vcgencmd(1)
Query and control the Raspberry Pi's GPU and system parameters via the VideoCore GPU.
Synopsis
vcgencmd [OPTION] COMMAND [PARAMETER]Description
vcgencmd is a command-line tool for communicating with the Raspberry Pi's VideoCore GPU to read system information, check temperatures and voltages, manage GPU memory, and control hardware features. It requires root or membership in the video group to function.
The command uses a request-response protocol to query GPU parameters and system status. Common use cases include monitoring thermal conditions, checking clock speeds, measuring power consumption, and adjusting GPU memory allocation.
Common options
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
-t | Measure command execution time (mostly unused with vcgencmd) |
measure_temp | Display CPU and GPU temperature in Celsius |
measure_volts | Display current voltage supplied to the SoC |
measure_clock arm | Show ARM CPU clock frequency in Hz |
get_throttled | Check if CPU/GPU throttling or overheating has occurred |
get_mem arm | Show ARM CPU memory allocation in megabytes |
get_mem gpu | Show GPU memory allocation in megabytes |
get_config int_address | Query integer configuration parameters from firmware |
display_power | Show HDMI power state (0=off, 1=on, -1=unknown) |
version | Display firmware version and build date |
Examples
Check current CPU and GPU temperature; output format is temp=45.3'C
vcgencmd measure_tempDisplay ARM CPU clock speed; result given in Hz (e.g., frequency=600000000 for 600MHz)
vcgencmd measure_clock armShow the core voltage supplied to the SoC in volts
vcgencmd measure_voltsCheck throttling status; returns 0 if normal, non-zero if throttling has occurred
vcgencmd get_throttledDisplay memory split between ARM CPU and GPU in separate queries
vcgencmd get_mem arm && vcgencmd get_mem gpuPrint firmware version and compilation date to identify Pi model and software version
vcgencmd versionContinuously monitor temperature and CPU clock speed, updating every second
watch -n 1 'vcgencmd measure_temp && vcgencmd measure_clock arm'Query a specific integer configuration value from the firmware
vcgencmd get_config int_address