DATA PATH HELPERS(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💅 DATA PATH HELPERS (9) 💅

ok so bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual, section 9 — yes this is the kernel-adjacent girlie zone, buckle up 🎀

✨ DATA PATH HELPERS ✨

okay so picture this: cfg80211 already comes with a whole pile of generic utilities — love that for us, no notes 💅 — but that's not all she does. nope!

on top of those generic utilities, cfg80211 also ships a set of functions that are literally there to help you implement the data path, specifically for devices that do not do the 802.11/802.3 conversion on the device 🦋

read that again, because it's the whole vibe of this page:

some devices just do not handle the 802.11/802.3 conversion themselves — and these helpers are the ones that step in to help with the data path for exactly those devices ✨

it's giving "the kernel has your back" energy, fr fr 🫶

more parts are coming, so don't go anywhere 👑

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

okay bestie, this is the SEE ALSO of all SEE ALSOs 💅 like, the kernel doc really just dumped the whole group chat on you. everything down here is another (9) page hanging out in the Kernel file ./include/net/cfg80211.h universe, so grab a snack 🍓 and let's get into it.

🌸 the fundamentals, bands & caps

start here if you're new, no cap:

Introduction(9), Device registration(9), enum ieee80211_channel_flags(9), struct ieee80211_channel(9), enum ieee80211_rate_flags(9), enum ieee80211_bss_type(9), enum ieee80211_privacy(9), struct ieee80211_rate(9), struct ieee80211_he_obss_pd(9), struct cfg80211_he_bss_color(9)

the rate/cap girlies, they're literally iconic:

struct ieee80211_sta_ht_cap(9), struct ieee80211_sta_vht_cap(9), struct ieee80211_sta_he_cap(9), struct ieee80211_eht_mcs_nss_supp(9), struct ieee80211_sta_eht_cap(9), struct ieee80211_sta_uhr_cap(9), struct ieee80211_sband_iftype_data(9), enum ieee80211_edmg_bw_config(9), struct ieee80211_edmg(9), struct ieee80211_sta_s1g_cap(9), struct ieee80211_supported_band(9)

and the sband iftype helper squad 🫶 (yes the underscore one is right there too, don't @ me):

_ieee80211_set_sband_iftype_data(9), ieee80211_set_sband_iftype_data(9), for_each_sband_iftype_data(9), ieee80211_get_sband_iftype_data(9), ieee80211_get_he_iftype_cap(9), ieee80211_get_he_6ghz_capa(9), ieee80211_get_eht_iftype_cap(9), ieee80211_get_uhr_iftype_cap(9), wiphy_read_of_freq_limits(9)

🎀 Actions and configuration

the big one. this is the main character section honestly:

Actions and configuration(9), struct vif_params(9), struct key_params(9), struct cfg80211_chan_def(9), struct cfg80211_tid_cfg(9), struct cfg80211_tid_config(9), struct cfg80211_fils_aad(9), struct cfg80211_set_hw_timestamp(9)

channel definition helpers, the chandef girlies ate 🔥:

cfg80211_get_chandef_type(9), cfg80211_chandef_create(9), cfg80211_chandef_identical(9), cfg80211_chandef_is_edmg(9), cfg80211_chandef_is_s1g(9), cfg80211_chandef_compatible(9), nl80211_chan_width_to_mhz(9), cfg80211_chandef_get_width(9), cfg80211_chandef_valid(9), cfg80211_chandef_usable(9)

DFS + the fancy new width stuff:

cfg80211_chandef_dfs_required(9), cfg80211_chandef_dfs_usable(9), cfg80211_chandef_dfs_cac_time(9), cfg80211_chandef_primary(9), cfg80211_chandef_npca_valid(9), cfg80211_chandef_add_npca(9), cfg80211_chandef_add_dbe(9), nl80211_send_chandef(9), ieee80211_chandef_max_power(9), cfg80211_chandef_s1g_pri_width(9), cfg80211_any_usable_channels(9)

survey + crypto + the beacon-y structs:

enum survey_info_flags(9), struct survey_info(9), struct cfg80211_crypto_settings(9), struct cfg80211_mbssid_config(9), struct cfg80211_mbssid_elems(9), struct cfg80211_rnr_elems(9), struct cfg80211_beacon_data(9), struct cfg80211_acl_data(9), struct cfg80211_fils_discovery(9), struct cfg80211_unsol_bcast_probe_resp(9), struct cfg80211_s1g_short_beacon(9)

AP settings & friends, lowkey a lot of them:

struct cfg80211_ap_settings(9), struct cfg80211_ap_update(9), struct cfg80211_csa_settings(9), struct cfg80211_color_change_settings(9), struct iface_combination_params(9)

stations!! this whole crew:

enum station_parameters_apply_mask(9), struct sta_txpwr(9), struct link_station_parameters(9), struct link_station_del_parameters(9), struct cfg80211_ttlm_params(9), struct station_parameters(9), struct station_del_parameters(9), enum cfg80211_station_type(9), cfg80211_check_station_change(9)

rate info + bss params + tid stats:

enum rate_info_flags(9), enum rate_info_bw(9), struct rate_info(9), enum bss_param_flags(9), struct sta_bss_parameters(9), struct cfg80211_txq_stats(9), struct cfg80211_tid_stats(9), struct link_station_info(9), struct station_info(9)

SAR stuff (power limits bestie, be responsible ✨) and the rest:

struct cfg80211_sar_sub_specs(9), struct cfg80211_sar_specs(9), struct cfg80211_sar_freq_ranges(9), struct cfg80211_sar_capa(9), cfg80211_get_station(9), enum monitor_flags(9), enum mpath_info_flags(9), struct mpath_info(9), enum wiphy_bss_param_flags(9), struct bss_parameters(9), struct mesh_config(9), struct mesh_setup(9), struct ocb_setup(9), struct ieee80211_txq_params(9)

🔍 Scanning and BSS list handling

scanning era 🌈:

Scanning and BSS list handling(9), struct cfg80211_ssid(9), struct cfg80211_scan_info(9), struct cfg80211_scan_6ghz_params(9), struct cfg80211_scan_request(9), struct cfg80211_match_set(9), struct cfg80211_sched_scan_plan(9), struct cfg80211_bss_select_adjust(9), struct cfg80211_sched_scan_request(9), enum cfg80211_signal_type(9)

BSS reporting + lookup:

struct cfg80211_inform_bss(9), struct cfg80211_bss_ies(9), struct cfg80211_bss(9), ieee80211_bss_get_elem(9), ieee80211_bss_get_ie(9)

auth / assoc / deauth / disassoc — the whole situationship 💀:

struct cfg80211_auth_request(9), struct cfg80211_assoc_link(9), struct cfg80211_ml_reconf_req(9), enum cfg80211_assoc_req_flags(9), struct cfg80211_assoc_request(9), struct cfg80211_deauth_request(9), struct cfg80211_disassoc_request(9)

ibss + connect + power save stuff:

struct cfg80211_ibss_params(9), struct cfg80211_bss_selection(9), struct cfg80211_connect_params(9), enum cfg80211_connect_params_changed(9), enum wiphy_params_flags(9), struct cfg80211_pmksa(9), struct cfg80211_pkt_pattern(9), struct cfg80211_wowlan_tcp(9)

wowlan & coalesce & wakeup (sleepy time 😴):

struct cfg80211_wowlan(9), struct cfg80211_coalesce_rules(9), struct cfg80211_coalesce(9), struct cfg80211_wowlan_nd_match(9), struct cfg80211_wowlan_nd_info(9), struct cfg80211_wowlan_wakeup(9), struct cfg80211_gtk_rekey_data(9), struct cfg80211_update_ft_ies_params(9), struct cfg80211_mgmt_tx_params(9), struct cfg80211_dscp_exception(9), struct cfg80211_dscp_range(9), struct cfg80211_qos_map(9)

💜 NAN, PMSR, auth & frame regs

NAN bestie!! 🦋

Neighbor Awareness Networking (NAN)(9), struct cfg80211_nan_band_config(9), struct cfg80211_nan_conf(9), struct cfg80211_nan_channel(9), struct cfg80211_nan_local_sched(9), struct cfg80211_nan_peer_map(9), struct cfg80211_nan_peer_sched(9), enum cfg80211_nan_conf_changes(9), struct cfg80211_nan_func_filter(9), struct cfg80211_nan_func(9)

then the pmk / external auth / ranging crowd:

struct cfg80211_pmk_conf(9), struct cfg80211_external_auth_params(9), struct cfg80211_ftm_responder_stats(9), struct cfg80211_pmsr_ftm_result(9), struct cfg80211_pmsr_result(9), struct cfg80211_pmsr_ftm_request_peer(9), struct cfg80211_pmsr_request_peer(9), struct cfg80211_pmsr_request(9), struct cfg80211_update_owe_info(9), struct mgmt_frame_regs(9)

👑 ops & wiphy (the whole kingdom)

struct cfg80211_ops(9), enum wiphy_flags(9), struct ieee80211_iface_limit(9), struct ieee80211_iface_combination(9), enum wiphy_wowlan_support_flags(9), struct wiphy_wowlan_support(9), struct wiphy_coalesce_support(9), enum wiphy_vendor_command_flags(9), enum wiphy_opmode_flag(9), struct sta_opmode_info(9)

vendor command + iftype capa + radio cfg:

struct wiphy_vendor_command(9), struct wiphy_iftype_ext_capab(9), cfg80211_get_iftype_ext_capa(9), struct cfg80211_pmsr_capabilities(9), struct wiphy_iftype_akm_suites(9), struct wiphy_radio_cfg(9), struct wiphy_radio_freq_range(9), struct wiphy_radio(9), enum wiphy_nan_flags(9), struct wiphy_nan_capa(9)

the wiphy lifecycle, A to Z slay:

struct wiphy(9), wiphy_priv(9), priv_to_wiphy(9), set_wiphy_dev(9), wiphy_dev(9), wiphy_name(9), wiphy_new_nm(9), wiphy_new(9), wiphy_register(9), rcu_dereference_wiphy(9), wiphy_dereference(9), get_wiphy_regdom(9), wiphy_unregister(9), wiphy_free(9)

locking + the work queue family (there are SO many of these, obsessed):

wiphy_lock(9), wiphy_unlock(9), wiphy_work_queue(9), wiphy_work_cancel(9), wiphy_work_flush(9), wiphy_delayed_work_queue(9), wiphy_delayed_work_cancel(9), wiphy_delayed_work_flush(9), wiphy_delayed_work_pending(9), wiphy_hrtimer_work_queue(9), wiphy_hrtimer_work_cancel(9), wiphy_hrtimer_work_flush(9), wiphy_hrtimer_work_pending(9)

and the wireless_dev trio:

enum ieee80211_ap_reg_power(9), struct wireless_dev(9), wdev_priv(9), wdev_chandef(9)

🛠️ Utility functions

the helpful little guys 💖:

Utility functions(9), ieee80211_channel_equal(9), ieee80211_channel_to_khz(9), ieee80211_channel_to_freq_khz(9), ieee80211_channel_to_frequency(9), ieee80211_freq_khz_to_channel(9), ieee80211_frequency_to_channel(9), ieee80211_get_channel_khz(9), ieee80211_get_channel(9), cfg80211_channel_is_psc(9)

radio/chandef validation + rates:

ieee80211_radio_freq_range_valid(9), cfg80211_radio_chandef_valid(9), cfg80211_wdev_channel_allowed(9), ieee80211_get_response_rate(9), ieee80211_mandatory_rates(9)

radiotap + header length + the 8023 conversions (the way these just keep going 😭):

struct ieee80211_radiotap_iterator(9), ieee80211_get_hdrlen_from_skb(9), ieee80211_hdrlen(9), ieee80211_get_mesh_hdrlen(9), ieee80211_data_to_8023_exthdr(9), ieee80211_data_to_8023(9), ieee80211_is_valid_amsdu(9), ieee80211_amsdu_to_8023s(9), ieee80211_get_8023_tunnel_proto(9), ieee80211_strip_8023_mesh_hdr(9), cfg80211_classify8021d(9)

element / IE finders, one per flavour, no notes:

cfg80211_find_elem_match(9), cfg80211_find_ie_match(9), cfg80211_find_elem(9), cfg80211_find_ie(9), cfg80211_find_ext_elem(9), cfg80211_find_ext_ie(9), cfg80211_find_vendor_elem(9), cfg80211_find_vendor_ie(9), enum cfg80211_rnr_iter_ret(9), cfg80211_iter_rnr(9), cfg80211_defragment_element(9), cfg80211_send_layer2_update(9)

Regulatory enforcement infrastructure(9), regulatory_hint(9), regulatory_set_wiphy_regd(9), regulatory_set_wiphy_regd_sync(9), wiphy_apply_custom_regulatory(9), freq_reg_info(9), reg_initiator_name(9), regulatory_pre_cac_allowed(9)

internal db stuff:

Internal regulatory db functions(9), reg_query_regdb_wmm(9)

📨 notifications: scan, BSS, mlme

cfg80211_scan_done(9), cfg80211_sched_scan_results(9), cfg80211_sched_scan_stopped(9), cfg80211_sched_scan_stopped_locked(9)

BSS informing + lookups:

cfg80211_inform_bss_frame_data(9), cfg80211_gen_new_bssid(9), cfg80211_is_element_inherited(9), cfg80211_merge_profile(9), enum cfg80211_bss_frame_type(9), cfg80211_get_ies_channel_number(9), cfg80211_ssid_eq(9), cfg80211_inform_bss_data(9), __cfg80211_get_bss(9), cfg80211_get_bss(9), cfg80211_ref_bss(9), cfg80211_put_bss(9), cfg80211_unlink_bss(9), cfg80211_bss_iter(9)

mlme events, lit rally all of them:

cfg80211_rx_mlme_mgmt(9), cfg80211_auth_timeout(9), struct cfg80211_rx_assoc_resp_data(9), cfg80211_rx_assoc_resp(9), struct cfg80211_assoc_failure(9), cfg80211_assoc_failure(9), cfg80211_tx_mlme_mgmt(9), cfg80211_rx_unprot_mlme_mgmt(9), cfg80211_michael_mic_failure(9), cfg80211_ibss_joined(9), cfg80211_notify_new_peer_candidate(9)

📡 RFkill integration, Vendor commands, Test mode

rfkill trio:

RFkill integration(9), wiphy_rfkill_set_hw_state_reason(9), wiphy_rfkill_start_polling(9), wiphy_rfkill_stop_polling(9)

vendor commands 🫶:

Vendor commands(9), cfg80211_vendor_cmd_alloc_reply_skb(9), cfg80211_vendor_cmd_reply(9), cfg80211_vendor_cmd_get_sender(9), cfg80211_vendor_event_alloc(9), cfg80211_vendor_event_alloc_ucast(9), cfg80211_vendor_event(9)

test mode:

Test mode(9), cfg80211_testmode_alloc_reply_skb(9), cfg80211_testmode_reply(9), cfg80211_testmode_alloc_event_skb(9), cfg80211_testmode_event(9)

🔥 connect / disconnect / roaming / mgmt frame reporting

connect resp era:

struct cfg80211_fils_resp_params(9), struct cfg80211_connect_resp_params(9), cfg80211_connect_done(9), cfg80211_connect_bss(9), cfg80211_connect_result(9), cfg80211_connect_timeout(9), struct cfg80211_roam_info(9), cfg80211_roamed(9), cfg80211_port_authorized(9), cfg80211_disconnected(9)

remain-on-channel + tx mgmt expiry:

cfg80211_ready_on_channel(9), cfg80211_remain_on_channel_expired(9), cfg80211_tx_mgmt_expired(9)

station info + sta add/del:

cfg80211_sinfo_alloc_tid_stats(9), cfg80211_link_sinfo_alloc_tid_stats(9), cfg80211_sinfo_release_content(9), cfg80211_new_sta(9), cfg80211_del_sta_sinfo(9), cfg80211_del_sta(9), cfg80211_conn_failed(9)

rx/tx info & mgmt status:

struct cfg80211_rx_info(9), cfg80211_rx_mgmt_ext(9), cfg80211_rx_mgmt_khz(9), cfg80211_rx_mgmt(9), struct cfg80211_tx_status(9), cfg80211_mgmt_tx_status_ext(9), cfg80211_mgmt_tx_status(9), cfg80211_control_port_tx_status(9), cfg80211_rx_control_port(9)

cqm notifications (rssi, packet loss, txe, beacon loss):

cfg80211_cqm_rssi_notify(9), cfg80211_cqm_pktloss_notify(9), cfg80211_cqm_txe_notify(9), cfg80211_cqm_beacon_loss_notify(9)

radar / cac / opmode:

__cfg80211_radar_event(9), cfg80211_sta_opmode_change_notify(9), cfg80211_cac_event(9), cfg80211_background_cac_abort(9)

the last little fam 🧚:

cfg80211_gtk_rekey_notify(9), cfg80211_pmksa_candidate_notify(9), cfg80211_rx_spurious_frame(9), cfg80211_rx_unexpected_4addr_frame(9), cfg80211_probe_status(9), cfg80211_report_obss_beacon_khz(9), cfg80211_report_obss_beacon(9), struct cfg80211_beaconing_check_config(9),

Okay so the reference list keeps going, bestie — buckle up, we're in the cross-reference era of this page 💅

That's the regulatory + channel-switch + IE-parsing chunk, and honestly it's giving "i have a function for literally everything" energy ✨ if you need a band, a chandef, a bitrate, or a whole netdevice torn down, the list has you covered fr fr.

The NAN cluster, the colour-change notifications, and the MLO reconf crowd all showing up together? main character energy, no cap 👑 notice how the notify-flavoured ones come in little families (started / aborted / plain old notify) — that's just how the kernel likes to gossip about state changes, iykyk.

More NAN (discovery windows, cluster joins, ULW updates, channel evacuation 💀), the debugfs pair (read and write, matching set, we love symmetry 🫶), the S1G frequency helpers, and finally cfg80211_incumbent_signal_notify(9) bringing up the rear.

That's the whole list, bestie — every single reference, nothing cut, nothing merged. If you're grepping for one of these and it's not here, it's not in the original either, so don't come for me 😭

And that's a wrap on the whole page! 🌸 This little beauty lives under ./include/net, it's dated October 2026, and it goes by Data path helpers(9) — slay, ate, periodt 🎀 Now go forth and read the actual functions, you absolute icon 💖🧚

📦 where this page comes from