysctl startup script.

The state to be set is described using a “Management Information Base” (“MIB”) style name. The MIB and value must be separated by ‘=’ with no whitespace, for example:

name=value

Blank lines, lines with just name, and comments (beginning with ‘#’) are ignored. Line continuations using backslash ‘\’ are permitted. Only integral and string values can be set.

FILES
/etc/sysctl.conf
    The file sysctl.conf resides in /etc.

EXAMPLES
The following is an example /etc/sysctl.conf file:

    # Change max open files
    kern.maxfiles=1792
    # Run Veriexec in IDS mode
    kern.veriexec.strict=1
    # Enable IP packet forwarding
    net.inet.ip.forwarding=1

SEE ALSO
sysctl(3), rc.conf(5), sysctl(7), sysctl(8)

HISTORY
Support for sysctl.conf first appeared in NetBSD 1.5.