v4l2_m2m_src_buf_remove(9)

💅 v4l2_m2m_src_buf_remove 💅

okay so bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual — yes it's a whole manual, and yes this page is literally just about taking a buffer off a list and handing it back. tiny function, big main character energy. let's go 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

v4l2_m2m_src_buf_remove — bestie, this one takes off a source buffer from the list of ready buffers and returns it. that's the whole gig. it's giving "bouncer at the club, but the club is a linked list" 💅

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

struct vb2_v4l2_buffer * v4l2_m2m_src_buf_remove (struct v4l2_m2m_ctx
*m2m_ctx );

like, look at that return type. struct vb2_v4l2_buffer * — a pointer, we're getting the actual buffer back, not a copy. obsessed ✨

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• m2m_ctx — the m2m context assigned to the instance, given to you by struct v4l2_m2m_ctx. this is the ✨context✨ (literally) — hand it over and the function knows which list it's working with. no cap.

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

okay this is the part where the manpage goes absolutely feral with cross-references, and honestly? it ate. there are so many of them, so let's do this in chunks, iykyk 👑

the kernel file itself, first:

• Kernel file ./include/media/v4l2-mem2mem.h

then the structs (the friend group 💖):

• struct v4l2_m2m_ops(9)
• struct v4l2_m2m_queue_ctx(9)
• struct v4l2_m2m_ctx(9)
• struct v4l2_m2m_buffer(9)

the core context / scheduling girlies:

• v4l2_m2m_get_curr_priv(9)
• v4l2_m2m_get_vq(9)
• v4l2_m2m_try_schedule(9)
• v4l2_m2m_job_finish(9)
• v4l2_m2m_buf_done_and_job_finish(9)
• v4l2_m2m_clear_state(9)
• v4l2_m2m_mark_stopped(9)
• v4l2_m2m_dst_buf_is_last(9)
• v4l2_m2m_has_stopped(9)
• v4l2_m2m_is_last_draining_src_buf(9)
• v4l2_m2m_last_buffer_done(9)
• v4l2_m2m_suspend(9)
• v4l2_m2m_resume(9)

the ioctl-coded squad (reqbufs, qbuf, dqbuf, we love a queue 🍓):

• v4l2_m2m_reqbufs(9)
• v4l2_m2m_querybuf(9)
• v4l2_m2m_qbuf(9)
• v4l2_m2m_dqbuf(9)
• v4l2_m2m_prepare_buf(9)
• v4l2_m2m_create_bufs(9)
• v4l2_m2m_expbuf(9)
• v4l2_m2m_streamon(9)
• v4l2_m2m_streamoff(9)
• v4l2_m2m_update_start_streaming_state(9)
• v4l2_m2m_update_stop_streaming_state(9)
• v4l2_m2m_encoder_cmd(9)
• v4l2_m2m_decoder_cmd(9)
• v4l2_m2m_poll(9)
• v4l2_m2m_mmap(9)

lifecycle icons — init, release, get, put, ctx things ✨:

• v4l2_m2m_init(9)
• v4l2_m2m_release(9)
• v4l2_m2m_get(9)
• v4l2_m2m_put(9)
• v4l2_m2m_ctx_init(9)
• v4l2_m2m_ctx_release(9)

buffer-queue brainrot (affectionate) 🧚:

• v4l2_m2m_buf_queue(9)
• v4l2_m2m_num_src_bufs_ready(9)
• v4l2_m2m_num_dst_bufs_ready(9)

the next/last peekers 👀:

• v4l2_m2m_next_buf(9)
• v4l2_m2m_next_src_buf(9)
• v4l2_m2m_next_dst_buf(9)
• v4l2_m2m_last_buf(9)
• v4l2_m2m_last_src_buf(9)
• v4l2_m2m_last_dst_buf(9)

the iterator loops (for each, but make it fashion):

• v4l2_m2m_for_each_dst_buf(9)
• v4l2_m2m_for_each_src_buf(9)
• v4l2_m2m_for_each_dst_buf_safe(9)
• v4l2_m2m_for_each_src_buf_safe(9)

the videobuf queues:

• v4l2_m2m_get_src_vq(9)
• v4l2_m2m_get_dst_vq(9)

and the buffer-remove family — this function's literal siblings, plus a metadata copy friend 💀:

• v4l2_m2m_buf_remove(9)
• v4l2_m2m_dst_buf_remove(9)
• v4l2_m2m_buf_remove_by_buf(9)
• v4l2_m2m_src_buf_remove_by_buf(9)
• v4l2_m2m_dst_buf_remove_by_buf(9)
• v4l2_m2m_buf_copy_metadata(9)

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fr fr a little reminder: this page only documents taking a source buffer off the ready list and returning it. the dst versions are their own whole thing, don't mix them up bestie 🙈

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and that's the whole page!! short, sweet, and absolutely iconic for a kernel function 💜

sign-off time: this masterpiece lives in ./include/media, it's stamped October 2026, and it answers to the name v4l2_m2m_src_buf_remove(9) — under the umbrella of that Kernel API Manual we mentioned up top. mwah, go remove some buffers responsibly 🎀✨