generic_update_time(9)

💖 NAME 💖

okay bestie, meet generic_update_time(9) from the Kernel API Manual 🫶 — it's the one that updates the timestamps on the inode. Periodt. ✨

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

here's the signature, no cap:

int generic_update_time (struct inode *inode , enum fs_update_time type
, unsigned int flags );

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• inode — the inode to be updated 💅
• type — the timestamp to be updated ⏰
• flags — flags for the update 🚩

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

Returns a negative error value on error 😭, else 0 ✨. That's the whole vibe: negative means error, 0 means you're slaying ✅.

bestie, that's literally the entire description — no extra lore, no secret DLC 🫶

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

the whole squad lives around the Kernel file ./fs/inode.c — check these besties, fr fr:

• inode_init_always_gfp(9)
• alloc_inode(9)
• drop_nlink(9)
• clear_nlink(9)
• set_nlink(9)
• inc_nlink(9)
• inode_sb_list_add(9)
• __insert_inode_hash(9)
• __remove_inode_hash(9)
• evict_inodes(9)
• new_inode(9)
• unlock_new_inode(9)
• lock_two_nondirectories(9)
• unlock_two_nondirectories(9)
• inode_insert5(9)
• iget5_locked(9)
• iget5_locked_rcu(9)
• iget_locked(9)
• iunique(9)
• ihold(9)
• ilookup5_nowait(9)
• ilookup5(9)
• ilookup(9)
• find_inode_nowait(9)
• find_inode_rcu(9)
• find_inode_by_ino_rcu(9)
• iput(9)
• iput_not_last(9)
• bmap(9)
• inode_update_time(9)
• atime_needs_update(9)
• file_remove_privs(9)
• current_time(9)
• file_update_time(9)
• file_modified_flags(9)
• file_modified(9)
• kiocb_modified(9)
• inode_init_owner(9)
• inode_owner_or_capable(9)
• inode_dio_wait(9)
• timestamp_truncate(9)
• inode_set_ctime_current(9)
• inode_set_ctime_deleg(9)
• in_group_or_capable(9)
• mode_strip_sgid(9)
• dump_inode(9)

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xoxo, your kernel bestie 💖 — source/version: ./fs 🌸 • date: October 2026 ✨