drm_atomic_h...update_plane(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💅 drm_atomic_h...update_plane(9) — the Kernel API Manual, but make it make sense

okay so bestie, welcome to the kernel API manual for drm_atomic_h...update_plane(9). yes the name is abridged with the little ... and no, that's not me being lazy, that's literally how it's printed. iconic behaviour honestly. anyway, let's get into it ✨

🌸 NAME 🌸

drm_atomic_helper_update_plane — a helper for updating the primary plane, but make it atomic 💫

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

here's the whole thing, copy it exactly, don't you dare paraphrase:

int drm_atomic_helper_update_plane (struct drm_plane *plane , struct
drm_crtc *crtc , struct drm_framebuffer *fb , int crtc_x , int crtc_y ,
unsigned int crtc_w , unsigned int crtc_h , uint32_t src_x , uint32_t
src_y , uint32_t src_w , uint32_t src_h , struct drm_modeset_acquire_ctx
*ctx );

that's a whole lot of arguments, but it's giving "responsible function with a lot of friends" and honestly? we respect it 🫶

✨ ARGUMENTS ✨

every single one of them, in order, no skips, periodt:

  • plane — the plane object you're updating. like, the thing itself 🦋
  • crtc — the CRTC that owns the owning plane. yes, owning owning. that's what it says 💅
  • fb — the framebuffer you're flipping onto the plane 🔥
  • crtc_x — the x offset of the primary plane on the CRTC
  • crtc_y — the y offset of the primary plane on the CRTC
  • crtc_w — the width of the primary plane rectangle on the CRTC
  • crtc_h — the height of the primary plane rectangle on the CRTC
  • src_x — the x offset of the framebuffer, for panning 👀
  • src_y — the y offset of the framebuffer, for panning 👀
  • src_w — the width of the source rectangle in the framebuffer
  • src_h — the height of the source rectangle in the framebuffer
  • ctx — the lock acquire context. the vibe check for your locks 🔒

ngl that's a lot of numbers but they're all just "where" and "how big" and it eats every time 🍓

💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

so what does it actually do? it provides a default plane update handler that uses the atomic driver interface ✨ that's it, that's the whole tea. it's the helper you reach for so you don't have to hand-roll the update path yourself. main character energy, lowkey ☕

🌈 RETURN 🌈

  • zero on success 🎉
  • an error code on failure 😭 (she's not always gonna slay, and that's okay)

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

buckle up bestie, this list is long and we are not skipping a single one, because every reference here is a whole era:

first up, the context one — it's literally Kernel file ./drivers/gpu/drm/drm_atomic_helper.c overview(9) 💖

then, in this exact order, iykyk:

like, that's a lot of friends and every one of them is invited to the group chat 💀 but fr fr they're all relevant, don't @ me.

💡 friendly reminder: the 9 in all of those is the manpage section, not a shoutout to the year 2009. stay safe out there 🧚

🌸 little sign-off 🌸

this gem lives under ./drivers/gpu/drm and the page is dated October 2026. so like, she's from the future and she's still slaying. periodt 💅✨

bye bestie, go update some planes atomically, you've got this 🫶💖

📦 where this page comes from