Command
n choked
Stalled socket detection
Short forms:
chok · backlog · stalledUsage — n choked
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Netscrew ("n") — choked (chok, backlog, stalled) — Stalled-socket detection (queues backed up in both samples)
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USAGE:
n chok . audit this machine's sockets for stuck send/recv queues
Target: . = this machine · <host> = remote
Deeper: n chok -h = the concept/theory behind this command
The concept behind it — n choked -h
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NETSCREW GUIDE: Stalled Processes & Choked Sockets ("n choked")
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WHAT IS A CHOKED SOCKET?
On a LISTEN socket, the Recv-Q column represents the backlog of fully completed
TCP 3-way handshakes waiting for the userland application to call accept().
Normally this queue is 0.
SYMPTOMS OF CHOKING:
• If Recv-Q > 0 on a listening port, the application's event loop is frozen,
deadlocked, thrashing on CPU, or overwhelmed by incoming requests.
• Clients attempting to connect experience severe lag, hangs, or Connection Timed Out.
HOW TO RESOLVE:
• Run n p . <PORT> on the affected port to identify the process name and PID.
• Check the application logs or thread dump for deadlocks.
• Restart the stuck daemon or scale worker threads.
HOW n choked MEASURES IT:
Takes two snapshots one second apart and reports only sockets whose queues were
non-empty in both — a single busy moment is normal and is not reported.
• Linux: all TCP/UDP sockets via ss -tuan (listen backlogs included).
• macOS: connected TCP and UDP via netstat -an; listen backlogs are not visible.
• Windows: not supported — Windows exposes no per-socket queue depths, so nothing is checked.