inotify_rm_watch(2)

✨ inotify_rm_watch(2) ✨

okay bestie so this is a page from the System Calls Manual 💖 it's literally called inotify_rm_watch and it lives in section 2, and it's about removing an existing watch from an inotify instance 🎀 yes we're breaking up with a watch. it's not you it's the file descriptor. 💅

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🫶 NAME 🫶

inotify_rm_watch — remove an existing watch from an inotify instance

no cap, that's the whole thing. you had a watch, now you don't. character development ✨

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📚 LIBRARY 📚

Standard C library (libc, -lc)

yep bestie you gotta link the libc, -lc, standard behavior, iconic 💜

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

#include <sys/inotify.h>

int inotify_rm_watch(int fd, int wd);

two ints in, one int out. it's giving minimalism. it's giving elegance. 🎀

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so inotify_rm_watch() removes the watch associated with the watch descriptor wd from the inotify instance associated with the file descriptor fd.

that's it. that's the function. you hand it the fd (the inotify instance, the whole vibe) and the wd (the specific watch descriptor, the one little watch you're sick of), and it un-watches it. bye bestie 👋

and here's the fun part — the plot twist, the lore drop — removing a watch causes an IN_IGNORED event to be generated for this watch descriptor. 👀 like, the watch doesn't just ghost you silently, it files an official event about it. (go read inotify(7) for the details, iykyk) 📖

fr fr, expect that IN_IGNORED event in your event stream. it's not a bug it's a feature, it's the watch going "aight imma head out" 💀

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⭐ RETURN VALUE ⭐

• On success, inotify_rm_watch() returns zero ✨ slay.
• On error, -1 is returned and errno is set to indicate the error 😭

so fr fr, check your return value. zero means we ate. -1 means we gotta go read errno and have a little cry. 🫶

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💀 ERRORS 💀

• EBADF — fd is not a valid file descriptor. that fd is not real, not valid, not welcome here. 💅
• EINVAL — the watch descriptor wd is not valid; or fd is not an inotify file descriptor. like, you gave me a wd that doesn't exist, OR you gave me an fd that isn't even an inotify file descriptor. either way bestie, no. 🚫

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👑 STANDARDS 👑

Linux. that's it. that's the standard. 🇱🇮🇳🇺🇽

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🎀 HISTORY 🎀

Linux 2.6.13. an elder. a legend. it's been here since forever and it's still serving. ⭐

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• inotify_add_watch(2) — the other half of the duo, the one that ADDS the watch. they're literally a matched set. 🦋
• inotify_init(2) — where the inotify instance comes from in the first place. the origin story. 🌸
• inotify(7) — the full lore, the IN_IGNORED deep dive, everything you ever wanted to know. read it, bestie. 📖

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okay that's the whole page, no cap 💖 this one's from Linux man-pages 6.20, dated 2026-02-08 — so like, shoutout to the man-pages girlies for keeping the docs fresh ✨ go remove some watches responsibly, mwah 🎀👑💅