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NAME

       epoll_ctl - control interface for an epoll file descriptor

SYNOPSIS

       #include <sys/epoll.h>

       int epoll_ctl(int epfd, int op, int fd, struct epoll_event *event);

DESCRIPTION

       This  system  call  is  used to add, modify, or remove entries in the interest list of the
       epoll(7) instance referred to by the file descriptor epfd.  It requests that the operation
       op be performed for the target file descriptor, fd.

       Valid values for the op argument are:

       EPOLL_CTL_ADD
              Add  an  entry  to the interest list of the epoll file descriptor, epfd.  The entry
              includes the file descriptor, fd,  a  reference  to  the  corresponding  open  file
              description (see epoll(7) and open(2)), and the settings specified in event.

       EPOLL_CTL_MOD
              Change  the  settings  associated  with fd in the interest list to the new settings
              specified in event.

       EPOLL_CTL_DEL
              Remove (deregister) the target file descriptor fd  from  the  interest  list.   The
              event argument is ignored and can be NULL (but see BUGS below).

       The  event  argument  describes  the  object linked to the file descriptor fd.  The struct
       epoll_event is defined as:

           typedef union epoll_data {
               void        *ptr;
               int          fd;
               uint32_t     u32;
               uint64_t     u64;
           } epoll_data_t;

           struct epoll_event {
               uint32_t     events;      /* Epoll events */
               epoll_data_t data;        /* User data variable */
           };

       The data member of the epoll_event structure specifies data that the  kernel  should  save
       and then return (via epoll_wait(2)) when this file descriptor becomes ready.

       The  events  member  of the epoll_event structure is a bit mask composed by ORing together
       zero or more of the following available event types:

       EPOLLIN
              The associated file is available for read(2) operations.

       EPOLLOUT
              The associated file is available for write(2) operations.

       EPOLLRDHUP (since Linux 2.6.17)
              Stream socket peer closed connection, or shut  down  writing  half  of  connection.
              (This  flag  is  especially  useful for writing simple code to detect peer shutdown
              when using edge-triggered monitoring.)

       EPOLLPRI
              There is an exceptional condition on the file descriptor.  See  the  discussion  of
              POLLPRI in poll(2).

       EPOLLERR
              Error  condition  happened  on  the associated file descriptor.  This event is also
              reported for the write end of a pipe when the read end has been closed.

              epoll_wait(2) will always report for this event; it is not necessary to set  it  in
              events when calling epoll_ctl().

       EPOLLHUP
              Hang up happened on the associated file descriptor.

              epoll_wait(2)  will  always  wait  for this event; it is not necessary to set it in
              events when calling epoll_ctl().

              Note that when reading from a channel such as a pipe or a stream socket, this event
              merely  indicates  that  the  peer closed its end of the channel.  Subsequent reads
              from the channel will return 0 (end of file) only after all outstanding data in the
              channel has been consumed.

       EPOLLET
              Requests  edge-triggered  notification  for  the  associated  file descriptor.  The
              default behavior for epoll is level-triggered.   See  epoll(7)  for  more  detailed
              information about edge-triggered and level-triggered notification.

              This  flag is an input flag for the event.events field when calling epoll_ctl(); it
              is never returned by epoll_wait(2).

       EPOLLONESHOT (since Linux 2.6.2)
              Requests one-shot notification for the associated file descriptor.  This means that
              after  an  event  notified  for  the  file  descriptor  by  epoll_wait(2), the file
              descriptor is disabled in the interest list and no other events will be reported by
              the  epoll  interface.   The user must call epoll_ctl() with EPOLL_CTL_MOD to rearm
              the file descriptor with a new event mask.

              This flag is an input flag for the event.events field when calling epoll_ctl();  it
              is never returned by epoll_wait(2).

       EPOLLWAKEUP (since Linux 3.5)
              If  EPOLLONESHOT  and  EPOLLET  are clear and the process has the CAP_BLOCK_SUSPEND
              capability, ensure that the system does not enter "suspend"  or  "hibernate"  while
              this  event  is  pending  or  being  processed.   The  event is considered as being
              "processed" from the time when it is returned by a call to epoll_wait(2) until  the
              next  call  to  epoll_wait(2)  on the same epoll(7) file descriptor, the closure of
              that file descriptor, the removal of the event file descriptor with  EPOLL_CTL_DEL,
              or  the  clearing  of EPOLLWAKEUP for the event file descriptor with EPOLL_CTL_MOD.
              See also BUGS.

              This flag is an input flag for the event.events field when calling epoll_ctl();  it
              is never returned by epoll_wait(2).

       EPOLLEXCLUSIVE (since Linux 4.5)
              Sets  an exclusive wakeup mode for the epoll file descriptor that is being attached
              to the target file descriptor, fd.  When a wakeup event occurs and  multiple  epoll
              file  descriptors are attached to the same target file using EPOLLEXCLUSIVE, one or
              more of the epoll file descriptors will receive an event with  epoll_wait(2).   The
              default  in  this  scenario  (when EPOLLEXCLUSIVE is not set) is for all epoll file
              descriptors to receive an  event.   EPOLLEXCLUSIVE  is  thus  useful  for  avoiding
              thundering herd problems in certain scenarios.

              If  the  same  file  descriptor  is  in  multiple  epoll  instances,  some with the
              EPOLLEXCLUSIVE flag, and others without, then events will be provided to all  epoll
              instances  that  did  not  specify  EPOLLEXCLUSIVE,  and  at least one of the epoll
              instances that did specify EPOLLEXCLUSIVE.

              The following values may be specified in conjunction with EPOLLEXCLUSIVE:  EPOLLIN,
              EPOLLOUT,  EPOLLWAKEUP,  and EPOLLET.  EPOLLHUP and EPOLLERR can also be specified,
              but this is not required: as usual, these events are always reported if they occur,
              regardless  of  whether  they  are  specified in events.  Attempts to specify other
              values in events yield the error EINVAL.

              EPOLLEXCLUSIVE may be used only in an EPOLL_CTL_ADD operation; attempts  to  employ
              it  with  EPOLL_CTL_MOD  yield  an  error.   If  EPOLLEXCLUSIVE  has been set using
              epoll_ctl(), then a subsequent EPOLL_CTL_MOD on the same epfd, fd  pair  yields  an
              error.  A call to epoll_ctl() that specifies EPOLLEXCLUSIVE in events and specifies
              the target file descriptor fd as an epoll instance will likewise fail.   The  error
              in all of these cases is EINVAL.

              The  EPOLLEXCLUSIVE  flag  is an input flag for the event.events field when calling
              epoll_ctl(); it is never returned by epoll_wait(2).

RETURN VALUE

       When successful, epoll_ctl() returns zero.  When an error occurs, epoll_ctl()  returns  -1
       and errno is set to indicate the error.

ERRORS

       EBADF  epfd or fd is not a valid file descriptor.

       EEXIST op  was  EPOLL_CTL_ADD,  and  the supplied file descriptor fd is already registered
              with this epoll instance.

       EINVAL epfd is not an epoll file descriptor, or fd is the same as epfd, or  the  requested
              operation op is not supported by this interface.

       EINVAL An invalid event type was specified along with EPOLLEXCLUSIVE in events.

       EINVAL op was EPOLL_CTL_MOD and events included EPOLLEXCLUSIVE.

       EINVAL op  was  EPOLL_CTL_MOD  and  the EPOLLEXCLUSIVE flag has previously been applied to
              this epfd, fd pair.

       EINVAL EPOLLEXCLUSIVE was specified in event and fd refers to an epoll instance.

       ELOOP  fd refers to an epoll instance and this EPOLL_CTL_ADD operation would result  in  a
              circular loop of epoll instances monitoring one another or a nesting depth of epoll
              instances greater than 5.

       ENOENT op was EPOLL_CTL_MOD or EPOLL_CTL_DEL, and fd is not  registered  with  this  epoll
              instance.

       ENOMEM There was insufficient memory to handle the requested op control operation.

       ENOSPC The  limit  imposed  by  /proc/sys/fs/epoll/max_user_watches  was encountered while
              trying to register (EPOLL_CTL_ADD) a new file descriptor on an epoll instance.  See
              epoll(7) for further details.

       EPERM  The  target  file fd does not support epoll.  This error can occur if fd refers to,
              for example, a regular file or a directory.

VERSIONS

       epoll_ctl() was added to the kernel in version 2.6.  Library support is provided in  glibc
       starting with version 2.3.2.

CONFORMING TO

       epoll_ctl() is Linux-specific.

NOTES

       The epoll interface supports all file descriptors that support poll(2).

BUGS

       In  kernel  versions before 2.6.9, the EPOLL_CTL_DEL operation required a non-null pointer
       in event, even though this argument is ignored.  Since Linux 2.6.9, event can be specified
       as NULL when using EPOLL_CTL_DEL.  Applications that need to be portable to kernels before
       2.6.9 should specify a non-null pointer in event.

       If EPOLLWAKEUP is specified in flags, but the caller does not have  the  CAP_BLOCK_SUSPEND
       capability,  then  the EPOLLWAKEUP flag is silently ignored.  This unfortunate behavior is
       necessary because no validity checks were performed on the flags argument in the  original
       implementation,  and  the addition of the EPOLLWAKEUP with a check that caused the call to
       fail if the caller did not have the CAP_BLOCK_SUSPEND capability caused a breakage  in  at
       least  one  existing  user-space  application  that  happened  to randomly (and uselessly)
       specify this bit.  A robust application should therefore double  check  that  it  has  the
       CAP_BLOCK_SUSPEND capability if attempting to use the EPOLLWAKEUP flag.

SEE ALSO

       epoll_create(2), epoll_wait(2), poll(2), epoll(7)

COLOPHON

       This  page  is  part of release 5.13 of the Linux man-pages project.  A description of the
       project, information about reporting bugs, and the latest version of  this  page,  can  be
       found at https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.