pid_alive(9)

🌸 NAME 🌸

• pid_alive — check that a task structure is not stale

okay so bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual entry for pid_alive — the little vibe check for task structures 💅

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

int pid_alive (const struct task_struct *p );

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• p — Task structure to be checked.

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💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

This function tests if a process is not yet dead (at most zombie state). So like, it's checking whether the process has actually peaced out or is still hanging around in zombie form 🧟‍♀️

⚠️ If pid_alive fails, then pointers within the task structure can be stale and must not be dereferenced. That is not a drill, bestie — do not go touching those pointers. 💀

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🦋 RETURN 🦋

• 1 — if the process is alive.
• 0 — otherwise.

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• Kernel file ./include/linux/pid.h
• is_global_init(9)

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mwah 💋 — this page comes from ./include/linux, October 2026. slay and stay safe out there 🫶✨