MODULES.DEP(5) modules.dep MODULES.DEP(5)

# [NAME](#NAME)

modules.dep, modules.dep.bin - Module dependency information

# [SYNOPSIS](#SYNOPSIS)

/lib/modules/modules.dep

/lib/modules/modules.dep.bin

# [DESCRIPTION](#DESCRIPTION)

**modules.dep.bin** is a binary file generated by **depmod** listing the dependencies for every module in the directories under /lib/modules/*version*. It is used by **kmod** tools such as **modprobe** and libkmod.

Its text counterpart is located in the same directory with the name **modules.dep**. The text version is maintained only for ease of reading by humans and is in no way used by any **kmod** tool.

These files are not intended for editing or use by any additional utilities as their format is subject to change in the future. You should use the [**modinfo**(8)](/man/os/kmod/modinfo.8) command to obtain information about modules in a future proof and compatible fashion rather than touching these files.

# [COPYRIGHT](#COPYRIGHT)

This manual page originally Copyright 2002, Rusty Russell, IBM Corporation.

# [SEE ALSO](#SEE_ALSO)

[**depmod**(8)](/man/os/kmod/depmod.8), [**modprobe**(8)](/man/os/kmod/modprobe.8)

# [BUGS](#BUGS)

Please direct any bug reports to kmod's issue tracker at https://github.com/kmod-project/kmod/issues/ alongside with version used, steps to reproduce the problem and the expected outcome.

# [AUTHORS](#AUTHORS)

Numerous contributions have come from the linux-modules mailing list <linux-modules@vger.kernel.org> and Github. If you have a clone of kmod.git itself, the output of [**git-shortlog**(1)](/man/os/kmod/git-shortlog.1) and [**git-blame**(1)](/man/os/kmod/git-blame.1) can show you the authors for specific parts of the project.

**Lucas De Marchi** <lucas.de.marchi@gmail.com> is the current maintainer of the project.

2026-10-01 kmod

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Document: modules.dep(5) from kmod 34.2-r51 (Chainguard OS)
Source: https://kernel.googlesource.com/pub/scm/utils/kernel/kmod/kmod.git