STRUCT DRM_I915_GEM_VM_CONTROL(9)

💖 struct drm_i915_gem_vm_control(9) — from the Kernel API Manual, bestie 💖

okay so this is a whole struct in the kernel API docs and it's literally the blueprint for making and unmaking a VM. like, virtual memory address space energy. let's get into it ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

struct drm_i915_gem_vm_control — the structure you use to create or destroy a VM. periodt.

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

struct drm_i915_gem_vm_control {
    __u64 extensions;
    __u32 flags;
    __u32 vm_id;
 };

that's the whole shape of it, no cap 💅

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🦋 Members 🦋

• extensions — a zero-terminated chain of extensions. it's giving "linked list but make it official" 🔥
• flags — reserved for future usage, currently MBZ (that's "must be zero", keep it that way bestie 🙈)
• vm_id — the id of the VM that's being created or the one that's about to be destroyed 💀

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⭐ Description ⭐

💜 DRM_I915_GEM_VM_CREATE 💜

okay so this one creates a brand-new virtual memory address space (that's ppGTT, iykyk) for use inside a context on the same file. and the cute part? you can hand over extensions to configure exactly how that address space gets set up when it's created 🫶

the id of the new VM — and yes, it's bound to the fd — comes back to you in the outparam id, so you can use it with I915_CONTEXT_PARAM_VM later. lowkey iconic how that works ✨

you may provide an extension chain, starting at extensions and terminated by the next_extension being 0. but heads up: currently, no extensions are defined. so like, the door's open but nobody's walked through yet 🚪

💀 DRM_I915_GEM_VM_DESTROY 💀

this one destroys a previously created VM id, and you specify which one in vm_id. bye bestie 👋

no extensions or flags are allowed currently, so they must be zero. fr fr, not a suggestion.

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

go read these too, they're all in the same lore:

• the Kernel file ./tools/perf/trace/beauty/include/uapi/drm/i915_drm.h
• uevents generated by i915 on its device node(9)
• struct i915_user_extension(9)
• enum drm_i915_gem_engine_class(9)
• struct i915_engine_class_instance(9)
• perf_events exposed by i915 through /sys/bus/event_sources/drivers/i915(9)
• struct drm_i915_getparam(9)
• drm_i915_getparam_t(9)
• struct drm_i915_gem_mmap_offset(9)
• struct drm_i915_gem_set_domain(9)
• struct drm_i915_gem_exec_fence(9)
• struct drm_i915_gem_execbuffer_ext_timeline_fences(9)
• struct drm_i915_gem_execbuffer2(9)
• struct drm_i915_gem_caching(9)
• struct drm_i915_gem_context_create_ext(9)
• struct drm_i915_gem_context_param(9)
• Virtual Engine uAPI(9)
• struct i915_context_engines_parallel_submit(9)
• Context Engine Map uAPI(9)
• struct drm_i915_gem_context_create_ext_setparam(9)
• struct drm_i915_gem_userptr(9)
• struct drm_i915_perf_oa_config(9)
• struct drm_i915_query_item(9)
• struct drm_i915_query(9)
• struct drm_i915_query_topology_info(9)
• Engine Discovery uAPI(9)
• struct drm_i915_engine_info(9)
• struct drm_i915_query_engine_info(9)
• struct drm_i915_query_perf_config(9)
• enum drm_i915_gem_memory_class(9)
• struct drm_i915_gem_memory_class_instance(9)
• struct drm_i915_memory_region_info(9)
• struct drm_i915_query_memory_regions(9)
• struct drm_i915_query_guc_submission_version(9)
• GuC HWCONFIG blob uAPI(9)
• struct drm_i915_gem_create_ext(9)
• struct drm_i915_gem_create_ext_memory_regions(9)
• struct drm_i915_gem_create_ext_protected_content(9)
• struct drm_i915_gem_create_ext_set_pat(9)

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and that's the whole page bestie, hope it slayed 💅✨ this came out of ./tools/perf/trace/beauty/incl… with a date stamp of October 2026, and it's still sitting pretty under the name struct drm_i…m_vm_control(9). mwah, go build a VM 🎀🦋💖