pm_request_idle(9)

💤 pm_request_idle — kernel API manual, bestie edition 💤

okay so this one lives in the Kernel API Manual (section 9, the kernel-functions girlies) and it's genuinely such a mood. It's pm_request_idle, and it's all about queuing up an idle check for a device instead of doing it right this second. Lowkey iconic of it. ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

pm_request_idle — Queue up "idle check" execution for a device.

Like, you're not doing the idle check, you're putting it in the queue so it happens later. Delegation queen behavior fr fr. 👑

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

int pm_request_idle (struct device *dev );

(yes the return type is int, yes it takes a struct device *, yes the spacing is exactly like that, don't come for me 💅)

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🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• dev — Target device. The one device you're being all "go to sleep bestie" about. 💤

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

So here's the tea: pm_request_idle queues up a work item 🧚 that will run the equivalent of pm_runtime_idle for dev asynchronously. Asynchronously!! Meaning it does not happen right now, it happens whenever the work item gets its turn. It's giving "I'll get to it, I promise" energy, but like, in a reliable kernel way. 🫶

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🔥 RETURN 🔥

The return values, and there are a lot of them, so buckle up buttercup:

• 0 — Success. Slay. 💖
• -EINVAL — Runtime PM error. 💀
• -EACCES — Runtime PM disabled. The door is locked, no entry. 🙈
• -EAGAIN — Runtime PM usage counter non-zero, Runtime PM status change ongoing, or the device is not in RPM_ACTIVE state. Three whole reasons in one code, main character energy honestly. 😭
• -EBUSY — Runtime PM child_count non-zero. The children said "not today". 👶
• -EPERM — Device PM QoS resume latency 0. 🚫
• -EINPROGRESS — Suspend already in progress. Somebody already asked, bestie, wait your turn. ⏳
• -ENOSYS — CONFIG_PM not enabled. The whole subsystem is simply not here. ⭐

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

All my bestie syscalls and friends (iykyk) 💜 — and the kernel file lives at ./include/linux/pm_runtime.h:

• pm_suspend_ignore_children(9)
• pm_runtime_get_noresume(9)
• pm_runtime_put_noidle(9)
• pm_runtime_suspended(9)
• pm_runtime_active(9)
• pm_runtime_status_suspended(9)
• pm_runtime_enabled(9)
• pm_runtime_blocked(9)
• pm_runtime_has_no_callbacks(9)
• pm_runtime_mark_last_busy(9)
• pm_runtime_is_irq_safe(9)
• pm_runtime_idle(9)
• pm_runtime_suspend(9)
• pm_runtime_autosuspend(9)
• pm_runtime_resume(9)
• pm_request_resume(9)
• pm_request_autosuspend(9)
• pm_runtime_get(9)
• pm_runtime_get_sync(9)
• pm_runtime_resume_and_get(9)
• pm_runtime_put(9)
• __pm_runtime_put_autosuspend(9)
• pm_runtime_put_autosuspend(9)
• pm_runtime_put_sync(9)
• pm_runtime_put_sync_suspend(9)
• pm_runtime_put_sync_autosuspend(9)
• pm_runtime_set_active(9)
• pm_runtime_set_suspended(9)
• pm_runtime_disable(9)
• pm_runtime_use_autosuspend(9)
• pm_runtime_dont_use_autosuspend(9)

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ngl the whole "queue it up and walk away" thing is such a vibe, but remember: async means you don't get to know exactly when it goes down. 🍓

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and that's the page!! 🎀 sign-off time: this one ships from ./include/linux and it's dated October 2026 — so go forth, queue your idle checks, and stan responsible runtime PM. periodt. 💅🦋🌟