drm_fb_helper_fill_info(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💖 drm_fb_helper_fill_info(9) 💖

okay bestie, before we even start: this one lives in the Kernel API Manual, and the whole page is literally titled drm_fb_helper_fill_info. iconic, no notes. it's the glow-up pass for your fbdev metadata, and honestly? she's short, she's sweet, she's essential. let's get into it ✨

🌸 NAME 🌸

drm_fb_helper_fill_info — initializes fbdev information 💅

like, it fills in the info. the fbdev info. that's the whole job and she does it flawlessly.

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

void drm_fb_helper_fill_info (struct fb_info *info , struct
       drm_fb_helper *fb_helper , struct drm_fb_helper_surface_size *sizes );

three arguments, no return value, zero drama. the way that void is just out here saying "i don't give anything back, i just give" 😭👑

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

  • info — the fbdev instance you're setting up. this is the main character, the one getting all dressed up 🫶
  • fb_helper — the fb helper instance you're using as a template. yes bestie, she's the reference fit you're copying the vibe from ✨
  • sizes — describes the fbdev size and the scanout surface size. both. she contains multitudes 💜

🌈 DESCRIPTION 🌈

okay so here's the tea, and it's genuinely good tea:

this function sets up the variable and fixed fbdev metainformation, pulling from two places:

  • the given fb helper instance, and
  • the drm framebuffer allocated in drm_fb_helper.fb 👑

that's it. that's the whole ritual. variable info, fixed info, sourced from your helper and your framebuffer, and boom — metadata, but make it coherent 💅

and here's the part where you actually have to pay attention, bestie, because this is the instructions part:

Drivers should call this — or their equivalent setup code — from their drm_driver.fbdev_probe callback, after they've already allocated the fbdev backing storage framebuffer. 🚨

read that again. drm_driver.fbdev_probe. and the framebuffer allocation comes first. do not show up to the fill-info party before you've allocated your backing storage, that's not the vibe, that's a bug 🙈

⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

the whole friend group, in order, all of them, no cap:

that's the entire group chat and you will be reading it. iykyk 📚💖

and that's the page!! this little icon hails from ./drivers/gpu/drm, stamped October 2026, and it's part of the Kernel API Manual — so go forth, fill that info, and slay your fbdev_probe callback 🧚⭐💜

📦 where this page comes from