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authorLinus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>2026-08-30 09:22:00 -0700
committerLinus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>2026-08-30 09:22:00 -0700
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tree2536f4b2d7893ccd916b5abdf3c454ad6edc03c2 /Documentation/doc-guide/kernel-doc.rst
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Merge tag 'trace-v7.3-2' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/trace/linux-tracegrafted
Pull tracing fixes from Steven Rostedt: - Fix error output of boot instance creation failure Currently if a boot instance creation fails, instead of printing out the name of the instance that failed, it prints "(null)". That is because it prints "cur_str" that had already been processed by strsep(). Print the saved name instead. While at it, print the error code of the failure. - Fix use-after-free for same named historgrams Histograms can be named so that they can be used in multiple events. But if the named histogram has a variable attached, the second event that uses the named histogram which duplicates it and needs to free the original after duplication leaves the old variable in place and still visible. If another histogram uses than variable, it will use the stale one which will try to reference the freed duplicate histogram and crash the kernel. Free the duplicate variables along with the duplicated histogram data. - Check return value of kthread_run() in event self test The events self tests uses a kthread for testing but does not check if it succeeded in creating a kthread. If the kthread creation were to fail, the code will still try to call kthread_stop() on the error returned. - Fix race between reading trace_pipe and updating subbuffer size If a user is reading the trace_pipe file at the same time they update the ring buffer sub-buffer size, can cause the trace_pipe read to read stale data. Add trace_access_lock() around updating the ring buffer sub-buffer size. - Fix eventfs_inode on failure path in creation of the events directory In the creation of the "events" directory, if after allocating the eventfs_inode a failure is detected, it calls cleanup_ei() which calls free_ei(). The free_ei() will test if eventfs_inode being freed has no children. It is a bug if it does. But on the failure case of the creation of the "events" directory, the children lists have not yet been initialized and the free will trigger a warning because list_empty() on an uninitialized list returns false. Move the initialization into init_ei() where it makes more sense and makes sure that a created eventfs_inode has its lists initialized upon creation. - Check return value of kthread_run() in ftrace direct sample code The sample code that shows how to use the ftrace direct calls does not test the return of kthread_run() to see if it succeeds. Return a failure if the kthread_run() doesn't succeed. - Clear user events state on fork in case of alloc failure On fork, the child gets a pointer to the parent's user events state. It makes a copy of it then updates the child's pointer to it. But if the allocation fails, the duplication function leaves the child with a pointer to its parent's descriptor. When the child cleans up its data, it will free the parent's descriptor while the parent is still using it. In the duplication function, set the child's user_event_mm to NULL before testing if the allocation succeeded, and when it exits it will not free the parent's descriptor. - Fix retry exhaustion in simple ring buffer reader swap simple_ring_buffer_swap_reader_page() starts with retry set to 8 and post-decrements it only after a failed link replacement. On the final attempt, a successful replacement leaves retry at zero, while a failed replacement leaves it at -1. But the check for success expects the retry value to be non-zero and exits with an error on zero. This is the opposite result. Fix it. - Fail nicely when the remote swap_reader_page() returns an error Currently, if the swap_reader_page() of a remote buffer fails, it triggers a WARN_ON_ONCE() and continues normally. Instead, have it exit with an error and a pr_warn() print instead of a full WARNING. * tag 'trace-v7.3-2' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/trace/linux-trace: ring-buffer: Stop remote reader update when page swap fails tracing: Fix retry exhaustion in simple ring buffer reader swap tracing/user_events: Clear copied tracing state before fork duplication samples/ftrace: Fix kthread_stop() on ERR_PTR in ftrace-direct-multi-modify samples/ftrace: Fix kthread_stop() on ERR_PTR in ftrace-direct-modify eventfs: Initialize ei->children and ei->list in init_ei() tracing: Fix use-after-free in trace_pipe read on sub-buffer order change tracing: Fix crash passing ERR_PTR to kthread_stop() tracing: Fix use-after-free with same-name named triggers tracing: Fix logged instance name on creation failure
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+.. title:: Kernel-doc comments
+
+===========================
+Writing kernel-doc comments
+===========================
+
+The Linux kernel source files may contain structured documentation
+comments in the kernel-doc format to describe the functions, types
+and design of the code. It is easier to keep documentation up-to-date
+when it is embedded in source files.
+
+.. note:: The kernel-doc format is deceptively similar to javadoc,
+ gtk-doc or Doxygen, yet distinctively different, for historical
+ reasons. The kernel source contains tens of thousands of kernel-doc
+ comments. Please stick to the style described here.
+
+.. note:: kernel-doc does not cover Rust code: please see
+ Documentation/rust/general-information.rst instead.
+
+The kernel-doc structure is extracted from the comments, and proper
+`Sphinx C Domain`_ function and type descriptions with anchors are
+generated from them. The descriptions are filtered for special kernel-doc
+highlights and cross-references. See below for details.
+
+.. _Sphinx C Domain: http://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/stable/domains.html
+
+Every function that is exported to loadable modules using
+``EXPORT_SYMBOL`` or ``EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL`` should have a kernel-doc
+comment. Functions and data structures in header files which are intended
+to be used by modules should also have kernel-doc comments.
+
+It is good practice to also provide kernel-doc formatted documentation
+for functions externally visible to other kernel files (not marked
+``static``). We also recommend providing kernel-doc formatted
+documentation for private (file ``static``) routines, for consistency of
+kernel source code layout. This is lower priority and at the discretion
+of the maintainer of that kernel source file.
+
+How to format kernel-doc comments
+---------------------------------
+
+The opening comment mark ``/**`` is used for kernel-doc comments. The
+``kernel-doc`` tool will extract comments marked this way. The rest of
+the comment is formatted like a normal multi-line comment with a column
+of asterisks on the left side, closing with ``*/`` on a line by itself.
+
+The function and type kernel-doc comments should be placed just before
+the function or type being described in order to maximise the chance
+that somebody changing the code will also change the documentation. The
+overview kernel-doc comments may be placed anywhere at the top indentation
+level.
+
+Running the ``kernel-doc`` tool with increased verbosity and without actual
+output generation may be used to verify proper formatting of the
+documentation comments. For example::
+
+ tools/docs/kernel-doc -v -none drivers/foo/bar.c
+
+The documentation format of ``.c`` files is also verified by the kernel build
+when it is requested to perform extra gcc checks::
+
+ make W=n
+
+However, the above command does not verify header files. These should be checked
+separately using ``kernel-doc``.
+
+Function documentation
+----------------------
+
+The general format of a function and function-like macro kernel-doc comment is::
+
+ /**
+ * function_name() - Brief description of function.
+ * @arg1: Describe the first argument.
+ * @arg2: Describe the second argument.
+ * One can provide multiple line descriptions
+ * for arguments.
+ *
+ * A longer description, with more discussion of the function function_name()
+ * that might be useful to those using or modifying it. Begins with an
+ * empty comment line, and may include additional embedded empty
+ * comment lines.
+ *
+ * The longer description may have multiple paragraphs.
+ *
+ * Context: Describes whether the function can sleep, what locks it takes,
+ * releases, or expects to be held. It can extend over multiple
+ * lines.
+ * Return: Describe the return value of function_name.
+ *
+ * The return value description can also have multiple paragraphs, and should
+ * be placed at the end of the comment block.
+ */
+
+The brief description following the function name may span multiple lines, and
+ends with an argument description, a blank comment line, or the end of the
+comment block.
+
+Function parameters
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Each function argument should be described in order, immediately following
+the short function description. Do not leave a blank line between the
+function description and the arguments, nor between the arguments.
+
+Each ``@argument:`` description may span multiple lines.
+
+.. note::
+
+ If the ``@argument`` description has multiple lines, the continuation
+ of the description should start at the same column as the previous line::
+
+ * @argument: some long description
+ * that continues on next lines
+
+ or::
+
+ * @argument:
+ * some long description
+ * that continues on next lines
+
+If a function has a variable number of arguments, its description should
+be written in kernel-doc notation as::
+
+ * @...: description
+
+Function context
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The context in which a function can be called should be described in a
+section named ``Context``. This should include whether the function
+sleeps or can be called from interrupt context, as well as what locks
+it takes, releases and expects to be held by its caller.
+
+Examples::
+
+ * Context: Any context.
+ * Context: Any context. Takes and releases the RCU lock.
+ * Context: Any context. Expects <lock> to be held by caller.
+ * Context: Process context. May sleep if @gfp flags permit.
+ * Context: Process context. Takes and releases <mutex>.
+ * Context: Softirq or process context. Takes and releases <lock>, BH-safe.
+ * Context: Interrupt context.
+
+Return values
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The return value, if any, should be described in a dedicated section
+named ``Return`` (or ``Returns``).
+
+.. note::
+
+ #) The multi-line descriptive text you provide does *not* recognize
+ line breaks, so if you try to format some text nicely, as in::
+
+ * Return:
+ * %0 - OK
+ * %-EINVAL - invalid argument
+ * %-ENOMEM - out of memory
+
+ this will all run together and produce::
+
+ Return: 0 - OK -EINVAL - invalid argument -ENOMEM - out of memory
+
+ So, in order to produce the desired line breaks, you need to use a
+ ReST list, e. g.::
+
+ * Return:
+ * * %0 - OK to runtime suspend the device
+ * * %-EBUSY - Device should not be runtime suspended
+
+ #) If the descriptive text you provide has lines that begin with
+ some phrase followed by a colon, each of those phrases will be taken
+ as a new section heading, which probably won't produce the desired
+ effect.
+
+Structure, union, and enumeration documentation
+-----------------------------------------------
+
+The general format of a ``struct``, ``union``, and ``enum`` kernel-doc
+comment is::
+
+ /**
+ * struct struct_name - Brief description.
+ * @member1: Description of member1.
+ * @member2: Description of member2.
+ * One can provide multiple line descriptions
+ * for members.
+ *
+ * Description of the structure.
+ */
+
+You can replace the ``struct`` in the above example with ``union`` or
+``enum`` to describe unions or enums. ``member`` is used to mean ``struct``
+and ``union`` member names as well as enumerations in an ``enum``.
+
+The brief description following the structure name may span multiple
+lines, and ends with a member description, a blank comment line, or the
+end of the comment block.
+
+Members
+~~~~~~~
+
+Members of structs, unions and enums should be documented the same way
+as function parameters; they immediately succeed the short description
+and may be multi-line.
+
+Inside a ``struct`` or ``union`` description, you can use the ``private:`` and
+``public:`` comment tags. Structure fields that are inside a ``private:``
+area are not listed in the generated output documentation.
+
+The ``private:`` and ``public:`` tags must begin immediately following a
+``/*`` comment marker. They may optionally include comments between the
+``:`` and the ending ``*/`` marker.
+
+When ``private:`` is used on nested structs, it propagates only to inner
+structs/unions.
+
+
+Example::
+
+ /**
+ * struct my_struct - short description
+ * @a: first member
+ * @b: second member
+ * @d: fourth member
+ *
+ * Longer description
+ */
+ struct my_struct {
+ int a;
+ int b;
+ /* private: internal use only */
+ int c;
+ /* public: the next one is public */
+ int d;
+ };
+
+Nested structs/unions
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+It is possible to document nested structs and unions, like::
+
+ /**
+ * struct nested_foobar - a struct with nested unions and structs
+ * @memb1: first member of anonymous union/anonymous struct
+ * @memb2: second member of anonymous union/anonymous struct
+ * @memb3: third member of anonymous union/anonymous struct
+ * @memb4: fourth member of anonymous union/anonymous struct
+ * @bar: non-anonymous union
+ * @bar.st1: struct st1 inside @bar
+ * @bar.st2: struct st2 inside @bar
+ * @bar.st1.memb1: first member of struct st1 on union bar
+ * @bar.st1.memb2: second member of struct st1 on union bar
+ * @bar.st2.memb1: first member of struct st2 on union bar
+ * @bar.st2.memb2: second member of struct st2 on union bar
+ */
+ struct nested_foobar {
+ /* Anonymous union/struct*/
+ union {
+ struct {
+ int memb1;
+ /* private: hides memb2 from documentation */
+ int memb2;
+ };
+ /* Everything here is public again, as private scope finished */
+ struct {
+ void *memb3;
+ int memb4;
+ };
+ };
+ union {
+ struct {
+ int memb1;
+ int memb2;
+ } st1;
+ struct {
+ void *memb1;
+ int memb2;
+ } st2;
+ } bar;
+ };
+
+.. note::
+
+ #) When documenting nested structs or unions, if the ``struct``/``union``
+ ``foo`` is named, the member ``bar`` inside it should be documented as
+ ``@foo.bar:``
+ #) When the nested ``struct``/``union`` is anonymous, the member ``bar`` in
+ it should be documented as ``@bar:``
+
+In-line member documentation comments
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The structure members may also be documented in-line within the definition.
+There are two styles, single-line comments where both the opening ``/**`` and
+closing ``*/`` are on the same line, and multi-line comments where they are each
+on a line of their own, like all other kernel-doc comments::
+
+ /**
+ * struct foo - Brief description.
+ * @foo: The Foo member.
+ */
+ struct foo {
+ int foo;
+ /**
+ * @bar: The Bar member.
+ */
+ int bar;
+ /**
+ * @baz: The Baz member.
+ *
+ * Here, the member description may contain several paragraphs.
+ */
+ int baz;
+ union {
+ /** @foobar: Single line description. */
+ int foobar;
+ };
+ /** @bar2: Description for struct @bar2 inside @foo */
+ struct {
+ /**
+ * @bar2.barbar: Description for @barbar inside @foo.bar2
+ */
+ int barbar;
+ } bar2;
+ };
+
+Typedef documentation
+---------------------
+
+The general format of a ``typedef`` kernel-doc comment is::
+
+ /**
+ * typedef type_name - Brief description.
+ *
+ * Description of the type.
+ */
+
+Typedefs with function prototypes can also be documented::
+
+ /**
+ * typedef type_name - Brief description.
+ * @arg1: description of arg1
+ * @arg2: description of arg2
+ *
+ * Description of the type.
+ *
+ * Context: Locking context.
+ * Returns: Meaning of the return value.
+ */
+ typedef void (*type_name)(struct v4l2_ctrl *arg1, void *arg2);
+
+Variables documentation
+-----------------------
+
+The general format of a kernel-doc variable comment is::
+
+ /**
+ * var var_name - Brief description.
+ *
+ * Description of the var_name variable.
+ */
+ extern int var_name;
+
+Object-like macro documentation
+-------------------------------
+
+Object-like macros are distinct from function-like macros. They are
+differentiated by whether the macro name is immediately followed by a
+left parenthesis ('(') for function-like macros or not followed by one
+for object-like macros.
+
+Function-like macros are handled like functions by ``tools/docs/kernel-doc``.
+They may have a parameter list. Object-like macros have do not have a
+parameter list.
+
+The general format of an object-like macro kernel-doc comment is::
+
+ /**
+ * define object_name - Brief description.
+ *
+ * Description of the object.
+ */
+
+Example::
+
+ /**
+ * define MAX_ERRNO - maximum errno value that is supported
+ *
+ * Kernel pointers have redundant information, so we can use a
+ * scheme where we can return either an error code or a normal
+ * pointer with the same return value.
+ */
+ #define MAX_ERRNO 4095
+
+Example::
+
+ /**
+ * define DRM_GEM_VRAM_PLANE_HELPER_FUNCS - \
+ * Initializes struct drm_plane_helper_funcs for VRAM handling
+ *
+ * This macro initializes struct drm_plane_helper_funcs to use the
+ * respective helper functions.
+ */
+ #define DRM_GEM_VRAM_PLANE_HELPER_FUNCS \
+ .prepare_fb = drm_gem_vram_plane_helper_prepare_fb, \
+ .cleanup_fb = drm_gem_vram_plane_helper_cleanup_fb
+
+
+Highlights and cross-references
+-------------------------------
+
+The following special patterns are recognized in the kernel-doc comment
+descriptive text and converted to proper reStructuredText markup and `Sphinx C
+Domain`_ references.
+
+.. attention:: The below are **only** recognized within kernel-doc comments,
+ **not** within normal reStructuredText documents.
+
+``funcname()``
+ Function reference.
+
+``@parameter``
+ Name of a function parameter. (No cross-referencing, just formatting.)
+
+``%CONST``
+ Name of a constant. (No cross-referencing, just formatting.)
+
+ Examples::
+
+ %0 %NULL %-1 %-EFAULT %-EINVAL %-ENOMEM
+
+````literal````
+ A literal block that should be handled as-is. The output will use a
+ ``monospaced font``.
+
+ Useful if you need to use special characters that would otherwise have some
+ meaning either by kernel-doc script or by reStructuredText.
+
+ This is particularly useful if you need to use things like ``%ph`` inside
+ a function description.
+
+``$ENVVAR``
+ Name of an environment variable. (No cross-referencing, just formatting.)
+
+``&struct name``
+ Structure reference.
+
+``&enum name``
+ Enum reference.
+
+``&typedef name``
+ Typedef reference.
+
+``&struct_name->member`` or ``&struct_name.member``
+ ``struct`` or ``union`` member reference. The cross-reference will be to the
+ ``struct`` or ``union`` definition, not the member directly.
+
+``&name``
+ A generic type reference. Prefer using the full reference described above
+ instead. This is mostly for legacy comments.
+
+Cross-referencing from reStructuredText
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+No additional syntax is needed to cross-reference the functions and types
+defined in the kernel-doc comments from reStructuredText documents.
+Just end function names with ``()`` and write ``struct``, ``union``, ``enum``
+or ``typedef`` before types.
+For example::
+
+ See foo().
+ See struct foo.
+ See union bar.
+ See enum baz.
+ See typedef meh.
+
+However, if you want custom text in the cross-reference link, that can be done
+through the following syntax::
+
+ See :c:func:`my custom link text for function foo <foo>`.
+ See :c:type:`my custom link text for struct bar <bar>`.
+
+For further details, please refer to the `Sphinx C Domain`_ documentation.
+
+.. note::
+ Variables aren't automatically cross referenced. For those, you need to
+ explicitly add a C domain cross-reference.
+
+Overview documentation comments
+-------------------------------
+
+To facilitate having source code and comments close together, you can include
+kernel-doc documentation blocks that are free-form comments instead of being
+kernel-doc for functions, structures, unions, enums, typedefs or variables.
+This could be used for something like a theory of operation for a driver or
+library code, for example.
+
+This is done by using a ``DOC:`` section keyword with a section title.
+
+The general format of an overview or high-level documentation comment is::
+
+ /**
+ * DOC: Theory of Operation
+ *
+ * The whizbang foobar is a dilly of a gizmo. It can do whatever you
+ * want it to do, at any time. It reads your mind. Here's how it works.
+ *
+ * foo bar splat
+ *
+ * The only drawback to this gizmo is that is can sometimes damage
+ * hardware, software, or its subject(s).
+ */
+
+The title following ``DOC:`` acts as a heading within the source file, but also
+as an identifier for extracting the documentation comment. Thus, the title must
+be unique within the file.
+
+=============================
+Including kernel-doc comments
+=============================
+
+The documentation comments may be included in any of the reStructuredText
+documents using a dedicated kernel-doc Sphinx directive extension.
+
+The kernel-doc directive is of the format::
+
+ .. kernel-doc:: source
+ :option:
+
+The *source* is the path to a source file, relative to the kernel source
+tree. The following directive options are supported:
+
+export: *[source-pattern ...]*
+ Include documentation for all functions in *source* that have been exported
+ using ``EXPORT_SYMBOL`` or ``EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL`` either in *source* or in any
+ of the files specified by *source-pattern*.
+
+ The *source-pattern* is useful when the kernel-doc comments have been placed
+ in header files, while ``EXPORT_SYMBOL`` and ``EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL`` are next to
+ the function definitions.
+
+ Examples::
+
+ .. kernel-doc:: lib/bitmap.c
+ :export:
+
+ .. kernel-doc:: include/net/mac80211.h
+ :export: net/mac80211/*.c
+
+internal: *[source-pattern ...]*
+ Include documentation for all functions and types in *source* that have
+ **not** been exported using ``EXPORT_SYMBOL`` or ``EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL`` either
+ in *source* or in any of the files specified by *source-pattern*.
+
+ Example::
+
+ .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_audio.c
+ :internal:
+
+identifiers: *[ function/type ...]*
+ Include documentation for each *function* and *type* in *source*.
+ If no *function* is specified, the documentation for all functions
+ and types in the *source* will be included.
+ *type* can be a ``struct``, ``union``, ``enum``, ``typedef`` or ``var``
+ identifier.
+
+ Examples::
+
+ .. kernel-doc:: lib/bitmap.c
+ :identifiers: bitmap_parselist bitmap_parselist_user
+
+ .. kernel-doc:: lib/idr.c
+ :identifiers:
+
+no-identifiers: *[ function/type ...]*
+ Exclude documentation for each *function* and *type* in *source*.
+
+ Example::
+
+ .. kernel-doc:: lib/bitmap.c
+ :no-identifiers: bitmap_parselist
+
+functions: *[ function/type ...]*
+ This is an alias of the 'identifiers' directive and deprecated.
+
+doc: *title*
+ Include documentation for the ``DOC:`` paragraph identified by *title* in
+ *source*. Spaces are allowed in *title*; do not quote the *title*. The *title*
+ is only used as an identifier for the paragraph, and is not included in the
+ output. Please make sure to have an appropriate heading in the enclosing
+ reStructuredText document.
+
+ Example::
+
+ .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_audio.c
+ :doc: High Definition Audio over HDMI and Display Port
+
+Without options, the kernel-doc directive includes all documentation comments
+from the source file.
+
+The kernel-doc extension is included in the kernel source tree, at
+``Documentation/sphinx/kerneldoc.py``. Internally, it uses the
+``tools/docs/kernel-doc`` script to extract the documentation comments from
+the source.
+
+.. _kernel_doc:
+
+How to use kernel-doc to generate man pages
+-------------------------------------------
+
+To generate man pages for all files that contain kernel-doc markups, run::
+
+ $ make mandocs
+
+Or calling ``script-build-wrapper`` directly::
+
+ $ ./tools/docs/sphinx-build-wrapper mandocs
+
+The output will be at ``/man`` directory inside the output directory
+(by default: ``Documentation/output``).
+
+Optionally, it is possible to generate a partial set of man pages by
+using SPHINXDIRS:
+
+ $ make SPHINXDIRS=driver-api/media mandocs
+
+.. note::
+
+ When SPHINXDIRS={subdir} is used, it will only generate man pages for
+ the files explicitly inside a ``Documentation/{subdir}/.../*.rst`` file.