cfg80211_get_bss(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💅 cfg80211_get_bss — get a BSS reference

okay so this is from the Kernel API Manual, section 9 (cfg80211_get_bss(9)), and bestie… it's literally the function that hands you a BSS reference. that's the whole vibe. grab a BSS, get a refcount, go live your life ✨

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

struct cfg80211_bss * cfg80211_get_bss (struct wiphy *wiphy , struct
ieee80211_channel *channel , const u8 *bssid , const u8 *ssid , size_t
ssid_len , enum ieee80211_bss_type bss_type , enum ieee80211_privacy
privacy );

like, seven whole arguments, she's high-maintenance but she delivers 🫶

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

  • wiphy — the wiphy this BSS struct belongs to. yes, you gotta tell her which family she's from 🌸
  • channel — the channel to search on, or NULL. give her a channel and she'll stay in her lane; give her NULL and she's searching everywhere 👀
  • bssid — the desired BSSID, or NULL. you want a specific one? drop it here 💅
  • ssid — the desired SSID, or NULL. network name match-up time 🦋
  • ssid_len — length of the SSID, or 0. don't forget her, she's literally the size of the thing you just passed 😭
  • bss_type — type of BSS, see enum ieee80211_bss_type. go read that enum, iykyk 📖
  • privacy — privacy filter, see enum ieee80211_privacy. another enum, another slay 🔥

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so like… this version implies regular usage — NL80211_BSS_USE_FOR_NORMAL. that's it, that's the whole note. no cap. it's giving "normal main character energy" and we respect it 👑

⭐ RETURN ⭐

  • Reference-counted BSS on success 🎉 like okayyy, you got her, but remember she's refcounted so handle her with care, bestie
  • NULL on error 💀 yeah. sometimes it just doesn't work out
ngl the refcount part is the whole point — you get a reference, so somebody's gotta put it back down eventually 🙈 (this page doesn't tell you where — that's a whole other manpage's problem)

🌸 SEE ALSO 🌸

okay so this is the cross-reference section and bestie… it is long. like, unreasonably long. it's basically the entire cfg80211 extended family showing up to the group chat at once 💀 every single name from the original is here in the exact same order, so you can scroll, ctrl-F, or just vibe-check whichever one you need.

first up, the source of truth itself:

  • ./include/net/cfg80211.h — the kernel file, i.e. where all of this actually lives ✨

and then the family:

okay breathing break, we're like 8% through 😭 next up the actions and configuration crew, they're a lot but they ate:

🎀 scanning and BSS list handling, aka our section, aka the one this whole page is about:

  • Scanning and BSS list handling(9) 🔥
  • struct cfg80211_ssid(9)
  • struct cfg80211_scan_info(9)
  • struct cfg80211_scan_6ghz_params(9)
  • struct cfg80211_scan_request(9)
  • struct cfg80211_match_set(9)
  • struct cfg80211_sched_scan_plan(9)
  • struct cfg80211_bss_select_adjust(9)
  • struct cfg80211_sched_scan_request(9)
  • enum cfg80211_signal_type(9)
  • struct cfg80211_inform_bss(9)
  • struct cfg80211_bss_ies(9)
  • struct cfg80211_bss(9)
  • ieee80211_bss_get_elem(9)
  • ieee80211_bss_get_ie(9)
  • struct cfg80211_auth_request(9)
  • struct cfg80211_assoc_link(9)
  • struct cfg80211_ml_reconf_req(9)
  • enum cfg80211_assoc_req_flags(9)
  • struct cfg80211_assoc_request(9)
  • struct cfg80211_deauth_request(9)
  • struct cfg80211_disassoc_request(9)
  • struct cfg80211_ibss_params(9)
  • struct cfg80211_bss_selection(9)
  • struct cfg80211_connect_params(9)
  • enum cfg80211_connect_params_changed(9)
  • enum wiphy_params_flags(9)
  • struct cfg80211_pmksa(9)
  • struct cfg80211_pkt_pattern(9)
  • struct cfg80211_wowlan_tcp(9)
  • struct cfg80211_wowlan(9)
  • struct cfg80211_coalesce_rules(9)
  • struct cfg80211_coalesce(9)
  • struct cfg80211_wowlan_nd_match(9)
  • struct cfg80211_wowlan_nd_info(9)
  • struct cfg80211_wowlan_wakeup(9)
  • struct cfg80211_gtk_rekey_data(9)
  • struct cfg80211_update_ft_ies_params(9)
  • struct cfg80211_mgmt_tx_params(9)
  • struct cfg80211_dscp_exception(9)
  • struct cfg80211_dscp_range(9)
  • struct cfg80211_qos_map(9)

🦋 NAN girlies rise (Neighbor Awareness Networking, she's her own whole world):

🧚 utility functions, the little helpers that lowkey carry everything:

🌺 data path helpers — packets go brrr:

👑 regulatory enforcement infrastructure (the vibes police, respectfully):

okay back to the scanning-adjacent besties, and then the notify crowd, deep breath 🫶:

⭐ RFkill integration, vendor commands and test mode — three little mini-fams:

💖 and the last stretch, connect/roam/notify girlies, going strong:

and that's every single cross-ref, no cap — three hundred and change of them, and not one got left behind 😭💜

…okay and the rest of the extended fam, because this SEE ALSO list is long and honestly kind of iconic. Everyone here is a (9) page, so like — same section, same family group chat. Skim it, bookmark it, whatever 💅

and that's the whole page, bestie, you made it 🎉 fr fr go touch some grass, or like… go read the kernel source instead.

this one comes from ./include/net, dated October 2026, and it's cfg80211_get_bss(9) — like that's literally her whole signature line 🌸 go off, queen 💖

📦 where this page comes from