firmware_request_builtin(9)

🦋 NAME 🦋

okay so bestie, this is the page for firmware_request_builtin(9) from the Kernel API Manual, and it's literally about loading builtin firmware. No cap, that's the whole name-vibe: load builtin firmware. 💖

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

the signature is giving exactly this, character for character:

bool firmware_request_builtin (struct firmware *fw , const char *name );

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• fw — pointer to struct firmware (yes, the firmware struct itself, bestie).
• name — name of the firmware file.

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

okay so some use cases in the kernel have a requirement so that no memory allocator is involved, because these calls take place early in the boot process. the x86 CPU microcode loader is the example here, and it's very much early-boot main character energy. in these cases all the caller wants is to see if the firmware was built-in and if so use it right away — and this can be used for such cases. 🫶

this looks for the firmware in the built-in kernel. only if the kernel was built-in with the firmware you are looking for will this return successfully. that's the vibe check: built-in or bust. 💅

callers of this API do not need to use release_firmware, as the pointer to the firmware is expected to be provided locally on the stack of the caller. iconic, honestly. ✨

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🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

• Kernel file ./drivers/base/firmware_loader/builtin/main.c
• firmware_request_builtin_buf(9)

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mwah 💋 this page's source/version is ./drivers/base/firmware_loader... and it's dated October 2026 — periodt. 👑