---
layout: docs
page_title: USB device plugin
description: |-
  The USB Device Plugin detects USB devices so you can use them in your Nomad workloads. Learn how to configure and install the plugin. Review the plugin's fingerprinted attributes and exposed runtime environment variables.
---

# USB device plugin

Name: `usb`

The `usb` device plugin is used to expose USB devices to Nomad. The USB plugin
is not included within Nomad and requires downloading and providing on each
node.

## Fingerprinted Attributes

| Attribute        | Unit   | Description                                     |
| ---------------- | ------ | ----------------------------------------------- |
| `vendor_id`      | int    | USB VID in decimal format                       |
| `product_id`     | int    | USB PID in decimal format                       |
| `class_id`       | int    | USB Class code in decimal format                |
| `sub_class_id`   | int    | USB SubClass code in decimal format             |
| `protocol_id`    | int    | USB Protocol code in decimal format             |
| `vendor`         | string | Human readable vendor                           |
| `product`        | string | Human readable product                          |
| `description`    | string | Human readable description of the USB device    |
| `classification` | string | Human readable classification of the USB device |
| `serial`         | string | Serial Number of the USB device                 |

## Runtime Environment

The `usb` device plugin exposes the following environment variables:

- `USB_VISIBLE_DEVICES` - List of USB IDs (from the plugin) available to the task.

## Installation Requirements

In order to use the `usb` device plugin the following prerequisites must be
met:

1. GNU/Linux i368/amd64/armv7/arm64 (Other Architectures and OS may work but
   have not been tested)
2. [libusb-1.0](https://github.com/libusb/libusb/wiki) installed

## Installation

To install the `usb` device plugin you will first need to download the binary
for your Nomad client. You can find the latest release of these binaries on
the [release
page](https://gitlab.com/CarbonCollins/nomad-usb-device-plugin/-/releases).

This binary needs to be downloaded into the plugins directory of the Nomad
node and the plugin block then needs to be added. A full example of the
plugin block needed for the `usb` driver can be found under the plugin
configuration section.

## Plugin Configuration

```hcl
plugin "usb" {
  config {
    enabled = true

    included_vendor_ids = [0x1CF1, 0x067b]
    excluded_vendor_ids = []

    included_product_ids = [0x0030, 0x2303]
    excluded_product_ids = []

    fingerprint_period = "1m"
  }
}
```

The `usb` device plugin supports the following configuration in the agent config:

- `enabled` `(bool: true)` - the `usb` driver may be disabled on clients by
  setting this option to `false` (defaults to `true`).

- `included_vendor_ids` (`array<uint16>: []`): An array of VIDs to pass to
  nomad if found

- `excluded_vendor_ids` (`array<uint16>: []`): An array of VIDs to not pass to
  nomad if found (this takes priority over the include list)

- `included_product_ids` (`array<uint16>: []`): An array of PIDs to pass to
  nomad if found

- `excluded_product_ids` (`array<uint16>: []`): An array of PIDs to not pass
  to nomad if found (this takes priority over the include list)

- `fingerprint_period` `(string: "1m")` - The period in which to fingerprint
  for device changes.

## Limitations

Currently the `usb` driver does not automatically provide dev paths for the
USB devices into the task, this means in containerized applications you will
still have to supply the dev path manually e.g. `/dev/ttyUSB0` however this
plugin does allow containerized tasks to only be deployed on nodes which have
specified USB devices connected.

## Other Information

The `usb` device plugin is currently in beta and thus is not recommended for
production use. This will remain the case until the current limitations have
been solved with the plugin. If you find any issues with the `usb` plugin
please raise an issue on the plugins [issues
page](https://gitlab.com/CarbonCollins/nomad-usb-device-plugin/-/issues/new?issue)

### USB Codes

For a full list of available class, subclass, and protocol codes you can see
the [usb-if-defined-class-codes](https://www.usb.org/defined-class-codes) page
on the usb

### USB Vendors & Products

There are several sources where you can find known vendor and product ids for
USB devices. These are independently maintained lists from third parties but
can be useful as a reference.

- [linux-usb.org](http://www.linux-usb.org/)
- [devicehunt.com](https://devicehunt.com/all-usb-vendors)

### Source Code & Compiled Binaries

The source code for this plugin can be found at
[CarbonCollins/nomad-usb-device-plugin](https://gitlab.com/CarbonCollins/nomad-usb-device-plugin). You
will also find pre built binaries on the [releases
page](https://gitlab.com/CarbonCollins/nomad-usb-device-plugin/-/releases).
