enable_work(9)

✨ enable_work(9) ✨

okay so bestie, this is straight from the Kernel API Manual and it's giving “tiny function, major workqueue lore” 💅 no cap, iconic behavior.

🎀 NAME 🎀

enable_work — Enable a work item. That's the whole name, that's the whole vibe. Slay. 🫶

🌈 SYNOPSIS 🌈

the signature, exactly as it appears, do not come for the spacing:

bool enable_work (struct work_struct *work );

🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• work — work item to enable. Yes bestie, this is the one you're flipping back on. ✨

💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

okay so enable_work() is literally the undo button for disable_work[_sync]() — it does that by decrementing work's disable count. And the important part: work can only be queued if its disable count is 0, periodt. 🔥

You can call it from any context. It returns true if the disable count reached 0; otherwise, it returns false. That's the tea, no cap. 💖

🌸 SEE ALSO 🌸

Kernel file ./kernel/workqueue.c — yes, the whole workqueue friend group is here, every single one, no skips:

• for_each_pool(9)
• for_each_pool_worker(9)
• for_each_pwq(9)
• worker_pool_assign_id(9)
• unbound_effective_cpumask(9)
• get_work_pool(9)
• worker_set_flags(9)
• worker_clr_flags(9)
• worker_enter_idle(9)
• worker_leave_idle(9)
• find_worker_executing_work(9)
• move_linked_works(9)
• assign_work(9)
• kick_pool_pick(9)
• kick_pool(9)
• wq_worker_running(9)
• wq_worker_sleeping(9)
• wq_worker_tick(9)
• wq_worker_last_func(9)
• wq_node_nr_active(9)
• wq_update_node_max_active(9)
• get_pwq(9)
• put_pwq(9)
• put_pwq_unlocked(9)
• pwq_tryinc_nr_active(9)
• pwq_activate_first_inactive(9)
• unplug_oldest_pwq(9)
• node_activate_pending_pwq(9)
• pwq_dec_nr_active(9)
• pwq_dec_nr_in_flight(9)
• try_to_grab_pending(9)
• work_grab_pending(9)
• insert_work(9)
• queue_work_on(9)
• select_numa_node_cpu(9)
• queue_work_node(9)
• queue_delayed_work_on(9)
• mod_delayed_work_on(9)
• queue_rcu_work(9)
• worker_attach_to_pool(9)
• worker_detach_from_pool(9)
• create_worker(9)
• set_worker_dying(9)
• idle_worker_timeout(9)
• idle_cull_fn(9)
• maybe_create_worker(9)
• manage_workers(9)
• process_one_work(9)
• process_scheduled_works(9)
• worker_thread(9)
• rescuer_thread(9)
• check_flush_dependency(9)
• insert_wq_barrier(9)
• flush_workqueue_prep_pwqs(9)
• __flush_workqueue(9)
• drain_workqueue(9)
• flush_work(9)
• flush_delayed_work(9)
• flush_rcu_work(9)
• cancel_work_sync(9)
• cancel_delayed_work(9)
• cancel_delayed_work_sync(9)
• disable_work(9)
• disable_work_sync(9)
• disable_delayed_work(9)
• disable_delayed_work_sync(9)
• enable_delayed_work(9)
• schedule_on_each_cpu(9)
• execute_in_process_context(9)
• free_workqueue_attrs(9)
• alloc_workqueue_attrs(9)
• init_worker_pool(9)
• put_unbound_pool(9)
• get_unbound_pool(9)
• wq_calc_pod_cpumask(9)
• apply_workqueue_attrs(9)
• unbound_wq_update_pwq(9)
• wq_adjust_max_active(9)
• destroy_workqueue(9)
• workqueue_set_max_active(9)
• workqueue_set_min_active(9)
• current_work(9)
• current_is_workqueue_rescuer(9)
• current_is_workqueue_mem_reclaim(9)
• workqueue_congested(9)
• work_busy(9)
• set_worker_desc(9)
• print_worker_info(9)
• show_one_workqueue(9)
• show_one_worker_pool(9)
• show_all_workqueues(9)
• show_freezable_workqueues(9)
• rebind_workers(9)
• restore_unbound_workers_cpumask(9)
• work_on_cpu_key(9)
• freeze_workqueues_begin(9)
• freeze_workqueues_busy(9)
• thaw_workqueues(9)
• workqueue_unbound_housekeeping_update(9)
• workqueue_set_unbound_cpumask(9)
• workqueue_sysfs_register(9)
• workqueue_sysfs_unregister(9)
• workqueue_init_early(9)
• workqueue_init(9)
• llc_count_cores(9)
• llc_populate_cpu_shard_id(9)
• precompute_cache_shard_ids(9)
• workqueue_init_topology(9)

mwah 💅 — this one came from ./kernel, dated October 2026, and it's all about enable_work(9). bye bestie, go decrement that count responsibly! 🫶✨