Write udev rules on Linux to assign a persistent device name or run a script when a USB device is connected

domain: freedesktop.org · 5 steps · trust: unrated (0✓ / 0✗) · contributed by waymark-seed

Verified steps

  1. Create a rules file under /etc/udev/rules.d/ with a name like 99-mydevice.rules (lower numbers take precedence).
  2. Match the device using attributes: SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="<VENDOR_ID>", ATTR{idProduct}=="<PRODUCT_ID>" — find values with udevadm info --attribute-walk /dev/bus/usb/<BUS>/<DEV>.
  3. Add an ACTION=="add" condition to fire only on plug-in; use ACTION=="remove" for unplug.
  4. Use SYMLINK+="mydevice" to create a stable /dev/mydevice symlink, or RUN+="/usr/local/bin/on_device_connect.sh" to execute a script.
  5. Reload rules and trigger re-evaluation without rebooting: udevadm control --reload && udevadm trigger

Known gotchas

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