kern_path_parent(9)

💖 NAME 💖

Okay bestie, welcome to kern_path_parent(9) — yes, that's the Kernel API Manual page, and it's literally about looking up a path and getting both the parent and the target back. 🎀

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

struct dentry * kern_path_parent (const char *name , struct path *path
);

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🫶 ARGUMENTS 🫶

• name — the path name. Slay, that's it. 💅
• path — where the parent gets stored. 🩷

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

So the path name has to end with a normal component — not ".", not "..", and not "/". No cap, that's the rule. 🚨

A lookup happens, and if it succeeds, the parent info is stored in parent and the dentry is returned. 🌈

The dentry can be negative, but the parent will be positive. That's the vibe check. 💖

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🔥 RETURN 🔥

It returns the dentry or an error. Simple as that. ✨

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💜 SEE ALSO 💜

This includes the kernel file ./fs/namei.c, plus all these cross-refs, fr fr:

• check_acl(9)
• acl_permission_check(9)
• generic_permission(9)
• do_inode_permission(9)
• sb_permission(9)
• inode_permission(9)
• path_get(9)
• path_put(9)
• path_connected(9)
• try_to_unlazy(9)
• try_to_unlazy_next(9)
• complete_walk(9)
• may_follow_link(9)
• safe_hardlink_source(9)
• may_linkat(9)
• may_create_in_sticky(9)
• lookup_fast(9)
• start_dirop(9)
• end_dirop(9)
• vfs_path_parent_lookup(9)
• vfs_path_lookup(9)
• try_lookup_noperm(9)
• lookup_noperm(9)
• lookup_one(9)
• lookup_one_unlocked(9)
• lookup_one_positive_killable(9)
• lookup_one_positive_unlocked(9)
• lookup_noperm_unlocked(9)
• start_creating(9)
• start_removing(9)
• start_creating_killable(9)
• start_removing_killable(9)
• start_creating_noperm(9)
• start_removing_noperm(9)
• start_creating_dentry(9)
• start_removing_dentry(9)
• __start_renaming(9)
• start_renaming(9)
• start_renaming_dentry(9)
• start_renaming_two_dentries(9)
• vfs_prepare_mode(9)
• vfs_create(9)
• atomic_open(9)
• vfs_lookup_open(9)
• vfs_tmpfile(9)
• kernel_tmpfile_open(9)
• end_creating_path(9)
• dentry_create(9)
• vfs_mknod(9)
• vfs_mkdir(9)
• vfs_rmdir(9)
• vfs_unlink(9)
• vfs_symlink(9)
• vfs_link(9)
• vfs_rename(9)
• vfs_readlink(9)
• vfs_get_link(9)
• page_get_link(9)
• page_put_link(9)

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xoxo, source ./fs, date October 2026, manual kern_path_parent(9) 💖🦋