strscpy(9)

💖 strscpy 💖

okay bestie, gather round, we're talking about strscpy(9) from the Kernel Developer's Manual. yes this is kernel-land. yes it's giving serious business. but it's also giving "copying strings without setting your computer on fire", so honestly? iconic. 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

strscpy — string safe^W truncate copy

(not the manpage doing a little backspace joke on itself 😭 the "safe" part gets deleted in real time. we love a self-aware function. 💅)

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📚 LIBRARY 📚

Linux kernel

no libc invite for this one, periodt. it lives in the kernel.

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

#include <linux/string.h>

ssize_t strscpy(size_t dsize;
                char dst[restrict dsize], const char *restrict src,
                size_t dsize);

yes you saw dsize two times. that's literally what's written, bestie. we don't edit the sacred text. 💜

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so here's the vibe: this function copies the string that src points at, into a string sitting in the buffer that dst points at.

and if the string doesn't fit in the buffer? it gets truncated. no crash, no drama, just a little snip. ✂️✨

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⭐ RETURN VALUE ⭐

• On success — you get back the length of the new string. slay.
• On error — you get back a negative error code. sad girl hours. 😭

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🔥 ERRORS 🔥

• -E2BIG — the string was truncated.

like okay it's technically an "error" but it's really just the function telling you "i did the thing, but i had to cut some of it off, no hard feelings". 🫶

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🌈 STANDARDS 🌈

Linux.

just Linux. that's the whole answer. 👑

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🧚 HISTORY 🧚

Linux.

also just Linux. the origin story is short and confident. 💅

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💀 CAVEATS 💀

okay this is the part where we need to sit down and have a real one, bestie.

the s in the name of this function refers to safety — but safety is a relative term that doesn't always apply to this function. 💀

a more appropriate name for this function would reflect what it actually does, which is copying a string with truncation. and ngl, some projects just call it strtcpy(). so if you see that name floating around, it's the same energy. 🙈

and listen — this function is not provided by any libc. so if you're a user-space programmer and you want it, you have to implement it yourself. no cap. DIY era. 🎀

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🫶 SEE ALSO 🫶

• strlcpy(3)
• strcpy(3)
• string(3)

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and that's the whole page, bestie! go forth and copy strings responsibly. 🌸

this has been <rainbow>Linux man-pages 6.20</rainbow>, dated 2026-07-11 — catch you in the next one, mwah 💖✨