vmap_pages_range(9)

💖 vmap_pages_range(9) — from the Kernel API Manual, bestie 💖

okay so you're in the vmap_pages_range section of the Kernel API Manual and honestly? this one is a little baddie. it maps pages into a kernel virtual address. that's it, that's the whole personality. let's get into it 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

vmap_pages_range — map pages to a kernel virtual address

like literally, it puts your pages somewhere in kernel virtual address space. iconic behaviour, no notes 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

int vmap_pages_range (unsigned long addr , unsigned long end , pgprot_t
prot , struct page **pages , unsigned int page_shift );

she returns an int, she takes five arguments, she does not elaborate further. main character energy fr fr ⭐

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

okay so the five things you're handing her:

• addr — start of the VM area to map 💜 where the mapping begins, bestie.
• end — end of the VM area to map, and heads up, it's non-inclusive, so like, don't expect end itself to be in on the party 🙈
• prot — page protection flags to use. the whole vibe of the mapping, permission-wise 🦋
• pages — the pages to map, and note that these are always PAGE_SIZE pages. always. no cap 🔥
• page_shift — the maximum shift the pages may be mapped with, and ngl this one has a whole situation attached: the pages must be aligned and contiguous up to at least this shift ⚠️ that's not a suggestion, that's the requirement.

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👑 RETURN 👑

• 0 on success ✅
• -errno on failure 😭

that's the whole return situation. slay, consistent, predictable.

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

bestie there are so many friends in this orbit, buckle up 🧚 — Kernel file ./mm/vmalloc.c, plus:

• vunmap_range(9)
• vm_area_map_pages(9)
• vm_area_unmap_pages(9)
• new_vmap_block(9)
• vm_unmap_aliases(9)
• vm_unmap_ram(9)
• vm_map_ram(9)
• vm_area_add_early(9)
• vm_area_register_early(9)
• get_vm_area(9)
• find_vm_area(9)
• remove_vm_area(9)
• vfree_atomic(9)
• vfree(9)
• vunmap(9)
• vmap(9)
• vmap_pfn(9)
• __vmalloc_node_range(9)
• __vmalloc_node(9)
• vmalloc(9)
• vmalloc_huge_node(9)
• vzalloc(9)
• vmalloc_user(9)
• vmalloc_node(9)
• vzalloc_node(9)
• vrealloc_node_align(9)
• vmalloc_32(9)
• vmalloc_32_user(9)
• vread_iter(9)
• remap_vmalloc_range_partial(9)
• remap_vmalloc_range(9)
• pvm_find_va_enclose_addr(9)
• pvm_determine_end_from_reverse(9)
• pcpu_get_vm_areas(9)
• pcpu_free_vm_areas(9)

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💖 bestie reminder: page_shift is not decorative — your pages need to be aligned and contiguous up to at least that shift. do not come for her with a raggedy page array, she will simply return -errno. 🫶

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and that's the page!! brought to you by ./mm, the October 2026 edition of the Kernel API Manual, filed under vmap_pages_range(9) — mwah, go map some pages, you absolute legend 💅✨🍓