arch___clear_bit_unlock(9)

💅 arch___clear_bit_unlock(9) — the Kernel API Manual page nobody asked for but everybody needs

okay so bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual entry for arch___clear_bit_unlock, and no, that many underscores is not a typo, that's just how she's spelled 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

arch___clear_bit_unlock — clear a bit in memory, for unlock. that's the whole job. clear a bit. for unlocking. she's a specialist, she doesn't do anything else 💅

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

void arch___clear_bit_unlock (unsigned int nr , volatile unsigned long
*addr );

yes queen, void return, so you get nothing back — the side effect is the whole point, periodt ✨

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🌸 ARGUMENTS 🌸

• nr — the bit to set 👀 (yes, the original really says "the bit to set", and we're keeping that energy, no notes)
• addr — the address to start counting from 🎯

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so here's the tea ☕ — this is a weaker form of clear_bit_unlock, the one that __bit_lock_unlock uses. if all the bits in the word are protected by this lock, then some archs can get away with using weaker ops to safely unlock. it's giving "work smarter not harder" fr fr 💅

see for example x86's implementation — she's the icon, she's the moment, go look at her 👑

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• Kernel file ./include/asm-generic/bitops/lock.h 📁 — that's where she lives, that's her address
• arch_test_and_set_bit_lock(9) 🧚 — her locked-up sibling
• arch_clear_bit_unlock(9) 🫶 — her less-cursed cousin

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ok real talk bestie — this is the weak version of the unlock. only reach for it when the arch says all the bits in that word are covered by this lock, iykyk. don't just vibe-check your way into using it on a whim 🙈

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okay and finally, credits and copyrights and all that: this absolute baddie of a page comes from the source path ./include/asm-generic/bitops, dated October 2026, and it's filed under arch___clear_bit_unlock(9) — and that's the whole page, no cap 💜 stay clear, stay unlocked, slay ✨👑