try_to_unlazy_next(9)

✨ try_to_unlazy_next ✨

okay so bestie, this is a page from the Kernel API Manual — yeah, the Kernel API Manual — and the star of the show is try_to_unlazy_next(9). buckle up 🎀

---

🌸 NAME 🌸

try_to_unlazy_next — the "try to switch to ref-walk mode" girlie 💅

---

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

bool try_to_unlazy_next (struct nameidata *nd , struct dentry *dentry );

---

🍓 ARGUMENTS 🍓

• nd — the nameidata pathwalk data. it's the walk state, it holds everything, be nice to it 🫶
• dentry — the next dentry to step into. like, the next one, yk? the one you're about to hop into ✨

---

🔥 RETURN 🔥

• true on success 👑
• false on failure 😭

that's it. that's the whole return contract. no cap.

---

💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

so it's similar to try_to_unlazy, right — except here we've already got the next dentry picked out by rcu-walk, and we want to legitimize that one in addition to the current nd->path and nd->root for ref-walk mode. the way it's doing double duty… iconic honestly 🎀

⚠️ it must be called from rcu-walk context. not optional, not a vibe suggestion, fr fr.

🙈 and — huge one — nothing should touch nameidata between try_to_unlazy_next failure and terminate_walk. like, hands off. do not pass go, do not touch nameidata, wait for terminate_walk. that window is not for you bestie 💀

---

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

Kernel file ./fs/namei.c — and honestly the whole friend group is here, so let me introduce you 💖

• check_acl(9)
• acl_permission_check(9)
• generic_permission(9)
• do_inode_permission(9)
• sb_permission(9)
• inode_permission(9)
• path_get(9)
• path_put(9)
• path_connected(9)
• try_to_unlazy(9)
• complete_walk(9)
• may_follow_link(9)
• safe_hardlink_source(9)
• may_linkat(9)
• may_create_in_sticky(9)
• lookup_fast(9)
• start_dirop(9)
• end_dirop(9)
• kern_path_parent(9)
• vfs_path_parent_lookup(9)
• vfs_path_lookup(9)
• try_lookup_noperm(9)
• lookup_noperm(9)
• lookup_one(9)
• lookup_one_unlocked(9)
• lookup_one_positive_killable(9)
• lookup_one_positive_unlocked(9)
• lookup_noperm_unlocked(9)
• start_creating(9)
• start_removing(9)
• start_creating_killable(9)
• start_removing_killable(9)
• start_creating_noperm(9)
• start_removing_noperm(9)
• start_creating_dentry(9)
• start_removing_dentry(9)
• __start_renaming(9)
• start_renaming(9)
• start_renaming_dentry(9)
• start_renaming_two_dentries(9)
• vfs_prepare_mode(9)
• vfs_create(9)
• atomic_open(9)
• vfs_lookup_open(9)
• vfs_tmpfile(9)
• kernel_tmpfile_open(9)
• end_creating_path(9)
• dentry_create(9)
• vfs_mknod(9)
• vfs_mkdir(9)
• vfs_rmdir(9)
• vfs_unlink(9)
• vfs_symlink(9)
• vfs_link(9)
• vfs_rename(9)
• vfs_readlink(9)
• vfs_get_link(9)
• page_get_link(9)
• page_put_link(9)

like I said. the whole friend group. iykyk 🌟

---

mwah, that's the page!! this little number lives in the ./fs source, and it's dated October 2026 — so go forth, switch to ref-walk mode responsibly, and remember: no touching nameidata in the timeout corner 🧚💜