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`acpidump(8)` on Solnix vs Linux and the BSDs

On Solnix, acpidump is the illumos /usr/sbin/acpidump. It dumps raw ACPI tables for tools such as acpixtract(8) or iasl, and does not call iasl itself. Its flags differ from the BSD tools: -o, -s, -v and -f each mean something different, and -d, -t and -T do not exist.

The manual pages

Solnix: acpidump(8) from pkgs.solnix.illumos-world-man · illumos.org
FreeBSD: acpidump(8) 15.1-RELEASE
OpenBSD: acpidump(8) 8.0
NetBSD: acpidump(8) 11.0

What Solnix runs

A default Solnix system runs the illumos acpidump at /usr/sbin/acpidump. No other variants are shipped. The page does not say which device or interface it reads tables from. There is no Linux counterpart page in the bundle.

Differences

Compared with	Topic	What differs
FreeBSD, NetBSD	`-o` meaning	Solnix `-o` file writes the program's output to the given file. On FreeBSD and NetBSD, `-o` dsdt_output stores only the DSDT data block (plus any SSDTs) from physical memory into the file. Source: Solnix acpidump(8) -o; FreeBSD acpidump(8) -o, DESCRIPTION; NetBSD acpidump(8) -o
OpenBSD	`-o` is required and is a prefix	OpenBSD acpidump requires `-o` prefix and writes one file per table, named <prefix>/<sig>.<id> or <prefix>.<sig>.<id>, plus a headers file. Solnix `-o` is optional and names one output file. Solnix `-b` dumps all tables to binary files. Source: OpenBSD acpidump(8) SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION; Solnix acpidump(8) SYNOPSIS, -o, -b
FreeBSD, NetBSD	`-s` meaning	Solnix `-s` prints only table summaries. On FreeBSD, `-s` disassembles the DSDT and each SSDT with iasl(8). On NetBSD, `-s` skips tables with bad checksums. Scripts that pass `-s` get different results on each system. Source: Solnix acpidump(8) -s; FreeBSD acpidump(8) -s; NetBSD acpidump(8) -s
FreeBSD, NetBSD	`-v` meaning	Solnix `-v` prints the version, and `-z` is the verbose flag. On FreeBSD and NetBSD, `-v` enables verbose messages and neither page documents `-z`. A script calling acpidump `-v` gets only a version string on Solnix. Source: Solnix acpidump(8) -v, -z; FreeBSD acpidump(8) -v; NetBSD acpidump(8) -v
FreeBSD, NetBSD	`-f` meaning	Solnix `-f` file reads a table from a binary file. On FreeBSD and NetBSD, `-f` dsdt_input loads only the DSDT from a file, and `-t` cannot be combined with it. Source: Solnix acpidump(8) -f; FreeBSD acpidump(8) -f; NetBSD acpidump(8) -f
FreeBSD, NetBSD	disassembly (`-d`)	Solnix has no `-d` and does not disassemble. Its page points to acpixtract(8) and iasl for processing the dumped tables. FreeBSD and NetBSD `-d` runs iasl(8) and prints ASL to stdout. Source: Solnix acpidump(8) DESCRIPTION, OPTIONS; FreeBSD acpidump(8) -d; NetBSD acpidump(8) -d
FreeBSD, NetBSD	selecting tables (`-t`, `-T`, `-n`)	Solnix selects one table with `-n` signature or `-a` address, and has no `-t`. FreeBSD and NetBSD `-t` dumps the contents of a fixed list of tables. FreeBSD `-T` dumps one named table. Solnix has no `-T`. Source: Solnix acpidump(8) -n, -a; FreeBSD acpidump(8) -t, -T; NetBSD acpidump(8) -t
NetBSD	`-c` meaning	Solnix `-c` takes an argument (on\|off) and enables dumping customized tables; the default is off. NetBSD `-c` takes no argument and dumps unknown table data as characters instead of hex. Source: Solnix acpidump(8) -c; NetBSD acpidump(8) -c
FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD	Solnix-only options	Solnix `-r` address dumps tables from an RSDP at a given address, and `-x` avoids the XSDT. None of the three BSD pages documents either option. Source: Solnix acpidump(8) -r, -x; FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD acpidump(8) SYNOPSIS
FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD	source of table data	FreeBSD reads tables via /dev/mem and NetBSD via /dev/acpi. OpenBSD opens /dev/kmem, which may be restricted by the kern.allowkmem sysctl. The Solnix page does not say where it reads from. Source: FreeBSD acpidump(8) DESCRIPTION; NetBSD acpidump(8) DESCRIPTION; OpenBSD acpidump(8) DESCRIPTION; Solnix acpidump(8) DESCRIPTION
OpenBSD	run at startup	OpenBSD runs acpidump at startup and stores the results in `/var/db/acpi.` The Solnix page describes no automatic run and no fixed output directory. Source: OpenBSD acpidump(8) DESCRIPTION; Solnix acpidump(8) DESCRIPTION

Standards

POSIX: acpidump is not a POSIX.1-2024 utility.

Writing portable scripts

Do not rely on -o, -s, -v or -f across systems: they mean different things on Solnix, FreeBSD, NetBSD and OpenBSD. Check uname and use per-OS invocations.
For raw tables, use Solnix acpidump -b or OpenBSD acpidump -o prefix, then disassemble the output files with iasl.

Every difference here is taken from the manual pages linked above: Solnix's published page, Linux (man-pages and the GNU and util-linux manuals), FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD. Each row names its source. Where a manual is silent, this page is too. Compiled 2026-10-26. Found a mistake? Mail hackers@lists.solnix.io.