key_unlink(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

Hey so this is key_unlink(9), a page from the Kernel API Manual — the kernel-key-management lore, iykyk. Grab a snack, we're detaching a key from a keyring and it's literally not that deep. 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

key_unlink — unlink the first link to a key from a keyring. That's it, that's the whole vibe. 💫

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

int key_unlink (struct key *keyring , struct key *key );

✨ ARGUMENTS ✨

  • keyring — the keyring we're removing the link from. Like, the group chat you're leaving, not the message. 🫶
  • key — the key that the link points at. The message, in this extremely good analogy.

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

Okay so the whole job: remove a link from a keyring to a key. One link. First one. Slay.

Heads up though — this function will write-lock the keyring's semaphore. So like, it's holding the door, nobody else is coming through while it does its thing. Respect the lock bestie. 🔒

Return values, because of course there are return values:

  • 0 if it's successful — icon behavior, no notes 💅
  • -ENOTDIR if the keyring... isn't a keyring?? like you passed the wrong thing entirely 😭
  • -ENOENT if the key isn't linked to by the keyring — the link you're looking for doesn't exist, ghosted fr fr 👻
  • -ENOMEM if there's insufficient memory — the universe said no 🫠
⚠️ Big important caveat: it is assumed that the caller has already checked that it's permitted for a link to be removed. That means the keyring should have Write permission, and — plot twist — no permissions are required on the key. Do your homework before you call this, okay? Don't make it weird. 🙈

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

Kernel file ./security/keys/keyring.c

Plus the whole friend group:

✨ that's the whole page, you ate that ✨ This little number lives in ./security/keys and it's dated October 2026 — so mark your calendar bestie, and go unlink responsibly 💖🦋

📦 where this page comes from