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Process Control Blocks expose the /proc file system which allows PCBs to be read by users. Is there a similar file system for Thread Control Blocks? If not, is there a tool to read their contents (bonus points if it supports high-frequency sampling)?

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    Does /proc/.../task give the info you’re after? Commented Apr 23, 2020 at 21:29
  • I'm interested in the program counter, register contents, and thread state. Where would I find that in the proc/{pid}/task/{tid} directory? Commented Apr 23, 2020 at 21:38

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The Kernel has a Thread Control Block (TCB). To view the information you're after, I would use -

# cat /proc/PID/task/PID/status

So, to view thread information for a process that has the PID 12345 -

# cat /proc/12345/task/12345/status

There's also libproc, available in procps. Sorry, I couldn't provide good documentation on that.

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  • Which entries in the cat .../status output correspond to program counter, register contents, and thread state? Commented Apr 23, 2020 at 22:22
  • Please consult the docs at man7.org/linux/man-pages/man5/proc.5.html Commented Apr 23, 2020 at 23:16
  • Another excellent piece of insights at this blog Commented Apr 23, 2020 at 23:41

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