ubifs_jnl_change_xattr(9)

💅 ubifs_jnl_change_xattr — like, the extended-attribute glow-up function ✨

okay so bestie, this page is from the Kernel API Manual (section 9, kernel developer vibes 👑) and it's literally all about ubifs_jnl_change_xattr. yes the name is a mouthful, no we're not changing it, it's iconic. 🎀

---

✨ NAME ✨

ubifs_jnl_change_xattr — change an extended attribute. that's it. that's the whole plot 🦋

---

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

int ubifs_jnl_change_xattr (struct ubifs_info *c , const struct inode
*inode , const struct inode *host );

literally one function, three args, returns an int. slay. 💅

---

🫶 ARGUMENTS 🫶

• c — the UBIFS file-system description object. your whole filesystem's main character energy lives in here 🌈
• inode — the extended attribute inode. the xattr itself, the lil guy we're updating 🧚
• host — the host inode. the inode that's, like, hosting the attribute. the landlord, basically 🏠

---

🔥 DESCRIPTION 🔥

so what this function does is write the updated version of an extended attribute inode and the host inode out to the journal — and not just anywhere, specifically to the base head. iykyk 💀

and here's the part that's actually kind of genius: the host inode gets written after the extended attribute inode, on purpose. why? because that ordering guarantees the extended attribute will be flushed when the inode is synchronized by 'fsync', and consequently, the write-buffer is synchronized. like, the sequencing is the whole point, bestie — it's giving careful, deliberate, ordered ✨

as for the return value: this function returns zero in case of success and a negative error code in case of failure. no in-between, no "it depends", just zero or nope 💀

fr fr do not ignore the negative return. negative error code = something went wrong, and you should handle it. no cap 🙈

---

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

literally the whole friend group from Kernel file ./fs/ubifs/journal.c — go say hi to all of them 💖

• zero_ino_node_unused(9)
• zero_dent_node_unused(9)
• zero_trun_node_unused(9)
• reserve_space(9)
• write_head(9)
• __queue_and_wait(9)
• wait_for_reservation(9)
• wake_up_reservation(9)
• add_or_start_queue(9)
• make_reservation(9)
• release_head(9)
• finish_reservation(9)
• get_dent_type(9)
• pack_inode(9)
• mark_inode_clean(9)
• ubifs_jnl_update(9)
• ubifs_jnl_write_data(9)
• ubifs_jnl_write_inode(9)
• ubifs_jnl_delete_inode(9)
• ubifs_jnl_xrename(9)
• ubifs_jnl_rename(9)
• truncate_data_node(9)
• ubifs_jnl_truncate(9)
• ubifs_jnl_delete_xattr(9)

---

and that's the page!! 🎀 this lil masterpiece lives over in ./fs/ubifs, dated October 2026, and it's filed under ubifs_jnl_change_xattr(9). periodt. 💜