get_name(9)

✨ get_name(9) ✨

okay so bestie, we're deep in the Kernel API Manual today and this one is a lil function called get_name 🎀 like yes she's giving "who am I, really?" but for dentries. very main character, very filesystem-core 💅

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🌸 NAME 🌸

get_name — the default export_operations->get_name function ✨

like, if nobody else defined a get_name for their export ops, this is the one that shows up. she's the default, she's the blueprint, she ate 🫶

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

int get_name (const struct path *path , char *name , struct dentry
*child );

three args in, one int out, no cap 💖

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🍓 ARGUMENTS 🍓

• path — the directory in which to find a name. it's the parent dir we're snooping around in 🔍
• name — a pointer to a NAME_MAX+1 char buffer to store the name. so like, size it right or it's giving chaos 😭 NAME_MAX+1 is literally the requirement, not a suggestion.
• child — the dentry for the child directory. this is the one whose name we're hunting for, lowkey the whole reason we're here 👑

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💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

so the vibe is: get_name calls readdir on the parent, over and over, until it finds an entry with the same inode number as the child — and then it returns that. periodt ✨

that's it. that's the function. she reads the parent directory until the inode numbers match, and that matching entry is the answer we were looking for 💫 genuinely iconic behavior, ngl.

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• the kernel file ./fs/exportfs/expfs.c — that's where the lore lives 📖
• exportfs_encode_ino64_fid(9)
• exportfs_encode_inode_fh(9)
• exportfs_encode_fh(9)

iykyk, these are the sibling functions and they're all in the same friend group 🫶 go read them next, bestie.

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💀 tiny note: name really does need to point at a NAME_MAX+1 char buffer. don't skimp. the function is trusting you and we do not betray her.

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mwah 💋 that's the page!! sourced from ./fs/exportfs and dated October 2026 — screenshot it, cite it, put it on your mood board, whatever, just remember the details 🌸🧚‍♀️✨