skb_tx_error(9)

🎀 skb_tx_error(9) — like, the Kernel API Manual bestie 🎀

okay so real talk, this one's a lil function from the section 9 manual (kernel API, iykyk) and she's tiny but she MATTERS 💅

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✨ NAME ✨

skb_tx_error — report an sk_buff xmit error</p> 💖

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

void skb_tx_error (struct sk_buff *skb );

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🌸 ARGUMENTS 🌸

• skb — the buffer that triggered an error 🫶 like, the actual culprit right there

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👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

okay so picture this: something went wrong on xmit, and you gotta tell someone. skb_tx_error reports that xmit error — but only if a device callback is tracking this skb ✨ fr fr, if nobody's watching, nothing happens.

⚠️ bestie listen to me: skb must be freed afterwards. like, you still gotta clean up, this function does not do that for you 😭

and here's the iconic part — it does literally nothing for a cloned skb 🙈 why? because the zerocopy state lives in skb_shinfo, which the clones share. so yeah, clones get a free pass, no cap 💀

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

Kernel file ./net/core/skbuff.c — and omg the whole friend group showed up, look at this list 🎀

• drop_reasons_register_subsys(9)
• drop_reasons_unregister_subsys(9)
• skb_panic(9)
• napi_skb_cache_get_bulk(9)
• __build_skb(9)
• build_skb_around(9)
• __napi_build_skb(9)
• napi_build_skb(9)
• __alloc_skb(9)
• __netdev_alloc_skb(9)
• napi_alloc_skb(9)
• skb_pp_cow_data(9)
• skb_pp_frag_ref(9)
• __kfree_skb(9)
• sk_skb_reason_drop(9)
• consume_skb(9)
• __consume_stateless_skb(9)
• napi_consume_skb(9)
• alloc_skb_for_msg(9)
• skb_morph(9)
• skb_copy_ubufs(9)
• skb_clone(9)
• skb_copy(9)
• __pskb_copy_fclone(9)
• pskb_expand_head(9)
• skb_expand_head(9)
• skb_copy_expand(9)
• __skb_pad(9)
• pskb_put(9)
• skb_put(9)
• skb_push(9)
• skb_pull(9)
• skb_pull_data(9)
• skb_trim(9)
• __pskb_pull_tail(9)
• skb_copy_bits(9)
• skb_store_bits(9)
• skb_zerocopy(9)
• skb_dequeue(9)
• skb_dequeue_tail(9)
• skb_queue_purge_reason(9)
• skb_rbtree_purge(9)
• skb_queue_head(9)
• skb_queue_tail(9)
• skb_unlink(9)
• skb_append(9)
• skb_split(9)
• skb_shift(9)
• skb_prepare_seq_read(9)
• skb_seq_read(9)
• skb_abort_seq_read(9)
• skb_copy_seq_read(9)
• skb_find_text(9)
• skb_pull_rcsum(9)
• skb_segment(9)
• skb_to_sgvec(9)
• skb_cow_data(9)
• skb_clone_sk(9)
• skb_partial_csum_set(9)
• skb_checksum_setup(9)
• skb_checksum_maybe_trim(9)
• skb_checksum_trimmed(9)
• skb_try_coalesce(9)
• skb_scrub_packet(9)
• skb_eth_pop(9)
• skb_eth_push(9)
• skb_mpls_push(9)
• skb_mpls_pop(9)
• skb_mpls_update_lse(9)
• skb_mpls_dec_ttl(9)
• alloc_skb_with_frags(9)
• skb_condense(9)
• __skb_ext_alloc(9)
• __skb_ext_set(9)
• skb_ext_add(9)
• skb_attempt_defer_free(9)
• skb_splice_from_iter(9)

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🧚 sign-off time, mwah 💜 this lil page lives in ./net/core and it's dated October 2026 — go forth, report those xmit errors, and free your skb 🍓 periodt.