alloc_inode(9)

💖 NAME 💖

okay so this is the Kernel API Manual page for alloc_inode(9), and the name is literally the whole plot: obtain an inode. bestie, that's it, that's the job. ✨

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

struct inode * alloc_inode (struct super_block *sb );

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• sb — superblock. yes, that kind of superblock. 💅

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

Allocates a new inode for the given superblock. easy enough, right? But here's the little plot twist: the inode won't be chained in the superblock s_inodes list. 🙈

and because it's not on that list, this means:

• the filesystem can't be unmounted — "fs can't be unmount" is the original energy, and no, we do not love that
• quotas, fsnotify, and writeback can't work 😭

bestie, this is a real caveat, not a cute accessory: if the inode isn't chained into s_inodes, those systems are not going to do their thing. periodt. 💀

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

also peep the Kernel file ./fs/inode.c, plus all these related icons:

• inode_init_always_gfp(9)
• drop_nlink(9)
• clear_nlink(9)
• set_nlink(9)
• inc_nlink(9)
• inode_sb_list_add(9)
• __insert_inode_hash(9)
• __remove_inode_hash(9)
• evict_inodes(9)
• new_inode(9)
• unlock_new_inode(9)
• lock_two_nondirectories(9)
• unlock_two_nondirectories(9)
• inode_insert5(9)
• iget5_locked(9)
• iget5_locked_rcu(9)
• iget_locked(9)
• iunique(9)
• ihold(9)
• ilookup5_nowait(9)
• ilookup5(9)
• ilookup(9)
• find_inode_nowait(9)
• find_inode_rcu(9)
• find_inode_by_ino_rcu(9)
• iput(9)
• iput_not_last(9)
• bmap(9)
• inode_update_time(9)
• generic_update_time(9)
• atime_needs_update(9)
• file_remove_privs(9)
• current_time(9)
• file_update_time(9)
• file_modified_flags(9)
• file_modified(9)
• kiocb_modified(9)
• inode_init_owner(9)
• inode_owner_or_capable(9)
• inode_dio_wait(9)
• timestamp_truncate(9)
• inode_set_ctime_current(9)
• inode_set_ctime_deleg(9)
• in_group_or_capable(9)
• mode_strip_sgid(9)
• dump_inode(9)

mwah 💋 — source/version spot is ./fs, dated October 2026, and this page is alloc_inode(9). go obtain responsibly, bestie 🫶