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cat /proc/sys/kernel/random/uuid [I ❤️ Linux] (feddit.org)

submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

33 comments fedilink hide all child comments

That's all. I just found this in a random script. Generates a random UUID every time it's called. I didn't know.

Of course I can also use uuidgen or pipe /dev/(u)random into something to get a random alphanumeric string - but this is built right into the kernel!

In /proc/sys/kernel/random/, there's also boot_id which ~~seems to do the same~~ is static, and some tweakable parameters.

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[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 day ago (20 children)

See also: /dev/null

It’s basically a black hole where you can throw anything.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (17 children)

cat /proc/sys/kernel/random/uuid > /dev/null

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Would have to be cat /proc/sys/kernel/random/uuid > /dev/null

You can't pipe to a file, only to programs, and since /dev/null isn't an executable your command will simply give an error.

To make it more clear, consider using dd, which lets you explicitly specify an input and output file. For example: dd if=/proc/sys/kernel/random/uuid of=/dev/sda1 wait shit that wasn't the right output oh god oh fu