sync_inode_metadata(9)

✨ sync_inode_metadata ✨

okay so bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual — this one's a lil function called sync_inode_metadata, and no cap, it's lowkey important. let's get into it 💅

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🌸 NAME 🌸

sync_inode_metadata — write an inode to disk. that's it. that's the whole vibe ✨

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

int sync_inode_metadata (struct inode *inode , int wait );

literally the entire signature, no notes 🫶

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💖 ARGUMENTS 💖

• inode — the inode you wanna sync, bestie. the main character of this whole operation 👑
• wait — wait for I/O to complete. yes, fr fr, it actually waits. patience is a virtue or whatever 🧚

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so what does it do. okay so: it writes an inode to disk, and then — this is the cute part — it adjusts its dirty state after completion. like, after it's done. after the write. iconic behavior honestly 🌟

no crumbs left behind, the dirty state gets fixed up when the I/O finishes. slay 💅

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🔥 NOTE 🔥

heads up bestie, this is a big caveat: it only writes the actual inode. no associated data. no other metadata. just the inode. that's the whole meal. don't @ me when your data isn't there, because the manual said so 😭

read that note twice, ngl. it's giving "i did exactly what you asked and nothing more" 💀

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

okay so this is the deep lore section — the Kernel file ./fs/fs-writeback.c and honestly, look at this friend group. this is the whole group chat:

• inode_io_list_move_locked(9)
• wb_wait_for_completion(9)
• inode_cgwb_move_to_attached(9)
• locked_inode_to_wb_and_lock_list(9)
• inode_to_wb_and_lock_list(9)
• inode_switch_wbs(9)
• cleanup_offline_cgwb(9)
• wbc_attach_and_unlock_inode(9)
• wbc_attach_fdatawrite_inode(9)
• wbc_detach_inode(9)
• wbc_account_cgroup_owner(9)
• wb_split_bdi_pages(9)
• bdi_split_work_to_wbs(9)
• cgroup_writeback_by_id(9)
• cgroup_writeback_umount(9)
• wb_start_background_writeback(9)
• filemap_dontcache_kick_writeback(9)
• __mark_inode_dirty(9)
• writeback_inodes_sb_nr(9)
• writeback_inodes_sb(9)
• try_to_writeback_inodes_sb(9)
• sync_inodes_sb(9)
• write_inode_now(9)

all of them. every single one. iykyk 🍓

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and that's the page, bestie!! 🎀 this lil gem lives in ./fs, dated October 2026, and it's filed under sync_inode_metadata(9) — so next time u need it, u know exactly where to look 💜✨ go sync those inodes, u got this 🫶