reg_initiator_name(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💅 reg_initiator_name(9) — straight from the Kernel API Manual, bestie

okay so picture this: you're deep in the kernel, you've got one of those enum nl80211_reg_initiator values sitting in your hand, and it's just… a number. a vibe-less little integer. and you're like "girl what ARE you though" 😭 that's literally what this function is for. it's the glow-up machine for initiator enums. no cap.

✨ NAME ✨

reg_initiator_name — maps a regulatory request initiator enum to a name, because numbers are giving nothing and strings are giving everything 💖

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

const char * reg_initiator_name (enum nl80211_reg_initiator initiator );

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

  • initiator — the regulatory request initiator. yes bestie, that's the whole thing. that's the enum you're handing over so it can get a name. she's the main character of this function, honestly 🫶

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so here's the tea, and it's genuinely that simple: you can use this to map the regulatory request initiator enum to a proper string representation. that's it. that's the function. it's the little translator standing between "cryptic enum value" and "ohhhh THAT'S what that is" ✨

highkey iconic behaviour from a tiny function. the way that it just… does one thing and does it well. we love a focused queen 👑

⭐ RETURN ⭐

pointer to string representation of the initiator 💫 — so like, a const char *, pointing at the pretty string version. not your problem what happens after, you just got handed a name and you're gonna slay with it.

ngl, one tiny detail to keep in your notes app: the wording here is specifically "pointer to string representation of the initiator" — a pointer, bestie, not a copy. just so we're all on the same page 🙈

part 1 of 3, and there's more where that came from…

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

okay bestie, this is the part where this manpage flexes its entire friend group 💅 like literally everyone pulls up. same order, same names, all of them (9) because they're all kernel-doc girlies. no gatekeeping, full roster:

🎀 Actions and configuration — the whole arc 🎀

🔍 Scanning and BSS list handling 🔍

  • the section: Scanning and BSS list handling(9)
  • scan request lore 📡: 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)
  • BSS girlies 💖: struct cfg80211_inform_bss(9), struct cfg80211_bss_ies(9), struct cfg80211_bss(9), ieee80211_bss_get_elem(9), ieee80211_bss_get_ie(9)
  • connecting / auth / assoc / deauth / disassoc — the whole relationship lifecycle 😭: 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)
  • ibss, bss selection, connect params, wiphy params: 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)
  • pmksa, packet patterns, and the wowlan extended universe (she sleeps but she's still working 💤): 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) 🦋

🧚 Utility functions 🧚

🔥 Data path helpers 🔥

🌍 Regulatory enforcement infrastructure 🌍

📶 RFkill integration 📶

🛍️ Vendor commands 🛍️

🧪 Test mode 🧪

okay so the friend-group keeps going, bestie — here's the rest of the SEE ALSO squad 💅 every single one is a real page, every single one is worth a read, no skipping:

and that's a wrap on reg_initiator_name(9), bestie — you read the WHOLE thing, i'm so proud of you 😭💖

This one lives over in ./include/net (that's the source path it was built from, that's where the trees are 🌳), and it's dated October 2026 — so if you're reading this before then, hi from the future bestie 🦋💫

mwah 💋 go touch some kernel code, you've earned it 🎀✨🌸

📦 where this page comes from