drm_gem_object_free(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💅 drm_gem_object_free(9) — a Kernel API Manual moment

okay so bestie, we're in the drm_gem_object_free(9) page from the Kernel API Manual and it is literally the cleanup era of the GEM object's life. short page, huge responsibility. let's get into it 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

drm_gem_object_free — free a GEM object. that's it. that's the whole vibe check. the object has lived, it has slayed, and now it's time to go 🦋

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

void drm_gem_object_free (struct kref *kref );

no cap, that's the whole signature. void in, void out, struct kref * in the middle doing the heavy lifting 🔥

✨ ARGUMENTS ✨

  • kref — the kref of the object you're freeing. bestie this is the reference counter of the object we're saying bye to, so handle it with care 🎀

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so the way this works: this one gets called after the last reference to the object has been lost. like, everybody's left the group chat, the receipts are read, it's over 💀

and then — it frees the object. that's the whole plot. iconic, concise, done. periodt.

lowkey a reminder that this is the after function. it's what happens when the last reference is gone, not before. don't be out here calling it early, i'm begging 🙈

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

kernel file ./drivers/gpu/drm/drm_gem.c and honestly a whole friend group of related calls — go read them, they're all main characters:

and that's the page, bestie 💜 this lil drop came out of the Kernel API Manual, lives down in ./drivers/gpu/drm, and is dated October 2026 — so yeah, fabulously current. mwah, go free your objects responsibly 🌸✨

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