__timer_delete(9)

✨ __timer_delete(9) ✨

ok so like, quick vibe check first: this is from the Kernel API Manual, section 9, and the page is literally called __timer_delete 🎀 (yes, with the double underscore, she's an internal girlie, not for public consumption, iykyk).

---

💖 NAME 💖

__timer_delete — the internal function that deactivates a timer. lowkey the backstage pass of timer teardown 🎟️

---

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

int __timer_delete (struct timer_list *timer , bool shutdown );

---

🌸 ARGUMENTS 🌸

• timer — the timer you're deactivating, bestie. that's the one.
• shutdown — if this is true, it means the timer is about to be shut down permanently. like, forever-forever. no take-backs 💀

---

🧚 DESCRIPTION 🧚

ok so here's the tea ☕: if shutdown is true, then timer->function gets set to NULL under the timer base lock 🔒 — and that's what prevents any further rearming of the timer. not me gatekeeping rearm attempts, but that's literally the point.

and in that case, any attempt to rearm timer after this function returns will be silently ignored 🤫 — no error, no warning, just vibes and nothing happening. periodt.

---

🔥 RETURN 🔥

• 0 — the timer was not pending 🙅‍♀️
• 1 — the timer was pending, and it got deactivated ✨ slay

---

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

• Kernel file ./kernel/time/timer.c, struct timer_base(9)
• __round_jiffies_relative(9)
• round_jiffies(9)
• round_jiffies_relative(9)
• __round_jiffies_up_relative(9)
• round_jiffies_up(9)
• round_jiffies_up_relative(9)
• timer_init_key(9)
• mod_timer_pending(9)
• mod_timer(9)
• timer_reduce(9)
• add_timer(9)
• add_timer_local(9)
• add_timer_global(9)
• add_timer_on(9)
• timer_delete(9)
• timer_shutdown(9)
• __try_to_del_timer_sync(9)
• timer_delete_sync_try(9)
• __timer_delete_sync(9)
• timer_delete_sync(9)
• timer_shutdown_sync(9)
• fetch_next_timer_interrupt_remote(9)
• timer_unlock_remote_bases(9)
• timer_lock_remote_bases(9)
• timer_base_is_idle(9)
• timer_expire_remote(9)
• get_next_timer_interrupt(9)
• timer_base_try_to_set_idle(9)
• timer_clear_idle(9)
• __run_timers(9)

like, that's the whole friend group right there 🫶 go read them too, they're all iconic in their own way.

---

and that's the page!! 💅 this one lives over in ./kernel/time and the version/date on it is October 2026 — so yeah, mark your calendar bestie, she's dated and she's fabulous 🌈⭐💜