ovl_lookup_real_one(9)

💅 ovl_lookup_real_one(9) — from the Kernel API Manual, bestie 🫶

Okay so picture this: you're deep in overlayfs land, you've got a real dentry in your hand, and you're like "girl, WHO is your overlay counterpart?" That's literally this function's entire job. It lives in the Kernel API manual section 9, and it's giving "matchmaker for dentries" energy ✨

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✨ NAME ✨

ovl_lookup_real_one — lookup a child overlay dentry to get an overlay dentry whose real dentry is given 💖

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

struct dentry * ovl_lookup_real_one (struct dentry *connected , struct
dentry *real , const struct ovl_layer *layer );

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• connected — the parent overlay dentry 👑 (the one we're searching inside of)
• real — the given child real dentry 🍓 (the one we're trying to find a match for)
• layer — the layer in which real exists 🌈

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💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

So here's the whole vibe ngl: it looks up a child overlay dentry in connected with the same name as the real dentry. Simple enough, right?

But no — it does NOT stop there, because this function is thorough and honestly a little paranoid (affectionate 💀). Then it does two vibe checks:

1. it checks that the parent of the result is the real dentry for connected, and
2. it checks that real is the real dentry for the result 🙈

Like, double-verifying the match. No cap, it's committing to the bit.

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🔥 RETURN 🔥

• -ECHILD — if the parent of real is no longer the real dentry for connected 😭 (the relationship changed out from under you)
• -ESTALE — if real is not the real dentry of the found dentry 💀 (you found someone, but they're not the one)
• otherwise — the found dentry is returned, slay 👑✨

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🌸 SEE ALSO 🌸

Kernel file ./fs/overlayfs/export.c — go read it, iykyk 🧚

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k that's the whole page bestie, mwah 💅 — brought to you by ./fs/overlayfs, dated October 2026, and fr fr you're gonna nail this one 🌟