fscrypt_match_name(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💅 fscrypt_match_name(9) — the Kernel API Manual page you didn't know you needed

okay so bestie, welcome to fscrypt_match_name(9) from the Kernel API Manual — yes that's the manual name, we're not copying the whole header line, we're living it. this one's a little boolean baddie that answers the most dramatic question in all of fscrypt: does this name match this directory entry or not 🎀

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

bool fscrypt_match_name (const struct fscrypt_name *fname , const u8
*de_name , u32 de_name_len );

like, it returns a bool, it takes three things, it's giving "small function, big responsibility" energy. periodt. 🦋

🌸 ARGUMENTS 🌸

  • fname — the name we're out here searching for, our main character honestly 👑
  • de_name — the name straight out of the directory entry, the one we're checking against
  • de_name_len — how long de_name is, in bytes. bytes bestie, not vibes 🌈

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

okay so normally, fname->disk_name will be set, and when it is? we literally just compare that to the name stored in the directory entry. simple. clean. no notes. ✨

the one exception (and it's kind of a big one, ngl) is this: if we don't have the key for an encrypted directory and the name we're looking for is very long, then we won't have the full disk_name 😭 — so instead we'll need to match against a fscrypt_nokey_name that includes a strong hash. no key, extra long name, hash-matching era. iykyk 🧚

it's giving "we can't read the whole thing so we're comparing fingerprints instead" and honestly? iconic.

⭐ RETURN ⭐

true if the name matches, otherwise false. that's it, that's the whole vibe check. 💅

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

Kernel file ./fs/crypto/fname.c plus the whole friend group:

and that's the page bestie 🫶 this came from the ./fs/crypto source, dated October 2026, and it's fscrypt_match_name(9) officially signing off — go compare some names, slay, and remember: long encrypted name with no key means hash matching, not a breakdown 💀✨

📦 where this page comes from