ww_mutex_unlock(9)

✨ ww_mutex_unlock 💅

okay so bestie, we're in the Kernel API Manual today and the star of the show is ww_mutex_unlock — yes, the w/w mutex release function, and honestly? she's iconic. let's get into it 🎀

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🌸 NAME 🌸

ww_mutex_unlock — release the w/w mutex, periodt 💅

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

void ww_mutex_unlock (struct ww_mutex *lock );

that's it, that's the whole signature, no cap 🫶

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🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• lock — the mutex to be released. that's the one you're letting go of, bestie, like releasing a friendship bracelet back into the wild 💖

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🔥 DESCRIPTION 🔥

so here's the tea ☕: you use this to unlock a mutex that this task already locked before, using any of the ww_mutex_lock* functions — with or without an acquire context, both are valid, we love flexibility 💅

but listen to me very carefully, bestie, because this is the important part: it is forbidden to release the locks after releasing the acquire context. like, genuinely forbidden. not "eh, it'll probably be fine" forbidden. do not do this 🙈

⚠️ also this function must not be used in interrupt context. and unlocking a mutex that's already unlocked? not allowed. nope. absolutely not. that's giving chaos and we don't want that energy 🔥

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💜 SEE ALSO 💜

• Kernel file ./kernel/locking/mutex.c
• mutex_lock(9)
• mutex_unlock(9)
• ww_mutex_trylock(9)
• mutex_lock_interruptible(9)
• mutex_lock_killable(9)
• mutex_lock_io(9)
• mutex_trylock(9)
• atomic_dec_and_mutex_lock(9)

go read those too, iykyk 📚✨

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🧚 cute little sign-off 🧚

this page lives in ./kernel/locking, dated October 2026, and it's part of the Kernel API Manual — the ww_mutex_unlock(9) page specifically, in case you forgot already 😭💖

now go forth and unlock responsibly bestie, ily, don't release locks after the acquire context, mwah 🌈👑💅