dev_pm_domain_attach(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

✨ dev_pm_domain_attach 💅

okay bestie, so this is a page from the Kernel API Manual — yeah, the kernel really said "let me explain myself" and honestly? iconic of it. we're talking about dev_pm_domain_attach, and no cap, it's the little function that gets your device hooked up to its power management domain. let's get into it 🎀

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

int dev_pm_domain_attach (struct device *dev , u32 flags );

that's it. that's the whole vibe. two args, one int coming back at you ✨

🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

  • dev — the device you're attaching. the main character, fr.
  • flags — these tell us whether we should power on/off the device on attach/detach. so like, do we flip the switch or not, that's the question 🫶

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so here's the tea: your dev may only be attached to a single PM domain. one. that's it. no polyamory for power domains 💀

the way it works is by iterating through the available alternatives, we try to find a valid PM domain for the device. and when attachment succeeds, the ->detach callback in the struct dev_pm_domain should be assigned by the corresponding attach function. yes, that's a whole strung-together sentence but it matters, so keep it 🫡

this function should typically be invoked from subsystem level code during the probe phase — especially for those that holds devices which requires power management through PM domains. iykyk, that's exactly your situation or you wouldn't be here 💅

lowkey important: callers must ensure proper synchronization of this function with power management callbacks. do not skip this. this is not a vibe-check-you-can-fail, bestie 😭

now the returns, because we love a clear exit strategy:

  • 0 — on successfully attached PM domain, or when it is found that the device doesn't need a PM domain. either way, zero is a win 🌈
  • negative error code — anything else. it's giving "something went wrong" but at least it's honest 💀

⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

the kernel file is ./drivers/base/power/common.c — that's where the magic lives, go look 👀

and then the whole friend group of related functions, all of them, not skipping a single one:

like a whole squad 🧚

🎀 sign-off 🎀

this absolute banger of a page comes from ./drivers/base/power, dated October 2026, and it's the dev_pm_domain_attach(9) manual page. go attach something responsibly, bestie — slay 💜👑

📦 where this page comes from