From: Andreas Hindborg <a.hindborg@kernel.org>
To: "Miguel Ojeda" <ojeda@kernel.org>, "Gary Guo" <gary@garyguo.net>,
"Björn Roy Baron" <bjorn3_gh@protonmail.com>,
"Benno Lossin" <lossin@kernel.org>,
"Alice Ryhl" <aliceryhl@google.com>,
"Trevor Gross" <tmgross@umich.edu>,
"Danilo Krummrich" <dakr@kernel.org>,
"Greg Kroah-Hartman" <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>,
"Dave Ertman" <david.m.ertman@intel.com>,
"Ira Weiny" <ira.weiny@intel.com>,
"Leon Romanovsky" <leon@kernel.org>,
"Paul Moore" <paul@paul-moore.com>,
"Serge Hallyn" <sergeh@kernel.org>,
"Rafael J. Wysocki" <rafael@kernel.org>,
"David Airlie" <airlied@gmail.com>,
"Simona Vetter" <simona@ffwll.ch>,
"Alexander Viro" <viro@zeniv.linux.org.uk>,
"Christian Brauner" <brauner@kernel.org>,
"Jan Kara" <jack@suse.cz>,
"Igor Korotin" <igor.korotin.linux@gmail.com>,
"Daniel Almeida" <daniel.almeida@collabora.com>,
"Lorenzo Stoakes" <lorenzo.stoakes@oracle.com>,
"Liam R. Howlett" <Liam.Howlett@oracle.com>,
"Viresh Kumar" <vireshk@kernel.org>, "Nishanth Menon" <nm@ti.com>,
"Stephen Boyd" <sboyd@kernel.org>,
"Bjorn Helgaas" <bhelgaas@google.com>,
"Krzysztof Wilczyński" <kwilczynski@kernel.org>,
"Boqun Feng" <boqun@kernel.org>, "Boqun Feng" <boqun@kernel.org>
Cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, rust-for-linux@vger.kernel.org,
linux-block@vger.kernel.org,
linux-security-module@vger.kernel.org,
dri-devel@lists.freedesktop.org, linux-fsdevel@vger.kernel.org,
linux-mm@kvack.org, linux-pm@vger.kernel.org,
linux-pci@vger.kernel.org,
Andreas Hindborg <a.hindborg@kernel.org>,
Asahi Lina <lina+kernel@asahilina.net>,
Oliver Mangold <oliver.mangold@pm.me>
Subject: [PATCH v15 1/9] rust: types: Add Ownable/Owned types
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2026 10:51:10 +0100 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260220-unique-ref-v15-1-893ed86b06cc@kernel.org> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260220-unique-ref-v15-0-893ed86b06cc@kernel.org>
From: Asahi Lina <lina+kernel@asahilina.net>
By analogy to `AlwaysRefCounted` and `ARef`, an `Ownable` type is a
(typically C FFI) type that *may* be owned by Rust, but need not be. Unlike
`AlwaysRefCounted`, this mechanism expects the reference to be unique
within Rust, and does not allow cloning.
Conceptually, this is similar to a `KBox<T>`, except that it delegates
resource management to the `T` instead of using a generic allocator.
[ om:
- Split code into separate file and `pub use` it from types.rs.
- Make from_raw() and into_raw() public.
- Remove OwnableMut, and make DerefMut dependent on Unpin instead.
- Usage example/doctest for Ownable/Owned.
- Fixes to documentation and commit message.
]
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20250202-rust-page-v1-1-e3170d7fe55e@asahilina.net/
Signed-off-by: Asahi Lina <lina+kernel@asahilina.net>
Co-developed-by: Oliver Mangold <oliver.mangold@pm.me>
Signed-off-by: Oliver Mangold <oliver.mangold@pm.me>
Reviewed-by: Boqun Feng <boqun.feng@gmail.com>
Reviewed-by: Daniel Almeida <daniel.almeida@collabora.com>
[ Andreas: Updated documentation, examples, and formatting ]
Reviewed-by: Gary Guo <gary@garyguo.net>
Co-developed-by: Andreas Hindborg <a.hindborg@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Andreas Hindborg <a.hindborg@kernel.org>
---
rust/kernel/lib.rs | 1 +
rust/kernel/owned.rs | 196 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
rust/kernel/sync/aref.rs | 5 ++
rust/kernel/types.rs | 11 ++-
4 files changed, 212 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
diff --git a/rust/kernel/lib.rs b/rust/kernel/lib.rs
index 696f62f85eb5f..a2bec807f03f1 100644
--- a/rust/kernel/lib.rs
+++ b/rust/kernel/lib.rs
@@ -121,6 +121,7 @@
pub mod of;
#[cfg(CONFIG_PM_OPP)]
pub mod opp;
+pub mod owned;
pub mod page;
#[cfg(CONFIG_PCI)]
pub mod pci;
diff --git a/rust/kernel/owned.rs b/rust/kernel/owned.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..d566ad0aa1c99
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rust/kernel/owned.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,196 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+//! Unique owned pointer types for objects with custom drop logic.
+//!
+//! These pointer types are useful for C-allocated objects which by API-contract
+//! are owned by Rust, but need to be freed through the C API.
+
+use core::{
+ mem::ManuallyDrop,
+ ops::{
+ Deref,
+ DerefMut, //
+ },
+ pin::Pin,
+ ptr::NonNull, //
+};
+
+/// Types that specify their own way of performing allocation and destruction. Typically, this trait
+/// is implemented on types from the C side.
+///
+/// Implementing this trait allows types to be referenced via the [`Owned<Self>`] pointer type. This
+/// is useful when it is desirable to tie the lifetime of the reference to an owned object, rather
+/// than pass around a bare reference. [`Ownable`] types can define custom drop logic that is
+/// executed when the owned reference [`Owned<Self>`] pointing to the object is dropped.
+///
+/// Note: The underlying object is not required to provide internal reference counting, because it
+/// represents a unique, owned reference. If reference counting (on the Rust side) is required,
+/// [`AlwaysRefCounted`](crate::types::AlwaysRefCounted) should be implemented.
+///
+/// # Safety
+///
+/// Implementers must ensure that the [`release()`](Self::release) function frees the underlying
+/// object in the correct way for a valid, owned object of this type.
+///
+/// # Examples
+///
+/// A minimal example implementation of [`Ownable`] and its usage with [`Owned`] looks like
+/// this:
+///
+/// ```
+/// # #![expect(clippy::disallowed_names)]
+/// # use core::cell::Cell;
+/// # use core::ptr::NonNull;
+/// # use kernel::sync::global_lock;
+/// # use kernel::alloc::{flags, kbox::KBox, AllocError};
+/// # use kernel::types::{Owned, Ownable};
+///
+/// // Let's count the allocations to see if freeing works.
+/// kernel::sync::global_lock! {
+/// // SAFETY: we call `init()` right below, before doing anything else.
+/// unsafe(uninit) static FOO_ALLOC_COUNT: Mutex<usize> = 0;
+/// }
+/// // SAFETY: We call `init()` only once, here.
+/// unsafe { FOO_ALLOC_COUNT.init() };
+///
+/// struct Foo;
+///
+/// impl Foo {
+/// fn new() -> Result<Owned<Self>> {
+/// // We are just using a `KBox` here to handle the actual allocation, as our `Foo` is
+/// // not actually a C-allocated object.
+/// let result = KBox::new(
+/// Foo {},
+/// flags::GFP_KERNEL,
+/// )?;
+/// let result = NonNull::new(KBox::into_raw(result))
+/// .expect("Raw pointer to newly allocation KBox is null, this should never happen.");
+/// // Count new allocation
+/// *FOO_ALLOC_COUNT.lock() += 1;
+/// // SAFETY: We just allocated the `Self`, thus it is valid and there cannot be any other
+/// // Rust references. Calling `into_raw()` makes us responsible for ownership and we won't
+/// // use the raw pointer anymore. Thus we can transfer ownership to the `Owned`.
+/// Ok(unsafe { Owned::from_raw(result) })
+/// }
+/// }
+///
+/// // SAFETY: The implementation of `release` in this trait implementation correctly frees the
+/// // owned `Foo`.
+/// unsafe impl Ownable for Foo {
+/// unsafe fn release(this: NonNull<Self>) {
+/// // SAFETY: The [`KBox<Self>`] is still alive. We can pass ownership to the [`KBox`], as
+/// // by requirement on calling this function, the `Self` will no longer be used by the
+/// // caller.
+/// drop(unsafe { KBox::from_raw(this.as_ptr()) });
+/// // Count released allocation
+/// *FOO_ALLOC_COUNT.lock() -= 1;
+/// }
+/// }
+///
+/// {
+/// let foo = Foo::new().expect("Failed to allocate a Foo. This shouldn't happen");
+/// assert!(*FOO_ALLOC_COUNT.lock() == 1);
+/// }
+/// // `foo` is out of scope now, so we expect no live allocations.
+/// assert!(*FOO_ALLOC_COUNT.lock() == 0);
+/// ```
+pub unsafe trait Ownable {
+ /// Releases the object.
+ ///
+ /// # Safety
+ ///
+ /// Callers must ensure that:
+ /// - `this` points to a valid `Self`.
+ /// - `*this` is no longer used after this call.
+ unsafe fn release(this: NonNull<Self>);
+}
+
+/// A mutable reference to an owned `T`.
+///
+/// The [`Ownable`] is automatically freed or released when an instance of [`Owned`] is
+/// dropped.
+///
+/// # Invariants
+///
+/// - The [`Owned<T>`] has exclusive access to the instance of `T`.
+/// - The instance of `T` will stay alive at least as long as the [`Owned<T>`] is alive.
+pub struct Owned<T: Ownable> {
+ ptr: NonNull<T>,
+}
+
+impl<T: Ownable> Owned<T> {
+ /// Creates a new instance of [`Owned`].
+ ///
+ /// This function takes over ownership of the underlying object.
+ ///
+ /// # Safety
+ ///
+ /// Callers must ensure that:
+ /// - `ptr` points to a valid instance of `T`.
+ /// - Ownership of the underlying `T` can be transferred to the `Self<T>` (i.e. operations
+ /// which require ownership will be safe).
+ /// - An `Owned<T>` is a mutable reference to the underlying object. As such,
+ /// the object must not be accessed (read or mutated) through any pointer
+ /// other than the created `Owned<T>`. Opt-out is still possible similar to
+ /// a mutable reference (e.g. by using [`Opaque`]).
+ ///
+ /// [`Opaque`]: kernel::types::Opaque
+ pub unsafe fn from_raw(ptr: NonNull<T>) -> Self {
+ // INVARIANT: By function safety requirement:
+ // - The resulting object has exclusive access to the `T` pointed to by `ptr`.
+ // - The `T` object pointed to by `ptr` is alive at least as long as the returned `Self`.
+ Self { ptr }
+ }
+
+ /// Consumes the [`Owned`], returning a raw pointer.
+ ///
+ /// This function does not drop the underlying `T`. When this function returns, ownership of the
+ /// underlying `T` is with the caller.
+ pub fn into_raw(me: Self) -> NonNull<T> {
+ ManuallyDrop::new(me).ptr
+ }
+
+ /// Get a pinned mutable reference to the data owned by this `Owned<T>`.
+ pub fn as_pin_mut(&mut self) -> Pin<&mut T> {
+ // SAFETY: The type invariants guarantee that the object is valid, and that we can safely
+ // return a mutable reference to it.
+ let unpinned = unsafe { self.ptr.as_mut() };
+
+ // SAFETY: We never hand out unpinned mutable references to the data in
+ // `Self`, unless the contained type is `Unpin`.
+ unsafe { Pin::new_unchecked(unpinned) }
+ }
+}
+
+// SAFETY: It is safe to send an [`Owned<T>`] to another thread when the underlying `T` is [`Send`],
+// because of the ownership invariant. Sending an [`Owned<T>`] is equivalent to sending the `T`.
+unsafe impl<T: Ownable + Send> Send for Owned<T> {}
+
+// SAFETY: It is safe to send [`&Owned<T>`] to another thread when the underlying `T` is [`Sync`],
+// because of the ownership invariant. Sending an [`&Owned<T>`] is equivalent to sending the `&T`.
+unsafe impl<T: Ownable + Sync> Sync for Owned<T> {}
+
+impl<T: Ownable> Deref for Owned<T> {
+ type Target = T;
+
+ fn deref(&self) -> &Self::Target {
+ // SAFETY: The type invariants guarantee that the object is valid.
+ unsafe { self.ptr.as_ref() }
+ }
+}
+
+impl<T: Ownable + Unpin> DerefMut for Owned<T> {
+ fn deref_mut(&mut self) -> &mut Self::Target {
+ // SAFETY: The type invariants guarantee that the object is valid, and that we can safely
+ // return a mutable reference to it.
+ unsafe { self.ptr.as_mut() }
+ }
+}
+
+impl<T: Ownable> Drop for Owned<T> {
+ fn drop(&mut self) {
+ // SAFETY: The type invariants guarantee that the `Owned` owns the object we're about to
+ // release.
+ unsafe { T::release(self.ptr) };
+ }
+}
diff --git a/rust/kernel/sync/aref.rs b/rust/kernel/sync/aref.rs
index 0d24a0432015d..e175aefe86151 100644
--- a/rust/kernel/sync/aref.rs
+++ b/rust/kernel/sync/aref.rs
@@ -29,6 +29,11 @@
/// Rust code, the recommendation is to use [`Arc`](crate::sync::Arc) to create reference-counted
/// instances of a type.
///
+/// Note: Implementing this trait allows types to be wrapped in an [`ARef<Self>`]. It requires an
+/// internal reference count and provides only shared references. If unique references are required
+/// [`Ownable`](crate::types::Ownable) should be implemented which allows types to be wrapped in an
+/// [`Owned<Self>`](crate::types::Owned).
+///
/// # Safety
///
/// Implementers must ensure that increments to the reference count keep the object alive in memory
diff --git a/rust/kernel/types.rs b/rust/kernel/types.rs
index 9c5e7dbf16323..4aec7b699269a 100644
--- a/rust/kernel/types.rs
+++ b/rust/kernel/types.rs
@@ -11,7 +11,16 @@
};
use pin_init::{PinInit, Wrapper, Zeroable};
-pub use crate::sync::aref::{ARef, AlwaysRefCounted};
+pub use crate::{
+ owned::{
+ Ownable,
+ Owned, //
+ },
+ sync::aref::{
+ ARef,
+ AlwaysRefCounted, //
+ }, //
+};
/// Used to transfer ownership to and from foreign (non-Rust) languages.
///
--
2.51.2
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-02-20 9:52 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 15+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-02-20 9:51 [PATCH v15 0/9] rust: add `Ownable` trait and `Owned` type Andreas Hindborg
2026-02-20 9:51 ` Andreas Hindborg [this message]
2026-02-20 10:35 ` [PATCH v15 1/9] rust: types: Add Ownable/Owned types Alice Ryhl
2026-02-20 9:51 ` [PATCH v15 2/9] rust: rename `AlwaysRefCounted` to `RefCounted` Andreas Hindborg
2026-02-20 9:51 ` [PATCH v15 3/9] rust: Add missing SAFETY documentation for `ARef` example Andreas Hindborg
2026-02-20 10:49 ` Alice Ryhl
2026-02-20 9:51 ` [PATCH v15 4/9] rust: aref: update formatting of use statements Andreas Hindborg
2026-02-20 9:51 ` [PATCH v15 5/9] rust: Add `OwnableRefCounted` Andreas Hindborg
2026-02-20 9:51 ` [PATCH v15 6/9] rust: page: update formatting of `use` statements Andreas Hindborg
2026-02-20 9:51 ` [PATCH v15 7/9] rust: page: convert to `Ownable` Andreas Hindborg
2026-02-20 9:51 ` [PATCH v15 8/9] rust: implement `ForeignOwnable` for `Owned` Andreas Hindborg
2026-02-20 9:51 ` [PATCH v15 9/9] rust: page: add `from_raw()` Andreas Hindborg
2026-02-20 10:49 ` Alice Ryhl
2026-02-20 17:33 ` Miguel Ojeda
2026-02-20 17:50 ` Tamir Duberstein
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