kfifo_init(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💖 kfifo_init — like, the kernel API manual page, bestie 💖

okay so you found your way to kfifo_init(9) and honestly? proud of you. this is a kernel API manual page, and we're about to make it make sense. no cap.

✨ NAME ✨

kfifo_init — initialize a fifo using a preallocated buffer 🎀

like, you already have the buffer, and this macro is the one that goes "slay, let's hook it up."

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

kfifo_init (fifo , buffer , size );

that's the whole vibe. three args, no drama.

🌸 ARGUMENTS 🌸

  • fifo — the fifo to assign the buffer 🫶 this is the one getting the glow-up.
  • buffer — the preallocated buffer to be used ✨ you bring your own, that's the whole point.
  • size — the size of the internal buffer, this have to be a power of 2 💅 yes, exactly like that, it have to be a power of 2. non-negotiable, the math said so.

🌈 DESCRIPTION 🌈

This macro initializes a fifo using a preallocated buffer. main character macro behavior, honestly — it doesn't allocate anything, it just takes your buffer and makes it official.

The number of elements will be rounded-up to a power of 2. 🔥 so if you were out here thinking your size was gonna stay exactly as you typed it… nope, it's getting rounded up, that's just the rules.

Return 0 if no error, otherwise an error code. Simple as. 💀

ngl, remember the power-of-2 thing. future you will thank present you. 🧚

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

Kernel file ./include/linux/kfifo.h — and like, the entire kfifo cinematic universe:

and that's the page, bestie 🎀 this one lives in ./include/linux, October 2026 edition — go forth and round up to powers of 2 💜✨

📦 where this page comes from