overlay_upd...g_references(9)

💅 overlay_update_local_conflicting_references — Kernel API Manual, section 9

okay so bestie, we're deep in the kernel API manual rn and today's main character is overlay_update_local_conflicting_references. yes that's a whole mouthful, yes it's iconic, and yes I'm gonna walk you through it 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

overlay_update_local_conflicting_references — recursively replace phandle values. that's it, that's the whole vibe. it goes in and swaps them out, recursively, no cap 💅

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

int overlay_update_local_conflicting_references (void *fdto , uint32_t
fdt_phandle , uint32_t fdto_phandle );

like literally just look at it. three little args, one int coming back at you ✨

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• fdto — the device tree overlay blob, bestie. this is the thing we're operating on 🌸
• fdt_phandle — the value we're replacing phandles with. the new one. the glow-up 💖
• fdto_phandle — the value that's getting replaced. the one being swapped out 😭

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🌈 DESCRIPTION 🌈

so what does it actually do? it replaces all phandles that have the value fdto_phandle with fdt_phandle. every single one. no leftovers, no stragglers, periodt 🔥

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⭐ RETURN ⭐

• 0 on success — slay, we ate 💅
• Negative error code on failure — not slay, something went wrong 😭

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

the source of truth lives at the kernel file ./scripts/dtc/libfdt/fdt_overlay.c — go read it, iykyk 📖

and here's the whole friend group, all of them hanging out in section 9 together:

• overlay_get_target_phandle(9)
• overlay_phandle_add_offset(9)
• overlay_adjust_node_phandles(9)
• overlay_adjust_local_phandles(9)
• overlay_update_local_node_references(9)
• overlay_update_local_references(9)
• overlay_fixup_one_phandle(9)
• overlay_fixup_phandle(9)
• overlay_fixup_phandles(9)
• overlay_adjust_local_conflicting_phandle(9)
• overlay_update_node_conflicting_references(9)
• overlay_prevent_phandle_overwrite_node(9)
• overlay_prevent_phandle_overwrite(9)
• overlay_apply_node(9)
• overlay_merge(9)
• overlay_symbol_update(9)

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bestie note: phandles are literally the backbone of device tree overlays, so don't sleep on this one. every reference gotta line up or the whole thing's giving chaos 🧚

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🌸 that's the whole page!! this one came straight out of ./scripts/dtc/libfdt, dated October 2026, and it's giving absolutely immaculate kernel documentation energy. mwah, go touch some device trees 💜