request_key_net(9)

💅 request_key_net — a Kernel API Manual moment

okay so bestie, welcome to request_key_net(9) ✨ this is the page where the kernel asks for a key that belongs to a net namespace and then just… waits for it to be built 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

request_key_net — request a key for a net namespace and wait for construction 🌸

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

request_key_net (type , description , net , callout_info );

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🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• type — the type of key, like what kind of key are we even asking for 💅
• description — the searchable description of the key 🔍 yes bestie, searchable, it's how the key gets found
• net — the network namespace that is the key's domain of operation 🌐 this is literally the whole point of this variant, iykyk
• callout_info — the data to pass to the instantiation upcall (or NULL) 📞 or NULL, your call, no pressure

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

So it's the same as request_key, with a few very important plot twists 🌈 and the way that it's different is:

• it does not add the returned key to a keyring if found — no keyring, no problem, periodt 💀
• new keys are always allocated in the user's quota — every single time, no exceptions 👑
• the callout_info must be a NUL-terminated string 🤏 that's a hard requirement, not a vibe
• no auxiliary data can be passed 🚫 none, zero, nada

Only keys that operate the specified network namespace are used 🌐 so if a key isn't about that netns, it's not invited to the group chat, sorry not sorry 🙈

Furthermore — and yes we love a "furthermore" — it then works as wait_for_key_construction to wait for the completion of keys undergoing construction, with a non-interruptible wait 😭 so it's gonna sit there and wait the whole time, you cannot interrupt it, that's just the deal bestie, fr fr

⚠️ hi again: that wait is non-interruptible, so do not expect to just gently tap out of it. It waits. That's the whole personality 💅

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⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

• Kernel file ./include/linux/key.h
• request_key(9)
• request_key_net_rcu(9)
• key_is_positive(9)

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and that's the page, bestie 🎀 it lives in ./include/linux, the version is October 2026, and it's filed under request_key_net(9) ✨ go forth and request keys responsibly 💜