assign_work(9)

🎀 assign_work(9) — Kernel API Manual 🎀

okay so welcome to the Kernel API Manual page for assign_work(9), bestie. This is the workqueue assignment lore, and it’s lowkey iconic. Let’s get into it 💅✨

✨ NAME ✨

assign_work — assign a work item and its linked work items to a worker. That’s the whole vibe: one work item, its linked besties, one worker. 🫶

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

       bool assign_work (struct work_struct *work , struct worker *worker ,
       struct work_struct **nextp );

💖 ARGUMENTS 💖

• work — the work to assign. The main-character work item, fr fr.
• worker — the worker to assign to. The one getting the assignment. 💼
• nextp — out parameter for nested worklist walking. yes, it’s the pointer-to-pointer that lets you walk nested worklists. 🌀

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

Assign work and its linked work items to worker. If work is already being executed by another worker in the same pool, it’ll be punted there. no cap, that’s the rule. 🏓

If nextp is not NULL, it’s updated to point to the next work of the last scheduled work. This allows assign_work to be nested inside list_for_each_entry_safe. So yes, nesting is allowed, and it’s giving very convenient 💅.

Returns true if work was successfully assigned to worker. false if work was punted to another worker already executing it. That’s the return-value tea. 🍵

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

Kernel file ./kernel/workqueue.c — and the whole workqueue extended universe is here, bestie:

• Kernel file ./kernel/workqueue.c, plus for_each_pool(9)
• for_each_pool_worker(9), for_each_pwq(9), worker_pool_assign_id(9)
• unbound_effective_cpumask(9), get_work_pool(9), worker_set_flags(9)
• worker_clr_flags(9), worker_enter_idle(9), worker_leave_idle(9)
• find_worker_executing_work(9), move_linked_works(9), kick_pool_pick(9)
• kick_pool(9), wq_worker_running(9), wq_worker_sleeping(9)
• wq_worker_tick(9), wq_worker_last_func(9), wq_node_nr_active(9)
• wq_update_node_max_active(9), get_pwq(9), put_pwq(9)
• put_pwq_unlocked(9), pwq_tryinc_nr_active(9)
• pwq_activate_first_inactive(9), unplug_oldest_pwq(9)
• node_activate_pending_pwq(9), pwq_dec_nr_active(9)
• pwq_dec_nr_in_flight(9), try_to_grab_pending(9), work_grab_pending(9)
• insert_work(9), queue_work_on(9), select_numa_node_cpu(9)
• queue_work_node(9), queue_delayed_work_on(9), mod_delayed_work_on(9)
• queue_rcu_work(9), worker_attach_to_pool(9), worker_detach_from_pool(9)
• create_worker(9), set_worker_dying(9), idle_worker_timeout(9)
• idle_cull_fn(9), maybe_create_worker(9), manage_workers(9)
• process_one_work(9), process_scheduled_works(9), worker_thread(9)
• rescuer_thread(9), check_flush_dependency(9), insert_wq_barrier(9)
• flush_workqueue_prep_pwqs(9), __flush_workqueue(9), drain_workqueue(9)
• flush_work(9), flush_delayed_work(9), flush_rcu_work(9)
• cancel_work_sync(9), cancel_delayed_work(9)
• cancel_delayed_work_sync(9), disable_work(9), disable_work_sync(9)
• enable_work(9), disable_delayed_work(9), disable_delayed_work_sync(9)
• enable_delayed_work(9), schedule_on_each_cpu(9)
• execute_in_process_context(9), free_workqueue_attrs(9)
• alloc_workqueue_attrs(9), init_worker_pool(9), put_unbound_pool(9)
• get_unbound_pool(9), wq_calc_pod_cpumask(9), apply_workqueue_attrs(9)
• unbound_wq_update_pwq(9), wq_adjust_max_active(9), destroy_workqueue(9)
• workqueue_set_max_active(9), workqueue_set_min_active(9)
• current_work(9), current_is_workqueue_rescuer(9)
• current_is_workqueue_mem_reclaim(9), workqueue_congested(9)
• work_busy(9), set_worker_desc(9), print_worker_info(9)
• show_one_workqueue(9), show_one_worker_pool(9), show_all_workqueues(9)
• show_freezable_workqueues(9), rebind_workers(9)
• restore_unbound_workers_cpumask(9), work_on_cpu_key(9)
• freeze_workqueues_begin(9), freeze_workqueues_busy(9)
• thaw_workqueues(9), workqueue_unbound_housekeeping_update(9)
• workqueue_set_unbound_cpumask(9), workqueue_sysfs_register(9)
• workqueue_sysfs_unregister(9), workqueue_init_early(9)
• workqueue_init(9), llc_count_cores(9), llc_populate_cpu_shard_id(9)
• precompute_cache_shard_ids(9), workqueue_init_topology(9)

xoxo, your workqueue-obsessed bestie 💖 — source/version: ./kernel; date: October 2026; page: assign_work(9) 🎀✨