ERR_PTR(9)

💖 ERR_PTR(9) 💖

okay so welcome to the Kernel API Manual, bestie — today's episode is all about ERR_PTR(9), and honestly it's a little icon. let's get into it 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

ERR_PTR — creates an error pointer. that's it, that's the whole job, and she does it flawlessly 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

void * ERR_PTR (long error );

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🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• error — a negative error code. that's the vibe check: it's gotta be negative, no cap 🫶

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⭐ DESCRIPTION ⭐

so what she does is she encodes error into a pointer value. like, the number goes inside the pointer. sneaky but gorgeous 💜

and here's the part where you mind your business: users should consider the result opaque and not assume anything about how the error is encoded. do not go poking at the internals, bestie, it's giving "trust the process" 😭

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🔥 RETURN 🔥

a pointer with the error encoded within its value. slay ✨

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• the kernel file ./include/linux/err.h — that's where she lives 🏠
• IS_ERR_VALUE(9)
• INIT_ERR_PTR(9)
• PTR_ERR(9)
• IS_ERR(9)
• IS_ERR_OR_NULL(9)
• ERR_CAST(9)
• PTR_ERR_OR_ZERO(9)

the whole friend group honestly, go read them all, iykyk 👑

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and that's the page!! brought to you by ./include/linux, dated October 2026 — mwah, ily, go write some beautiful error pointers 💖🎀🦋