list_entry_rcu(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💅 list_entry_rcu(9) — the Kernel API Manual page you didn't know you needed

okay so bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual, and today's main character is list_entry_rcu(9) — a tiny little macro that pulls the whole struct out of a list node and honestly? it's giving underrated icon behavior. 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

list_entry_rcu — get the struct for this entry 🫶

like, you've got a struct list_head sitting there being all mysterious, and this thing is like "girl, I know your enclosing struct, come here." 💖

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

list_entry_rcu (ptr , type , member );

that's it. three args. no drama. no cap. 🦋

💜 ARGUMENTS 💜

  • ptr — the struct list_head pointer. this is your entry point, the little list node you're starting from. lowkey the whole vibe depends on it. ⭐
  • type — the type of the struct this is embedded in. yes, the outer struct — the one that's holding the list_head like a secret. 👑
  • member — the name of the list_head within the struct. the actual field name, fr fr, not a guess, not a vibe — the literal name. 🎯

🔥 DESCRIPTION 🔥

okay so here's the tea 🍓: this primitive may safely run concurrently with the _rcu list-mutation primitives — think list_add_rcu and its whole friend group — as long as it's guarded by rcu_read_lock.

⚠️ bestie, read that again: guarded by rcu_read_lock. that's not a suggestion, that's the whole assignment. no lock, no safety. periodt. 💀

it's not doing anything flashy, it's just doing its one job correctly, which is honestly main character energy. 🧚

💅 SEE ALSO 💅

Kernel file ./include/linux/rculist.h — and the entire RCU list cinematic universe, assembled for your reading pleasure:

and that's the page!! 🫶 this little darling lives in ./include/linux, dated October 2026 — so yeah, mark your calendars, she's timeless. go forth and list_entry_rcu responsibly, bestie. 🌈✨💖

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