vmw_host_printf(9)

✨ vmw_host_printf(9) — the kernel API manual, but make it cute ✨

okay so bestie, pull up a chair 🎀 this little page is straight out of the Kernel API Manual — yes, that's the manual name, we're being fancy today — and the star of the show is vmw_host_printf, which… yeah, it sends a log message to the host. that's the whole gig. it's giving "printf but the host is listening" energy and honestly? iconic. 💅

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🌸 NAME 🌸

vmw_host_printf — Sends a log message to the host. that's it. that's the tweet. 🐦

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

 int vmw_host_printf (const char *fmt , ... );

copy it exactly like that, spacing and all — do not come at me with "but the spacing looks weird", the manpage said it, so we say it. periodt. 💅

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💖 ARGUMENTS 💖

• fmt — your regular printf format string and arguments. yes, the same one you already know and love — no cap, nothing spooky here, it's literally just printf vibes but aimed at the host. 🦋
• ... — variable arguments. the little dots do the heavy lifting for all the extra stuff that goes with your format string. 🫶

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🔥 RETURN 🔥

• 0 on success. that's the whole return story — zero means we slayed, the message went out. 🎉

ngl, 0 on success is such a mood. no drama, no weird negative numbers, just a clean little zero. 👑

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

ok so if you wanna go down the rabbit hole (and you know you do, iykyk), the kernel file to snoop around in is ./drivers/gpu/drm/vmwgfx/vmwgfx_msg.c — that's where the magic lives. and here's the full squad of related pages, no gatekeeping:

• vmw_open_channel(9)
• vmw_close_channel(9)
• vmw_port_hb_out(9)
• vmw_port_hb_in(9)
• vmw_send_msg(9)
• vmw_recv_msg(9)
• vmw_host_get_guestinfo(9)
• vmw_msg_ioctl(9)
• reset_ppn_array(9)
• hypervisor_ppn_reset_all(9)
• hypervisor_ppn_add(9)
• hypervisor_ppn_remove(9)
• mksstat_init_record_time(9)
• mksstat_init_kern_id(9)
• vmw_mksstat_get_kern_slot(9)
• vmw_mksstat_cleanup_descriptor(9)
• vmw_mksstat_remove_all(9)
• vmw_mksstat_reset_ioctl(9)
• vmw_mksstat_add_ioctl(9)
• vmw_mksstat_remove_ioctl(9)
• vmw_disable_backdoor(9)

that's a lot of cross-references and every single one of them made it into the list — no shortcuts, no "etc.", we do not skip pages in this house. 💀✨

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okay that's the page!! 💜 this came from ./drivers/gpu/drm/vmwgfx and it's dated October 2026, and the header said vmw_host_printf(9) up top and the footer said it again down bottom, so consider both mentioned. mwah 💋 go log something to a host, bestie. 🌈🍓