touch_nmi_watchdog(9)

💅 touch_nmi_watchdog — kernel API manual, section 9, bestie 🎀

okay so bestie, welcome to touch_nmi_watchdog(9) from the Kernel API Manual — yes we're in the kernel, yes it's giving main character energy, and yes i'm gonna explain the whole thing to you. no cap. 🦋

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✨ NAME ✨

touch_nmi_watchdog — manually reset the hardlockup watchdog timeout. that's it. that's the whole vibe. she pets the watchdog, periodt. 🐕💅

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

void touch_nmi_watchdog (void );

literally the entire signature. nothing in, nothing out. clean. iconic. 😌

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✨ ARGUMENTS ✨

• void — no arguments. zero. none. she takes nothing from you, she just resets things. 🫶

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so here's the tea ☕ — if we support detecting hardlockups, touch_nmi_watchdog may be used to pet the watchdog (aka reset the timeout). it's for code that intentionally disables interrupts for a long time and needs the watchdog to not freak out about it. think of it as like, "hey girl i know i'm being quiet rn but i promise i'm not dead, don't restart me bestie 💀" — and that's literally the whole point.

also important: this call is stateless. no memory, no bookkeeping, no nothing. you touch it, it resets, done. she does not hold a grudge, she does not remember you, she simply vibes. ✨

now for the little plot twist 🌀 — even though this function has "nmi" in the name, the hardlockup watchdog might not be backed by NMIs at all. so the name is lowkey misleading?? anyway, the word on the street is that this function will likely be renamed to touch_hardlockup_watchdog in the future. so don't get too attached to the current name, it's giving glow-up incoming 💅🔥

ngl the naming drama is real but the behavior is stable, so you're fine. just, y'know. iykyk. 🙈

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✨ SEE ALSO ✨

• Kernel file ./include/linux/nmi.h — go read her, she's the source of truth 🧚💜

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and that's the page bestie!! 🌸 this one lives in ./include/linux, dated October 2026, and she answers to the name touch_nmi_watchdog(9) — so like, if anyone asks, that's her full government name 👑💖 mwah, go pet that watchdog responsibly!! 🎀🦋⭐