STRUCT NFT_TABLE(9)

🎀 struct nft_table(9) 🎀

okay bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual — yes we're reading kernel docs together, this is our bonding time 💖 and today's main character is struct nft_table, aka the nf_tables table. She's iconic, she holds everything, let's get into it ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

struct nft_table — the nf_tables table 💅

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

no cap, here's the whole vibe of her:

struct nft_table {
    struct list_head                list;
    struct rhltable                 chains_ht;
    struct list_head                chains;
    struct list_head                sets;
    struct list_head                objects;
    struct list_head                flowtables;
    struct rhltable                 objname_ht;
    u64 hgenerator;
    u64 handle;
    u32 use;
    u16 family:6, flags:8, genmask:2;
    u32 nlpid;
    char *name;
    u16 udlen;
    u8 *udata;
    u8 validate_state;
 };

like, look at her. she's got range 🦋

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🫶 Members 🫶

every field gets her moment, as she deserves 👑

• list — used internally 🧚 lowkey a private thing, don't make it weird
• chains_ht — the chains in the table 🔥
• chains — same thing honestly, but this one's for stable walks ✨
• sets — the sets in the table 🎀
• objects — the stateful objects in the table 🌈
• flowtables — the flow tables in the table (flow tables in the table, yes, it's giving inception 💀)
• objname_ht — hashtable for looking up objects by name 🔍
• hgenerator — the handle generator state 🎰
• handle — the table's handle ✋
• use — number of chain references to this table 👀 she's popular, periodt
• family — address family 🏡
• flags — table flag (see enum nft_table_flags) 🚩
• genmask — generation mask 🎭
• nlpid — netlink port ID 📡
• name — the name of the table 🏷️
• udlen — length of the user data 📏
• udata — user data 💾
• validate_state — internal, set when a transaction adds jumps 🙈 lowkey bookkeeping, not for you

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💜 SEE ALSO 💜

literally the whole friend group, she rolls deep 🫶 kernel file ./include/net/netfilter/nf_tables.h:

• struct nft_verdict(9)
• struct nft_regs(9)
• struct nft_ctx(9)
• struct nft_userdata(9)
• struct nft_set_elem(9)
• enum nft_iter_type(9)
• struct nft_set_desc(9)
• enum nft_set_class(9)
• struct nft_set_estimate(9)
• struct nft_expr(9)
• struct nft_set_ops(9)
• struct nft_set_type(9)
• struct nft_set(9)
• struct nft_set_binding(9)
• enum nft_set_extensions(9)
• struct nft_set_ext_type(9)
• struct nft_set_ext_tmpl(9)
• struct nft_set_ext(9)
• struct nft_expr_type(9)
• struct nft_expr_ops(9)
• struct nft_rule(9)
• struct nft_chain_validate_state(9)
• struct nft_chain(9)
• struct nft_chain_type(9)
• struct nft_base_chain(9)
• struct nft_object_hash_key(9)
• struct nft_object(9)
• struct nft_object_type(9)
• struct nft_object_ops(9)
• struct nft_flowtable(9)
• struct nft_traceinfo(9)
• struct nft_trans(9)
• struct nft_trans_hook(9)
• struct nft_trans_binding(9)

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bestie reminder: list and validate_state are marked internal, so admire from a respectful distance, okay? 😭 no poking the internals fr fr

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that's the whole page, you ate that 💅 sourced from ./include/net/netfilter, dated October 2026, filed under struct nft_table(9) — go be a kernel girlie, iykyk 🦋✨🍓