tty_port_tty_get(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💅 tty_port_tty_get(9) — a Kernel API Manual moment

okay bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual, section 9, and the star of the show is tty_port_tty_get 🎀 lowkey one of the most useful little functions in the tty world and I need you to know about it.

✨ NAME ✨

tty_port_tty_get — get a tty reference 🫶 like literally just grab one, safely.

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

struct tty_struct * tty_port_tty_get (struct tty_port *port );

that's it. that's the whole vibe. one function, one pointer in, one pointer out 💖

🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

  • port — the tty port, bestie. that's the thing you're passing in. the port itself. 🐚

🔥 DESCRIPTION 🔥

okay so here's the tea ☕ — this function returns a refcount protected tty instance. meaning it hands you a tty and it's already got its refcount situation handled for you, no cap. responsible queen behavior 👑

and if the port is not associated with a tty? you get NULL. that happens, like, when the port has been closed or hung up (eg due to close or hangup). so yes, NULL is a real possible answer and you should be checking for it, ngl 🙈

fr fr — don't just assume you're getting a tty back. check your return value, it's giving basic safety and it's iconic 💅

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

the kernel file lives at ./drivers/tty/tty_port.c and here's the whole friend group, all 24 of them, in the exact order they were introduced to me 🧚:

mwah 💋 that's the page. go get your refcount-protected tty and slay.

sign-off time 🎀 — this one comes from ./drivers/tty, dated October 2026, and it's page tty_port_tty_get(9). periodt. 💜

📦 where this page comes from