device_get_devnode(9)

💅 device_get_devnode(9) — the Kernel API Manual, bestie edition 🎀

okay so this is a page from the Kernel API Manual, section 9 (that's the kernel-functions girlies), and it's literally all about one tiny function that tells you where a device node file lives. short page, but cute. let's go ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

device_get_devnode — path of device node file 🦋

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

const char * device_get_devnode (const struct device *dev , umode_t
*mode , kuid_t *uid , kgid_t *gid , const char **tmp );

like yes she takes five whole arguments, she's high maintenance but she's worth it 💅

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• dev — the device. the main character of this whole situation 👑
• mode — returned file access mode (she writes this back to you, bestie)
• uid — returned file owner
• gid — returned file group
• tmp — possibly allocated string. keyword possibly, we'll get to that 🙈

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

Return the relative path of a possible device node. that's the whole vibe ✨

Non-default names may need to allocate a memory to compose a name. and that memory? yeah, it gets returned in tmp and it needs to be freed by the caller. not me handing you a string and making it your problem 😭 like yes girl, you have to clean up after yourself — that's the rule 🫶

lowkey important: if tmp comes back with an allocated string, free it. the function is not gonna do it for you, no cap 💀

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

the reading list is long, bestie — she's got a whole extended friend group over in the kernel file ./drivers/base/core.c:

__fwnode_link_add(9), __fwnode_link_del(9), __fwnode_link_cycle(9), fwnode_links_purge_suppliers(9), fwnode_links_purge_consumers(9), fwnode_links_purge(9), __fwnode_links_move_consumers(9), __fw_devlink_pickup_dangling_consumers(9), fw_devlink_refresh_fwnode(9), device_is_dependent(9), device_pm_move_to_tail(9), device_link_wait_removal(9), device_link_add(9), device_link_del(9), device_link_remove(9), device_links_check_suppliers(9), __device_links_queue_sync_state(9), device_links_flush_sync_list(9), device_links_force_bind(9), device_links_driver_bound(9), __device_links_no_driver(9), device_links_no_driver(9), device_links_driver_cleanup(9), device_links_busy(9), device_links_unbind_consumers(9), device_links_purge(9), wait_for_init_devices_probe(9), fwnode_is_ancestor_of(9), fwnode_get_next_parent_dev(9), __fw_devlink_relax_cycles(9), fw_devlink_create_devlink(9), __fw_devlink_link_to_consumers(9), __fw_devlink_link_to_suppliers(9), dev_driver_string(9), device_release(9), devm_device_add_group(9), devices_kset_move_before(9), devices_kset_move_after(9), devices_kset_move_last(9), device_create_file(9), device_remove_file(9), device_remove_file_self(9), device_create_bin_file(9), device_remove_bin_file(9), device_initialize(9), kobject_has_children(9), dev_set_name(9), device_add(9), device_register(9), get_device(9), put_device(9), device_del(9), device_unregister(9), device_for_each_child(9), device_for_each_child_reverse(9), device_for_each_child_reverse_from(9), device_find_child(9), device_offline(9), device_online(9), __root_device_register(9), root_device_unregister(9), device_create(9), device_create_with_groups(9), device_destroy(9), device_rename(9), device_move(9), device_change_owner(9), device_shutdown(9), dev_err_probe(9), dev_warn_probe(9), set_primary_fwnode(9), set_secondary_fwnode(9), device_remove_of_node(9), device_add_of_node(9), device_set_of_node_from_dev(9), get_dev_from_fwnode(9)

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okay that's the whole page, hope you ate it up 💅 and for the sign-off: this little icon lives in ./drivers/base, the page is dated October 2026, and it's device_get_devnode(9) — periodt. go free your tmp string, bestie 🫶🎀✨