lsusb

lsusb

The lsusb command in Linux is used to display information about USB (Universal Serial Bus) buses in the system and the devices connected to them. It's a valuable tool for diagnosing and managing USB devices, providing detailed insights into the USB hardware connected to your system.

Understanding lsusb

The lsusb command lists all the USB devices currently connected to your system, showing details about each device such as the vendor ID, product ID, and device description.

Basic Usage

To display a list of all USB devices, simply run:

lsusb

Example Output

Here’s an example of what the lsusb command might return:

Bus 002 Device 004: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 04f2:b2f4 Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd 
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0bda:58b0 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. 
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 1bcf:0005 Sunplus Innovation Technology Inc. Optical Mouse
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

Detailed Output

To get more detailed information about the USB devices, use the -v (verbose) option:

lsusb -v

Example Detailed Output

Here’s an example of detailed output for one device:

Bus 002 Device 004: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Device Descriptor:
  bLength                18
  bDescriptorType         1
  bcdUSB               2.00
  bDeviceClass            9 Hub
  bDeviceSubClass         0 
  bDeviceProtocol         1 Full speed (or root) hub
  bMaxPacketSize0        64
  idVendor           0x8087 Intel Corp.
  idProduct          0x0024 Integrated Rate Matching Hub
  bcdDevice            0.00
  iManufacturer           0 
  iProduct                0 
  iSerial                 0 
  bNumConfigurations      1

Key Options

1. -v: Verbose output. Displays detailed information about each device.

   lsusb -v

2. -t: Show the hierarchical tree of devices.

   lsusb -t

3. -s [bus]:[devnum]: Show only devices in the specified bus and device number.

   lsusb -s 002:004

4. -d [vendor]:[product]: Show only devices with the specified vendor and product ID.

   lsusb -d 8087:0024

5. -D [device]: Show detailed information about the specified device file.

   lsusb -D /dev/bus/usb/002/004

Practical Examples

1. List All USB Devices:

   lsusb

   This command lists all the currently connected USB devices.

2. Display Detailed Information About All USB Devices:

   sudo lsusb -v

   This command provides detailed information about all USB devices. Note that sudo may be required for full details.

3. Show USB Device Tree:

   lsusb -t

   This command shows a hierarchical tree of USB devices.

4. Filter by Vendor and Product ID:

   lsusb -d 8087:0024

   This command will list devices that match the specified vendor (8087) and product (0024) IDs.

5. Detailed Information for a Specific Device:

   lsusb -s 002:004

   This command displays information about the device on bus 002 with device number 004.

Related Commands

1. usb-devices: Displays detailed information about USB devices. It's more human-readable than lsusb -v.

   usb-devices

2. dmesg: Displays system messages, including those related to USB device connections and disconnections.

   dmesg | grep -i usb

3. udevadm: Monitors udev events. Useful for diagnosing USB device issues.

   udevadm monitor --udev

Conclusion

The lsusb command is a powerful tool for managing and diagnosing USB devices on Linux systems. It provides a quick way to list all USB devices and offers detailed information for troubleshooting and verifying hardware.

help

lsusb [options]

List USB devices.

Options:

-v, --verbose   Print detailed information about devices.
-t, --tree      Print a tree-like representation of the device hierarchy.
-h, --help       Show this help message.

For more information, see the lsusb man page.