vt_kmsg_redirect(9)

💖 vt_kmsg_redirect(9) 💖

🌸 NAME 🌸

vt_kmsg_redirect — sets/gets the kernel message console. yes bestie, this is the Kernel API Manual entry for vt_kmsg_redirect(9), and it's giving “tiny function, very specific job” energy. 💅

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

int vt_kmsg_redirect (int new );

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• new — the new virtual terminal number or -1 if the console should stay unchanged. that's the whole argument, bestie 🫶

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

okay so by default, the kernel messages are always printed on the current virtual console. but the user may modify that default with the TIOCL_SETKMSGREDIRECT ioctl call. no cap, that's the official switch-up. ✨

this function sets the kernel message console to be new. it returns the old virtual console number. think “set it, then hand back the previous one” energy. 👑

the virtual terminal number 0 — both as parameter and return value — means no redirection (i.e. always printed on the currently active console). so 0 is literally “no redirect, bestie.” 🌀

the parameter -1 means that only the current console is returned, but the value is not modified. you may use the macro vt_get_kmsg_redirect in that case to make the code more understandable. iykyk, it's the polite “just peek, don't touch” move. 🙈

when the kernel is compiled without CONFIG_VT_CONSOLE, this function ignores the parameter and always returns 0. that's the whole exception, periodt. 💀

bestie reminder: 0 = no redirection, and -1 = only return the current console without modifying the value. iconic behavior, honestly. 🎀

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

Kernel file: ./drivers/tty/vt/vt.c — yes, that's the file dropped right in the refs. and here's the whole squad:

• vc_font_pitch(9)
• vc_font_size(9)
• vc_do_resize(9)
• __vc_resize(9)
• vt_resize(9)
• enum vc_ctl_state(9)
• vc_sanitize_unicode(9)
• vc_translate_unicode(9)
• con_is_bound(9)
• con_is_visible(9)
• con_debug_enter(9)
• con_debug_leave(9)
• do_unregister_con_driver(9)

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k bye bestie 👋 — source/version: ./drivers/tty/vt, date: October 2026, and it's still the vt_kmsg_redirect(9) manual. mwah 💖