getdirentries(3)

🦋 getdirentries — ok bestie let's talk directory entries 🦋

So this is a page from the Library Functions Manual — the getdirentries(3) one. It's a whole vibe, it's a classic, and honestly you probably don't need it, but we're gonna learn it anyway because I love you. 💖

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✨ NAME ✨

getdirentries — get directory entries in a filesystem-independent format

Like. It reads dir entries. Filesystem-agnostic. Iconic behavior, lowkey.

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📚 LIBRARY 📚

Standard C library (libc, -lc)

That's your link line bestie, <green>-lc</green>. Periodt.

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <dirent.h>

ssize_t getdirentries(size_t size;
                      int fd, char buf[restrict size], size_t size,
                      off_t *restrict basep);

⚠️ bestie look at that synopsis real close before you go typing it at a compiler, okay? write it down character for character, do not freestyle. 🙈

🎀 Feature Test Macro Requirements for glibc 🎀 (go read feature_test_macros(7) if you want the full tea)

getdirentries():
    Since glibc 2.19:
        _DEFAULT_SOURCE
    glibc 2.19 and earlier:
        _BSD_SOURCE || _SVID_SOURCE

So like — new glibc, just _DEFAULT_SOURCE. Old glibc? You need _BSD_SOURCE or _SVID_SOURCE. The way that glibc gates features behind macros… it's giving ✨gatekeeper✨ but we move.

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💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

Okay so here's what it actually does, no cap:

• It reads directory entries from the directory specified by fd and shoves them into buf. 📥
• At most size bytes get read. That's your ceiling, that's the cap, respect it. 🛑
• Reading starts at offset *basep 👈
• and *basep gets updated with the new position after the read. 🔄

So it's like a cursor you hand over and it hands back, moved forward. Cute. Productive. Main character energy. 👑

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⭐ RETURN VALUE ⭐

• On success: getdirentries() returns the number of bytes read, or zero when you've hit the end of the directory. 🏁 (zero = "that's all folks", not an error, don't panic)
• On error: -1 is returned, and errno is set to tell you what went wrong. 💀

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😭 ERRORS 😭

See the Linux library source code for details.

That's it. That's the whole section. It literally says go read the source. It's giving "figure it out bestie" and honestly? Respect. 🔥

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🌈 ATTRIBUTES 🌈

For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see attributes(7). (The original lays this out as a table, but we're doing bullets because tables are not the vibe here.)

• getdirentries() — Thread safety: MT-Safe 🧵✨

(yes that's the only row, she's a simple girl, she's safe across threads, we love her)

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👑 STANDARDS 👑

BSD.

One word. No notes. She said it. 🩷

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🧚 NOTES 🧚

Use opendir(3) and readdir(3) instead.

FR FR bestie — this page is telling you to use opendir(3) and readdir(3) instead. That's the actual manpage talking, not me. Take the hint. 💖

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🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

• lseek(2)
• open(2)

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okay that's the whole page, you ate that, go forth and read directories responsibly 🫶🌸

this has been Linux man-pages 6.20, dated 2026-02-08 — signing off, ily, bye bestie 💜✨