spi_new_device(9)

✨ spi_new_device(9) ✨

okay so this is a page from the Kernel API Manual — the spi_new_device one, bestie. it's a kernel function, it lives in ./drivers/spi, and it's about to make a whole new SPI device appear out of thin air (well, out of structs). let's get into it 💅

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🌸 NAME 🌸

spi_new_device — instantiate one new SPI device

like, literally, it births a single SPI device. one. singular. iconic behavior.

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

struct spi_device * spi_new_device (struct spi_controller *ctlr , struct
spi_board_info *chip );

so you hand it a controller and a board info struct, and it hands you back a struct spi_device *. the whole vibe in one line, no cap 🫶

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• ctlr — the controller your device is connected to. that's the parent energy right there 👑
• chip — describes the SPI device itself. all the deets about what you're bringing into the world ✨

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💜 CONTEXT 💜

can sleep 😴

yes bestie, this one is allowed to sleep. so don't be calling it from somewhere sleepy-frowned-upon, iykyk.

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🌈 DESCRIPTION 🌈

so on your typical mainboards, this function is purely internal — and honestly? it's not needed after board init has already created the hard-wired devices. like, the work is done, go home 🏠

but here's the thing 👀 some development platforms may not be able to use spi_register_board_info, and that's exactly why this one is exported. so for example a USB or parport based adapter driver could add devices — ones it would learn about out-of-band 🎧

periodt. that's the whole reason it exists in the public API.

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⭐ RETURN ⭐

the new device, or NULL.

that's it. that's the return value. either you get your shiny new device or you get NULL and you gotta deal 😭

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🧚 SEE ALSO 🧚

the Kernel file ./drivers/spi/spi.c — and a truly legendary list of friends, all of them together, exactly like this:

• __spi_register_driver(9)
• spi_alloc_device(9)
• spi_add_device(9)
• spi_unregister_device(9)
• spi_register_board_info(9)
• spi_res_alloc(9)
• spi_res_free(9)
• spi_res_add(9)
• spi_res_release(9)
• spi_finalize_current_transfer(9)
• __spi_pump_messages(9)
• spi_pump_messages(9)
• spi_take_timestamp_pre(9)
• spi_take_timestamp_post(9)
• spi_set_thread_rt(9)
• spi_get_next_queued_message(9)
• spi_finalize_current_message(9)
• spi_queued_transfer(9)
• spi_flush_queue(9)
• of_register_spi_devices(9)
• spi_new_ancillary_device(9)
• devm_spi_new_ancillary_device(9)
• acpi_spi_count_resources(9)
• acpi_spi_device_alloc(9)
• spi_target_abort(9)
• __spi_alloc_controller(9)
• __devm_spi_alloc_controller(9)
• spi_get_gpio_descs(9)
• spi_register_controller(9)
• devm_spi_register_controller(9)
• spi_unregister_controller(9)
• spi_replace_transfers(9)
• spi_split_transfers_maxsize(9)
• spi_split_transfers_maxwords(9)
• spi_set_cs_timing(9)
• spi_setup(9)
• spi_optimize_message(9)
• spi_unoptimize_message(9)
• devm_spi_optimize_message(9)
• spi_async(9)
• spi_sync(9)
• spi_sync_locked(9)
• spi_bus_lock(9)
• spi_bus_unlock(9)
• spi_write_then_read(9)

that's the whole group chat right there, no one left on read 💖

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like and subscribe to ./drivers/spi for more, bestie 🍓

and that's the page!! brought to you by the fine folks at ./drivers/spi, dated October 2026, and yeah — it's spi_new_device(9) all the way down. mwah 💋🫶 go instantiate something cute today 🌸