i915_vma_instance(9)

💖 i915_vma_instance(9) 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual — section 9, the good section — where we're talking about i915_vma_instance. buckle up, this one's short but it slaps.

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✨ NAME ✨

i915_vma_instance — returns the singleton instance of the VMA 🫶

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

struct i915_vma * i915_vma_instance (struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj ,
struct i915_address_space *vm , const struct i915_gtt_view *view );

like, literally three args, one return. we love a low-effort icon. 👑

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• obj — the parent struct drm_i915_gem_object that's getting mapped. it's giving parent energy, fr fr.
• vm — the address space where the mapping lives. think of it as the neighbourhood the VMA is moving into 🏡
• view — extra mapping requirements. the little extras, the vibes, if you will 💅

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so here's the tea, bestie 🍓: i915_vma_instance goes looking for an existing VMA of obj inside vm that has the same view characteristics. like, it's checking if this exact combo already exists before making a whole new one. very "do we already have this in the group chat" of it.

if a match is not found — no cap — one gets created. ✨

and once it's created? the VMA is kept until either the object is freed, or the address space is closed. so it's not just gonna vanish on you, it's got main character commitment. 🫡

it returns the vma, or an error pointer. so yeah — check your return value, bestie, please 😭 an error pointer is not the vibe.

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🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

• Kernel file ./drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_vma.c (the source, the blueprint, the origin story)
• i915_vma_bind(9)
• i915_vma_insert(9)
• i915_ggtt_clear_scanout(9)

go read those next, iykyk 💜

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and that's the whole page, bestie 🧚✨ this little gem lives in ./drivers/gpu/drm/i915, dated October 2026 — so mark your calendar, screenshot it, frame it, whatever 💖🎀🦋💅