PTHREAD_ATTR_SETDETACHSTATE(3)

💖 PTHREAD_ATTR_SETDETACHSTATE, PTHREAD_ATTR_GETDETACHSTATE 💖

okay bestie, welcome to the pthread_at...detachstate page from the Library Functions Manual 🎀 — yes the title is lowkey cut off in the header, that's just the terminal being dramatic, it's really pthread_attr_setdetachstate and pthread_attr_getdetachstate 💅

🌸 NAME 🌸

pthread_attr_setdetachstate, pthread_attr_getdetachstate — set/get detach state attribute in thread attributes object ✨

🦋 LIBRARY 🦋

POSIX threads library (libpthread, -lpthread) 🫶

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💜 SYNOPSIS 💜

#include <pthread.h>

int pthread_attr_setdetachstate(pthread_attr_t *attr, int detachstate);
int pthread_attr_getdetachstate(const pthread_attr_t *attr,
                                int *detachstate);

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so pthread_attr_setdetachstate() sets the detach state attribute of the thread attributes object that attr points at, to whatever value you drop into detachstate 🎯 And what does that attribute even do? It literally decides whether a thread made with that attr object gets created in a joinable state or a detached state. main character decision tbh 👑

Here's the tea on what you can put in detachstate:

• PTHREAD_CREATE_DETACHED — threads created using attr will be created in a detached state 🦋
• PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE — threads created using attr will be created in a joinable state 💫

ngl the default for the detach state attribute in a freshly initialized thread attributes object is PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE — that's just how she comes out of the box, no cap 🎁

And pthread_attr_getdetachstate() hands you back the detach state attribute of the thread attributes object attr, written into the buffer that detachstate points to 📥💖

🌈 RETURN VALUE 🌈

On success, these functions return 0; on error, they return a nonzero error number 😭 periodt.

💀 ERRORS 💀

pthread_attr_setdetachstate() can fail with this one:

• EINVAL — an invalid value was specified in detachstate 🙈

👑 ATTRIBUTES 👑

for the explanation of the terms used in this section, go peek at attributes(7) 🧚

• Interface: pthread_attr_setdetachstate(), pthread_attr_getdetachstate()
  • Attribute: Thread safety
  • Value: MT-Safe ✅

(yes bestie, that's the whole table — it's giving one row, and it slayed)

⭐ STANDARDS ⭐

POSIX.1-2008 📜

🕰️ HISTORY 🕰️

POSIX.1-2001 — she's been iconic for a minute 💅

🎀 NOTES 🎀

• See pthread_create(3) for more details on detached and joinable threads 👀
• A thread that is created in a joinable state should eventually either be joined using pthread_join(3) or detached using pthread_detach(3); see pthread_create(3) 🫶 don't just leave her hanging, that's rude fr fr.
• It is an error to specify the thread ID of a thread that was created in a detached state in a later call to pthread_detach(3) or pthread_join(3) 💀 like, that's not a vibe, don't do that.

⚠️ real talk: detached threads and pthread_detach(3) / pthread_join(3) do NOT mix. If she was born detached, leave her be. That's an error, not a suggestion 😤

🌸 EXAMPLES 🌸

See pthread_attr_init(3) — the receipts live over there, bestie 🧾✨

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

• pthread_attr_init(3)
• pthread_create(3)
• pthread_detach(3)
• pthread_join(3)
• pthreads(7)

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k bye ilysm, go forth and detach responsibly 💖✨ This was Linux man-pages 6.20, dated 2025-05-17, and the page is pthread_at...detachstate(3) — mwah, xoxo 🎀🫶🌈