hid_hw_start(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💖 hid_hw_start(9) — the "wake up bestie" call 💖

okay so this is a page from the Kernel API Manual, and honestly? it's short, it's sweet, and it's lowkey the moment your HID driver goes from "just vibing in memory" to "actually alive". let's get into it 🦋

✨ NAME ✨

hid_hw_start — start underlying HW. that's it. that's the whole name. she does exactly what it says on the tin, no cap 👑

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

int hid_hw_start (struct hid_device *hdev , unsigned int connect_mask );

like yes, it returns an int, and yes we will be checking it, because ignoring return values is not the flex you think it is 😭

✨ ARGUMENTS ✨

  • hdev — the hid device. your little guy. your main character. you're starting this one 🌸
  • connect_mask — which outputs to connect, see HID_CONNECT_*. bestie this is the menu, you pick what you want wired up. the HID_CONNECT_* flags are the whole vibe check here — go look at them, iykyk 💅

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

okay so listen. call this in your probe function *after* hid_parse. not before. after. the ordering is not a suggestion, it's giving ✨law✨. hid_parse first, then this, periodt.

once you're in the right spot, this thing sets up the HW buffers and starts the device — unless that got deferred to device open, in which case, you know, it's chilling until then 🙈 (also yes, the original literally spells it "defeirred", we stan a typo, but you know what it means 🎀)

🚨 important caveat, do NOT sleep on this one: hid_hw_stop must be called if this was successful. if it went through, you owe it a stop. that's the deal. no takebacks, no leaking 🫶

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

the whole friend group, linked in the kernel file ./drivers/hid/hid-core.c:

yeah that's a lot of links, but they're all iconic in their own way, go read them 🧚

and that's the page!! this one came from ./drivers/hid, dated October 2026, in the Kernel API Manual — mwah, tysm for reading, go forth and hid_hw_stop responsibly 💜🎀

📦 where this page comes from