SocketCAN Cheat Sheet

A quick reference of common SocketCAN use cases and commands.

# Set up a physical CAN device
sudo ip link set can0 type can bitrate 500000   # add the device and set bitrate
sudo ip link set up can0                        # devices start down, bring it up

# Set up a Virtual CAN device
# Virtual CAN — try with no hardware
sudo modprobe vcan                      #Load kernel module - only required once
sudo ip link add dev vcan0 type vcan
sudo ip link set up vcan0

# Inspect
ip link show                                # list interfaces
ip -details -statistics link show vcan0     # detailed counters, error state, and bitrate timing

# Recover - bring device down then up
sudo ip link set down can0
sudo ip link set up can0