clk_get_optional(9)

💖 clk_get_optional 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to clk_get_optional(9) from the Kernel API Manual ✨ this is the whole page, and yeah we're gonna read it together because it's actually so much simpler than it looks 🫶

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🌸 NAME 🌸

clk_get_optional — lookup and obtain a reference to an optional clock producer 💅

like, clk_get but make it optional, yk?

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

struct clk * clk_get_optional (struct device *dev , const char *id );

that's the whole signature, no cap 🎀

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🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• dev — the device that's gonna be the clock "consumer" (yes the quotes are canon, that's literally what the manpage says 👑)
• id — the clock consumer ID, the lil name tag for which clock you're asking for 🏷️

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💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

so here's the tea ☕ this function "behaves the same as clk_get" … EXCEPT for one iconic difference: when there's no clock producer, instead of returning -ENOENT (the sad error vibes 😭), it just returns NULL instead 🌈

that's literally it. that's the whole flex. optional clock = no clock = NULL, not an error. slay 💅

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🎀 SEE ALSO 🎀

buckle up bestie, this list is LONG and honestly kind of iconic 💀 also the kernel file ./include/linux/clk.h is in on this, so:

• clk notifier callback types(9), struct clk_notifier(9), struct clk_notifier_data(9), struct clk_bulk_data(9)
• clk_notifier_register(9), clk_notifier_unregister(9), devm_clk_notifier_register(9)
• clk_get_accuracy(9), clk_set_phase(9), clk_get_phase(9), clk_set_duty_cycle(9), clk_get_scaled_duty_cycle(9), clk_is_match(9)
• clk_rate_exclusive_get(9), devm_clk_rate_exclusive_get(9), clk_rate_exclusive_put(9)
• clk_save_context(9), clk_restore_context(9)
• clk_prepare(9), clk_unprepare(9), clk_is_enabled_when_prepared(9)
• clk_get(9), clk_bulk_get(9), clk_bulk_get_all(9), clk_bulk_get_optional(9)
• devm_clk_bulk_get(9), devm_clk_bulk_get_optional(9), devm_clk_bulk_get_enable(9), devm_clk_bulk_get_optional_enable(9), devm_clk_bulk_get_all(9), devm_clk_bulk_get_all_enabled(9)
• devm_clk_get(9), devm_clk_get_prepared(9), devm_clk_get_enabled(9), devm_clk_get_optional(9), devm_clk_get_optional_prepared(9), devm_clk_get_optional_enabled(9), devm_clk_get_optional_enabled_with_rate(9), devm_get_clk_from_child(9)
• clk_enable(9), clk_bulk_enable(9), clk_disable(9), clk_bulk_disable(9)
• clk_get_rate(9), clk_put(9), clk_bulk_put(9), clk_bulk_put_all(9), devm_clk_put(9)
• clk_round_rate(9), clk_set_rate(9), clk_set_rate_exclusive(9)
• clk_has_parent(9), clk_set_rate_range(9), clk_set_min_rate(9), clk_set_max_rate(9)
• clk_set_parent(9), clk_get_parent(9), clk_get_sys(9), clk_drop_range(9)

lowkey the whole clock subsystem is here, iykyk 🔥

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fr fr the only thing to remember: no producer → NULL, not -ENOENT. that's the vibe check this page is doing 💀✨

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and that's the page bestie 🫶 this lil gem lives under ./include/linux in the kernel tree, dated October 2026 — so mark your calendar, it's giving future energy 🧚💖 periodt!