cifs_build_devname(9)

💅 cifs_build_devname(9) 💅

okay so bestie, welcome to the kernel API manual — this page lives in section 9 and it's about cifs_build_devname, which is literally the glow-up your UNC needs. no cap, it's a whole vibe. ✨

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🎀 NAME 🎀

cifs_build_devname — build a devicename from a UNC and optional prepath 🦋

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

char * cifs_build_devname (char *nodename , const char *prepath );

like, that's the whole signature. she's simple, she's iconic, she ate. 👑

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🌸 ARGUMENTS 🌸

• nodename — pointer to UNC string. yes bestie, a whole UNC. 🫶
• prepath — pointer to prefixpath (or NULL if there isn't one). literally NULL is a valid mood here, no prepath energy. 🙈

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

okay so here's the tea: this function builds a new cifs devicename after chasing a DFS referral. like, it goes and follows the referral first, then constructs the thing. very main character of it. 🔥

the way it works is:

• it allocates a buffer big enough to hold the final thing — generous queen, always sizing up. 💅
• it copies the UNC from the nodename, and then
• it concatenates the prepath onto the end of it — but only if there is one. no prepath? no problem, she just skips that step. 🌈

and then it returns a pointer to the built string, or a ERR_PTR. yup, ERR_PTR — that's the "something went wrong bestie" signal, wrapped up in a pointer. 😭

⚠️ real talk though: the caller is responsible for freeing the returned string. this function is not your mom, she is NOT cleaning up after you. if you don't free it, that's a leak and it's giving memory issues. ngl, please free it. 🧚

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🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

• Kernel file ./fs/smb/client/namespace.c — go read it, iykyk 📖

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and that's the page!! fr fr this one came from ./fs/smb/client, dated October 2026 — star of the Kernel API Manual lineup, periodt. ⭐💜🍓