drm_modeset_lock_all(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💅 drm_modeset_lock_all — taking ALL the modeset locks, bestie

So you're in the Kernel API Manual and you found drm_modeset_lock_all. Okay so, real talk, this one is giving "I'm deprecated but I'm still here" energy, and we're gonna go through it together fr fr. ✨

🎀 SYNOPSIS

void drm_modeset_lock_all (struct drm_device *dev );

🌸 ARGUMENTS

  • dev — the DRM device, aka the main character of this whole operation 💅

✨ DESCRIPTION

Okay so here's the tea: this function takes all the modeset locks. Like, all of them. Every single one. 😭 It's the move for when a more fine-grained scheme isn't (yet) implemented — note the messy "yet," we love a work-in-progress. 🫶

The locks are not yours to keep, bestie — you gotta drop them by calling the drm_modeset_unlock_all function. Don't leave them hanging or it's gonna be a whole thing. 💀

⚠️ Important vibe check: This function is deprecated. Not like "kinda old," like officially deprecated. 👑

The way it works: it allocates a lock acquisition context and stores it in drm_device.mode_config. This lowkey facilitates conversion of existing code because it removes the need to manually deal with the acquisition context. Iconic convenience, right? 🌈

But — and this is the part you need to hear — it's also brittle. 💅 The context is global, so you gotta be so careful not to nest calls. Like, the audacity of a global context, honestly. 🙈

New code should not be doing this. New code should use the drm_modeset_lock_all_ctx function and pass in the context explicitly. Periodt. 🎯

👑 SEE ALSO

Kernel file ./drivers/gpu/drm/drm_modeset_lock.c, and all these related icons:

Okay that's the whole thing, bestie! This page lives in ./drivers/gpu/drm and it's dated October 2026 — like, future energy much? 🦋 Anyway, hope this helped you understand the entire lock situation. You're literally gonna slay this. 💖🎀

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