rcu_dereference_wiphy(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

🌸 rcu_dereference_wiphy(9) 🌸

okay so bestie, we're in the Kernel API Manual and this page is literally called rcu_dereference_wiphy(9) — say that five times fast, i dare you 💅 don't worry though, it's way chiller than it sounds. it's giving "small function, big feelings." let's get into it 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

rcu_dereference_wiphy — it's an rcu_dereference but with debug checking baked in 👀 like, the same vibe but it's also watching you. no cap.

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

rcu_dereference_wiphy (wiphy , p );

that's it. that's the whole thing. she's compact ✨ (and yes, the spacing is exactly like that, we don't editorialize here 💖)

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

  • wiphy — the wiphy you want to check the locking on 🔍 this is the thing getting the vibe check, essentially.
  • p — the pointer to read, prior to dereferencing 🌟 so like, you grab it first and dereference after, obviously. main character energy is doing things in the right order 💅

💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

so what does it actually do? it does an rcu_dereference(p) — but with a twist 🌀 it also checks that whoever called it is either holding rcu_read_lock or the RTNL. that's the whole debug checking deal. it's like a little bouncer at the door being like "ma'am, do you have your lock? no? okay we can't let you in 😭"

⚠️ okay important note bestie: the page literally says "Please prefer wiphy_dereference or rcu_dereference." so like, this one is the debugging helper — use the other two in normal life, mkay? noted. logged. screenshotted 📸

and that's the core of it — but we're not done yet, there's more coming in the next parts so don't go anywhere 🌈✨

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

okay so this section? it's basically the entire friend group. the whole cfg80211 cinematic universe shows up here, no cap. every single one of these is a real page with (9) after it, and the master source of truth for all of it is the kernel file ./include/net/cfg80211.h — that's where the lore lives. 💖

like… the capability structs really said "we're the main character" huh 😭 and yeah, _ieee80211_set_sband_iftype_data(9) with the leading underscore is absolutely there, that's not a typo, don't come for me.

next up, the config girlies — <pink>Actions and configuration(9)</pink> and everyone who hangs out there:

the chandef squad ate, honestly. 🎀

and then we get into the survey + crypto + beacon era:

  • enum survey_info_flags(9)
  • struct survey_info(9)
  • struct cfg80211_crypto_settings(9)
  • struct cfg80211_mbssid_config(9)
  • struct cfg80211_mbssid_elems(9)
  • struct cfg80211_rnr_elems(9)
  • struct cfg80211_beacon_data(9)
  • struct cfg80211_acl_data(9)
  • struct cfg80211_fils_discovery(9)
  • struct cfg80211_unsol_bcast_probe_resp(9)
  • struct cfg80211_s1g_short_beacon(9)
  • struct cfg80211_ap_settings(9)
  • struct cfg80211_ap_update(9)
  • struct cfg80211_csa_settings(9)
  • struct cfg80211_color_change_settings(9)
  • struct iface_combination_params(9)

the station/AP parameter zone, aka the "so many knobs" part of the group chat:

  • enum station_parameters_apply_mask(9)
  • struct sta_txpwr(9)
  • struct link_station_parameters(9)
  • struct link_station_del_parameters(9)
  • struct cfg80211_ttlm_params(9)
  • struct station_parameters(9)
  • struct station_del_parameters(9)
  • enum cfg80211_station_type(9)
  • cfg80211_check_station_change(9)
  • enum rate_info_flags(9)
  • enum rate_info_bw(9)
  • struct rate_info(9)
  • enum bss_param_flags(9)
  • struct sta_bss_parameters(9)
  • struct cfg80211_txq_stats(9)
  • struct cfg80211_tid_stats(9)
  • struct link_station_info(9)
  • struct station_info(9)
  • struct cfg80211_sar_sub_specs(9)
  • struct cfg80211_sar_specs(9)
  • struct cfg80211_sar_freq_ranges(9)
  • struct cfg80211_sar_capa(9)
  • cfg80211_get_station(9)
  • enum monitor_flags(9)
  • enum mpath_info_flags(9)
  • struct mpath_info(9)
  • enum wiphy_bss_param_flags(9)
  • struct bss_parameters(9)
  • struct mesh_config(9)
  • struct mesh_setup(9)
  • struct ocb_setup(9)
  • struct ieee80211_txq_params(9)

mesh and OCB said "we're here too bestie, don't forget us" 🦋

<purple>Scanning and BSS list handling(9)</purple> — this whole clique, and it is a lot of clique:

  • struct cfg80211_ssid(9)
  • struct cfg80211_scan_info(9)
  • struct cfg80211_scan_6ghz_params(9)
  • struct cfg80211_scan_request(9)
  • struct cfg80211_match_set(9)
  • struct cfg80211_sched_scan_plan(9)
  • struct cfg80211_bss_select_adjust(9)
  • struct cfg80211_sched_scan_request(9)
  • enum cfg80211_signal_type(9)
  • struct cfg80211_inform_bss(9)
  • struct cfg80211_bss_ies(9)
  • struct cfg80211_bss(9)
  • ieee80211_bss_get_elem(9)
  • ieee80211_bss_get_ie(9)
  • struct cfg80211_auth_request(9)
  • struct cfg80211_assoc_link(9)
  • struct cfg80211_ml_reconf_req(9)
  • enum cfg80211_assoc_req_flags(9)
  • struct cfg80211_assoc_request(9)
  • struct cfg80211_deauth_request(9)
  • struct cfg80211_disassoc_request(9)
  • struct cfg80211_ibss_params(9)
  • struct cfg80211_bss_selection(9)
  • struct cfg80211_connect_params(9)
  • enum cfg80211_connect_params_changed(9)
  • enum wiphy_params_flags(9)
  • struct cfg80211_pmksa(9)
  • struct cfg80211_pkt_pattern(9)
  • struct cfg80211_wowlan_tcp(9)
  • struct cfg80211_wowlan(9)
  • struct cfg80211_coalesce_rules(9)
  • struct cfg80211_coalesce(9)
  • struct cfg80211_wowlan_nd_match(9)
  • struct cfg80211_wowlan_nd_info(9)
  • struct cfg80211_wowlan_wakeup(9)
  • struct cfg80211_gtk_rekey_data(9)
  • struct cfg80211_update_ft_ies_params(9)
  • struct cfg80211_mgmt_tx_params(9)
  • struct cfg80211_dscp_exception(9)
  • struct cfg80211_dscp_range(9)
  • struct cfg80211_qos_map(9)

Neighbor Awareness Networking (NAN)(9) — yes that's literally how it's written, with NAN in parens before the (9), iconic. plus:

  • struct cfg80211_nan_band_config(9)
  • struct cfg80211_nan_conf(9)
  • struct cfg80211_nan_channel(9)
  • struct cfg80211_nan_local_sched(9)
  • struct cfg80211_nan_peer_map(9)
  • struct cfg80211_nan_peer_sched(9)
  • enum cfg80211_nan_conf_changes(9)
  • struct cfg80211_nan_func_filter(9)
  • struct cfg80211_nan_func(9)

pmksa / external auth / pmsr lineup, aka the "measurement era":

  • struct cfg80211_pmk_conf(9)
  • struct cfg80211_external_auth_params(9)
  • struct cfg80211_ftm_responder_stats(9)
  • struct cfg80211_pmsr_ftm_result(9)
  • struct cfg80211_pmsr_result(9)
  • struct cfg80211_pmsr_ftm_request_peer(9)
  • struct cfg80211_pmsr_request_peer(9)
  • struct cfg80211_pmsr_request(9)
  • struct cfg80211_update_owe_info(9)
  • struct mgmt_frame_regs(9)

and now the big one, the wiphy family reunion. struct cfg80211_ops(9), enum wiphy_flags(9) and the whole support-system entourage:

the work-queue girlies, because everything gets scheduled around here 💅

<mint>Utility functions(9)</mint> — the little helpers that carry the whole operation:

<cyan>Data path helpers(9)</cyan> — header-length besties and element-finding icons:

the _elem vs _ie pairs are literally siblings, not twins, okay, they know what they are 🙈

<yellow>Regulatory enforcement infrastructure(9)</yellow> and <lavender>Internal regulatory db functions(9)</lavender> — the rules girlies:

and now we're deep in the reporting/notification era, buckle up 🫶

(note that __cfg80211_get_bss(9) has the double underscore, and cfg80211_assoc_failure(9) shows up right after struct cfg80211_assoc_failure(9) — both are real, both are here, periodt.)

<red>RFkill integration(9)</red>, <blue>Vendor commands(9)</blue>, <green>Test mode(9)</green> — the special-ops corner:

connection / roaming / mgmt-tx notifications, aka the "your wifi just did a thing" squad:

and bestie… that's where this part hands off, because the list is still going 👀💀

…and the list just keeps going, bestie, like genuinely it does not stop 💀 so here's the rest of it, all of it, no skips:

okay that batch was giving "registration and IE parsing era" ✨ moving on:

the NAN saga is honestly its own whole cinematic universe, we love a spin-off 🎀 and it keeps going:

colour-change gang stand up 🌈 and the home stretch, bestie:

and that's the whole list, like actually the end, we survived 😭💖 go read one of them, pick a fave, they're all iconic in their own way.

lil' footnote so you know where this came from: this page lives in ./include/net, it's dated October 2026, and it's the man page for rcu_dereference_wiphy(9). slay, bye bestie 🫶💅
📦 where this page comes from