deallocvt

deallocate unused virtual terminal memory

TLDR

Deallocate all unused virtual terminals

$ sudo deallocvt

Deallocate a specific virtual terminal

$ sudo deallocvt [7]

Deallocate a range of virtual terminals

$ sudo deallocvt [7] [8] [9]

Target a specific console device

$ sudo deallocvt -C [/dev/tty1]

Show version information

$ deallocvt -V

deallocvt deallocates kernel memory and data structures for unused virtual consoles. A virtual console is considered unused when it is not the active console and no process or text selection is referring to it.When invoked without arguments, it deallocates all unused virtual terminals. When given specific terminal numbers (corresponding to `/dev/ttyN`), it deallocates only those. A terminal cannot be deallocated if it is the current terminal or if it has active processes.

PARAMETERS

Virtual terminal number(s) to deallocate. Without arguments, all unused terminals are freed.

-C, --console=DEV

Operate on the specified console device (e.g. `/dev/tty1`).

-V, --version

Print version information and exit.

-h, --help

Print usage information and exit.

INSTALL

sudo apt install kbd

sudo dnf install kbd

sudo pacman -S kbd

sudo apk add kbd

sudo zypper install kbd

nix profile install nixpkgs#kbd

CAVEATS

Requires root privileges. Cannot deallocate the current VT or VTs with active processes. Deallocating a VT means it will be reallocated the next time it is used, with a small overhead. Mostly useful on memory-constrained systems.

HISTORY

deallocvt is part of the kbd package for Linux console utilities and was originally authored by Andries Brouwer. It provides low-level management of Linux virtual terminal resources.