STRUCT DRM_CLIENT_DEV(9)

💅 struct drm_client_dev(9) — the Kernel API Manual glow-up

okay so bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual, and today's main character is struct drm_client_dev — literally the DRM client instance itself. this is the one, no cap 🎀

---

✨ NAME ✨

struct drm_client_dev — DRM client instance 🦋

---

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

okay here's the whole vibe, verbatim, don't touch it, it's perfect:

struct drm_client_dev {
    struct drm_device *dev;
    const char *name;
    struct list_head list;
    const struct drm_client_funcs *funcs;
    struct drm_file *file;
    struct mutex modeset_mutex;
    struct drm_mode_set *modesets;
    bool suspended;
    bool hotplug_pending;
    bool hotplug_failed;
 };

(that last brace lowkey has its own little indent situation going on. we respect it. we leave it. periodt 💅)

---

💖 Members 💖

time for the character-by-character compatibility check of every field, iykyk:

• dev — the DRM device. your fave's home base 🏠
• name — the name of the client. yes it has a name, it's iconic, let it have this ✨
• list — the list of all clients of a DRM device, linked into drm_device.clientlist. protected by drm_device.clientlist_mutex — so mind the lock, bestie, fr fr 🔒
• funcs — the DRM client functions. optional! it's giving "if you know you know" 🫶
• file — the DRM file 📁
• modeset_mutex — protects modesets. it's a struct mutex and it's doing the most so nobody touches the modesets at the same time 😤
• modesets — CRTC configurations. that's the whole point right there 💫
• suspended — bool that says the client has been suspended. it's napping. do not disturb 💤
• hotplug_pending — a hotplug event has been received while the client was suspended. try again on resume — like when your group chat blows up while you're asleep and you have to scroll back in the morning, except it's hotplug events 🌈
• hotplug_failed — set by client hotplug helpers if the hotplugging failed before. it is usually not tried again — so yeah, that ship has sailed, don't come for it 💀

lowkey a warning-ish vibe on those last two: hotplug_pending means retry on resume, but hotplug_failed means nobody's trying that again. keep them straight or things get weird 🍓

---

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

go read these next, they're all linked in the kernel file ./include/drm/drm_client.h:

• struct drm_client_funcs(9)
• struct drm_client_buffer(9)
• drm_client_for_each_modeset(9)
• drm_client_for_each_connector_iter(9)

literally a whole friend group, go say hi 🧚

---

and that's the page!! this little beauty lives in ./include/drm, it's from October 2026, and it's titled struct drm_client_dev(9). mwah. slay. go forth and configure your CRTCs responsibly 💜🎀