ext2_free_branches(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💖 ext2_free_branches(9) 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual — section 9, kernel-space, no userland nonsense here. today's main character is ext2_free_branches, and yes she's literally the one who cleans up the branches. we stan a tidy queen. 🧹✨

🌸 NAME 🌸

ext2_free_branches — free an array of branches. that's it, that's the whole vibe. freeing. branches. slay. 💅

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

void ext2_free_branches (struct inode *inode , __le32 *p , __le32 *q ,
int depth );

no cap, that's the exact signature, copy it character-for-character or the compiler will come for you 😭

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

  • inode — the inode we are dealing with. she's the one holding all the metadata, the moment, the lore. 👑
  • p — array of block numbers. literally just a big ol' stack of block numbers, bestie. 🍓
  • q — pointer immediately past the end of the array. classic off-the-end energy, she marks where the party stops. 🎯
  • depth — depth of the branches to free. how deep are we going? this deep. 🦋

🌈 DESCRIPTION 🌈

so here's the tea ☕ — we are freeing all blocks referred from these branches, and the numbers are stored as little-endian 32-bit (iykyk), and we're updating inode->i_blocks appropriately while we're at it. like, she doesn't just free the blocks, she also fixes up the accounting so nobody comes looking for blocks that don't exist anymore. highkey responsible of her. 🔥

fr fr, this is a kernel-internal cleanup helper — it's doing real bookkeeping on real metadata, so treat her with respect, bestie. 🙈

🔍 SEE ALSO 🔍

kernel file ./fs/ext2/inode.c — that's the home base, the source of truth, the whole mood:

that's the whole ext2 gang, all in section 9, all iconic. 💜

mwah — this page lives under ./fs/ext2, October 2026 edition, page ext2_free_branches(9) for the record. go free those branches, bestie, and remember: numbers are little-endian, i_blocks gets updated, and you're doing amazing. 🫶⭐🎀

📦 where this page comes from