sock_release(9)

💖 NAME 💖

okay bestie, this is the sock_release(9) page from the Kernel API Manual — and it does exactly what it says on the tin: sock_release closes a socket. periodt 💅

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

void sock_release (struct socket *sock );

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• sock — the socket to close. that's the whole arg, no cap 🫶

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

here's the lowkey tea: the socket gets released from the protocol stack if it has a release callback. then the inode is released if the socket is bound to an inode, not a file. that's the behavior, fr fr 💅

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

Kernel file: ./net/socket.c

the whole squad is here:

• move_addr_to_kernel(9)
• move_addr_to_user(9)
• sock_read_xattr(9)
• sock_alloc_file(9)
• sock_from_file(9)
• sockfd_lookup(9)
• sock_alloc(9)
• sock_sendmsg(9)
• kernel_sendmsg(9)
• sock_recvmsg(9)
• kernel_recvmsg(9)
• sock_create_lite(9)
• __sock_create(9)
• sock_create(9)
• sock_create_kern(9)
• sock_register(9)
• sock_unregister(9)
• kernel_bind(9)
• kernel_listen(9)
• kernel_accept(9)
• kernel_connect(9)
• kernel_getsockname(9)
• kernel_getpeername(9)
• kernel_sock_shutdown(9)
• kernel_sock_ip_overhead(9)

Source/version/date: ./net, October 2026, on sock_release(9) — bye bestie, go close those sockets responsibly 💖✨