drm_gem_dma_dumb_create(9)

💅 drm_gem_dma_dumb_create(9) — Kernel API Manual, but make it cute

okay so bestie, this is a page from the Kernel API Manual (the manual name is literally drm_gem_dma_dumb_create(9), say that five times fast 🫶) and it's about making a dumb buffer object. Yes. That's the actual technical term. Not me being shady. Periodt.

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✨ NAME ✨

drm_gem_dma_dumb_create — create a dumb buffer object 🎀

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

int drm_gem_dma_dumb_create (struct drm_file *file_priv , struct
drm_device *drm , struct drm_mode_create_dumb *args );

✨ ARGUMENTS ✨

• file_priv — the DRM file-private structure you're creating the dumb buffer for. it's giving "your personal little file handle" energy 💖
• drm — the DRM device. the main character, obviously 👑
• args — the IOCTL data. that's the payload, the whole vibe check of the call 🌸

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so here's the tea: this function computes the pitch of the dumb buffer and then rounds it up to an integer number of bytes per pixel. that's it, that's the job, and it ate 💅

if your driver is for hardware that doesn't have any additional restrictions on the pitch, you can literally just use this function directly as your drm_driver.dumb_create callback. no notes. iconic. ⭐

but if your hardware does have additional restrictions? then drivers can adjust the fields that userspace set up, and pass the IOCTL data along to the drm_gem_dma_dumb_create_internal function. lowkey a two-step, but it works 🦋

✨ RETURN ✨

0 on success, or a negative error code on failure. no in-between, bestie — it either slays or it doesn't 😭

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

Kernel file ./drivers/gpu/drm/drm_gem_dma_helper.c and dma helpers(9), plus the whole friend group:

• __drm_gem_dma_create(9)
• drm_gem_dma_create(9)
• drm_gem_dma_create_with_handle(9)
• drm_gem_dma_free(9)
• drm_gem_dma_dumb_create_internal(9)
• drm_gem_dma_get_unmapped_area(9)
• drm_gem_dma_print_info(9)
• drm_gem_dma_get_sg_table(9)
• drm_gem_dma_prime_import_sg_table(9)
• drm_gem_dma_vmap(9)
• drm_gem_dma_mmap(9)
• drm_gem_dma_prime_import_sg_table_vmap(9)

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ngl the "dumb buffer" name is not a read, it's a whole lifestyle. don't come for it 🙈

and that's the page, bestie 💜 this lil drop came from the source dir ./drivers/gpu/drm, dated October 2026, and the whole thing signs off under the name drm_gem_dma_dumb_create(9) — mwah, go create some buffers 🍓✨