debugfs_change_name(9)

💅 debugfs_change_name — like, the Kernel API Manual (section 9) page, bestie

okay so picture this: you're deep in debugfs and you want a thing to have a different name. not a new thing. same thing. new name. that's this function. it's giving rebrand era, and honestly? iconic. ✨

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🎀 SYNOPSIS

int  debugfs_change_name (struct dentry *dentry , const char *fmt , ...
);

like yes, it's int, it takes a struct dentry *, a const char * format, and then a lil ... tail of variable arguments. we love an ellipsis. she contains multitudes. 💖

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🌸 ARGUMENTS

• dentry — the dentry of an object that's getting renamed. this is the glow-up target, the main character, the one whose name is about to change. no cap.
• fmt — the format for the new name. so yeah, it's printf-style coded, which means ... is doing real work here.
• ... — variable arguments. the supporting cast. the vibes. ✨

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🦋 DESCRIPTION

okay so here's the tea 🍵: this function renames a file/directory in debugfs. that's literally it, that's the whole assignment, and she ate.

but bestie, listen to the caveat because it matters: the target must not exist for the rename to succeed. like if something's already chilling at that name, the rename does not go through. no dupe names, not today. 🚫

and the return values, because we're paying attention:

• it'll return 0 on success 😌 (the good ending)
• and -E... on failure 💀 (the error family, expressed as -E... — that's exactly how the page puts it, don't come for me)

🫶 also, important: if debugfs is not enabled in the kernel, the value -ENODEV will be returned. so if you're getting -ENODEV and you're like "???" — that's your answer. she's not even built in.

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👑 SEE ALSO

• Kernel file ./fs/debugfs/inode.c — go read the source, iykyk, the source is always the vibe check
• debugfs_lookup(9)
• debugfs_create_file_unsafe(9)
• debugfs_create_file_size(9)
• debugfs_create_dir(9)
• debugfs_create_automount(9)
• debugfs_create_symlink(9)
• debugfs_remove(9)
• debugfs_lookup_and_remove(9)
• debugfs_initialized(9)

like that's the whole friend group right there. a whole squad of debugfs besties. 🌈

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mwah 💋 and that's the page! brought to you by the manual debugfs_change_name(9), filed under Kernel API Manual, living in source ./fs/debugfs, dated October 2026. go forth and rename responsibly, bestie — and remember, the target must not already exist. periodt. 🎀✨