intptr_t(3type)

💖 intptr_t — the manual page, but make it make sense 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to the <bold>intptr_t(3type)</bold> glow-up 💅 this is the man page for the pointer-sized integer types, and honestly? they're lowkey the moment. no cap.

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✨ NAME ✨

intptr_t, uintptr_t — integer types wide enough to hold pointers 🫶

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📚 LIBRARY 📚

Standard C library (libc) 🎀

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <stdint.h>

typedef /* ... */ intptr_t;
typedef /* ... */ uintptr_t;

#define INTPTR_WIDTH  /* ... */
#define UINTPTR_WIDTH INTPTR_WIDTH

#define INTPTR_MAX    /*  2**(INTPTR_WIDTH - 1) - 1  */
#define INTPTR_MIN    /*  - 2**(INTPTR_WIDTH - 1)    */
#define UINTPTR_MAX   /*  2**UINTPTR_WIDTH - 1       */

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

intptr_t is a signed integer type with main character energy for one very specific job: any valid (void *) value can be converted to this type, and then converted back again. it's capable of storing values in the range [INTPTR_MIN, INTPTR_MAX] ✨

uintptr_t is the unsigned sibling doing the exact same trick — any valid (void *) value converts into it and back again, no cap. it can store values in the range [0, UINTPTR_MAX] 💜

the macros [U]INTPTR_WIDTH expand to the width in bits of these types 📏

the macros [U]INTPTR_MAX expand to the maximum value these types can hold 🔥

the macro INTPTR_MIN expands to the minimum value that intptr_t can hold 🌸

okay now the printf(3) family tea ☕ the length modifiers for the [u]intptr_t types are expanded by the macros PRIdPTR, PRIiPTR, and PRIuPTR (defined in <inttypes.h>); resulting commonly in %"PRIdPTR" or %"PRIiPTR" for printing intptr_t values 👑

and for the scanf(3) family, the length modifiers for the [u]intptr_t types are expanded by the macros SCNdPTR, SCNiPTR, and SCNuPTR (defined in <inttypes.h>); resulting commonly in %"SCNuPTR" for scanning uintptr_t values 🍓

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👑 STANDARDS 👑

• [u]intptr_t
• [U]INTPTR_MAX
• INTPTR_MIN

→ C23, POSIX.1-2024 💖

• [U]INTPTR_WIDTH

→ C23 ✨

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🌈 HISTORY 🌈

• [u]intptr_t

→ SUSv2, C99, POSIX.1-2001 XSI 🎀

• [U]INTPTR_MAX
• INTPTR_MIN

→ C99, POSIX.1-2001 XSI 💅

• [U]INTPTR_WIDTH

→ C23 🦋

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🎀 NOTES 🎀

heads up bestie, this other header also provides these types: <inttypes.h> 🙈

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💖 SEE ALSO 💖

intmax_t(3type), void(3) ⭐

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and that's the whole vibe, bestie — this page was brought to you by the Linux man-pages 6.20, dated 2026-02-08, filed under intptr_t(3type). slay, stay pointer-safe, and hydrate 💧🫶💜