1 GPIO Descriptor Consumer Interface
2 ==================================
4 This document describes the consumer interface of the GPIO framework. Note that
5 it describes the new descriptor-based interface. For a description of the
6 deprecated integer-based GPIO interface please refer to gpio-legacy.txt.
9 Guidelines for GPIOs consumers
10 ==============================
12 Drivers that can't work without standard GPIO calls should have Kconfig entries
13 that depend on GPIOLIB. The functions that allow a driver to obtain and use
14 GPIOs are available by including the following file:
16 #include <linux/gpio/consumer.h>
18 All the functions that work with the descriptor-based GPIO interface are
19 prefixed with gpiod_. The gpio_ prefix is used for the legacy interface. No
20 other function in the kernel should use these prefixes.
23 Obtaining and Disposing GPIOs
24 =============================
26 With the descriptor-based interface, GPIOs are identified with an opaque,
27 non-forgeable handler that must be obtained through a call to one of the
28 gpiod_get() functions. Like many other kernel subsystems, gpiod_get() takes the
29 device that will use the GPIO and the function the requested GPIO is supposed to
32 struct gpio_desc *gpiod_get(struct device *dev, const char *con_id,
33 enum gpiod_flags flags)
35 If a function is implemented by using several GPIOs together (e.g. a simple LED
36 device that displays digits), an additional index argument can be specified:
38 struct gpio_desc *gpiod_get_index(struct device *dev,
39 const char *con_id, unsigned int idx,
40 enum gpiod_flags flags)
42 For a more detailed description of the con_id parameter in the DeviceTree case
43 see Documentation/gpio/board.txt
45 The flags parameter is used to optionally specify a direction and initial value
46 for the GPIO. Values can be:
48 * GPIOD_ASIS or 0 to not initialize the GPIO at all. The direction must be set
49 later with one of the dedicated functions.
50 * GPIOD_IN to initialize the GPIO as input.
51 * GPIOD_OUT_LOW to initialize the GPIO as output with a value of 0.
52 * GPIOD_OUT_HIGH to initialize the GPIO as output with a value of 1.
54 Both functions return either a valid GPIO descriptor, or an error code checkable
55 with IS_ERR() (they will never return a NULL pointer). -ENOENT will be returned
56 if and only if no GPIO has been assigned to the device/function/index triplet,
57 other error codes are used for cases where a GPIO has been assigned but an error
58 occurred while trying to acquire it. This is useful to discriminate between mere
59 errors and an absence of GPIO for optional GPIO parameters. For the common
60 pattern where a GPIO is optional, the gpiod_get_optional() and
61 gpiod_get_index_optional() functions can be used. These functions return NULL
62 instead of -ENOENT if no GPIO has been assigned to the requested function:
64 struct gpio_desc *gpiod_get_optional(struct device *dev,
66 enum gpiod_flags flags)
68 struct gpio_desc *gpiod_get_index_optional(struct device *dev,
71 enum gpiod_flags flags)
73 For a function using multiple GPIOs all of those can be obtained with one call:
75 struct gpio_descs *gpiod_get_array(struct device *dev,
77 enum gpiod_flags flags)
79 This function returns a struct gpio_descs which contains an array of
84 struct gpio_desc *desc[];
87 The following function returns NULL instead of -ENOENT if no GPIOs have been
88 assigned to the requested function:
90 struct gpio_descs *gpiod_get_array_optional(struct device *dev,
92 enum gpiod_flags flags)
94 Device-managed variants of these functions are also defined:
96 struct gpio_desc *devm_gpiod_get(struct device *dev, const char *con_id,
97 enum gpiod_flags flags)
99 struct gpio_desc *devm_gpiod_get_index(struct device *dev,
102 enum gpiod_flags flags)
104 struct gpio_desc *devm_gpiod_get_optional(struct device *dev,
106 enum gpiod_flags flags)
108 struct gpio_desc *devm_gpiod_get_index_optional(struct device *dev,
111 enum gpiod_flags flags)
113 struct gpio_descs *devm_gpiod_get_array(struct device *dev,
115 enum gpiod_flags flags)
117 struct gpio_descs *devm_gpiod_get_array_optional(struct device *dev,
119 enum gpiod_flags flags)
121 A GPIO descriptor can be disposed of using the gpiod_put() function:
123 void gpiod_put(struct gpio_desc *desc)
125 For an array of GPIOs this function can be used:
127 void gpiod_put_array(struct gpio_descs *descs)
129 It is strictly forbidden to use a descriptor after calling these functions.
130 It is also not allowed to individually release descriptors (using gpiod_put())
131 from an array acquired with gpiod_get_array().
133 The device-managed variants are, unsurprisingly:
135 void devm_gpiod_put(struct device *dev, struct gpio_desc *desc)
137 void devm_gpiod_put_array(struct device *dev, struct gpio_descs *descs)
145 The first thing a driver must do with a GPIO is setting its direction. If no
146 direction-setting flags have been given to gpiod_get*(), this is done by
147 invoking one of the gpiod_direction_*() functions:
149 int gpiod_direction_input(struct gpio_desc *desc)
150 int gpiod_direction_output(struct gpio_desc *desc, int value)
152 The return value is zero for success, else a negative errno. It should be
153 checked, since the get/set calls don't return errors and since misconfiguration
154 is possible. You should normally issue these calls from a task context. However,
155 for spinlock-safe GPIOs it is OK to use them before tasking is enabled, as part
156 of early board setup.
158 For output GPIOs, the value provided becomes the initial output value. This
159 helps avoid signal glitching during system startup.
161 A driver can also query the current direction of a GPIO:
163 int gpiod_get_direction(const struct gpio_desc *desc)
165 This function will return either GPIOF_DIR_IN or GPIOF_DIR_OUT.
167 Be aware that there is no default direction for GPIOs. Therefore, **using a GPIO
168 without setting its direction first is illegal and will result in undefined
172 Spinlock-Safe GPIO Access
173 -------------------------
174 Most GPIO controllers can be accessed with memory read/write instructions. Those
175 don't need to sleep, and can safely be done from inside hard (non-threaded) IRQ
176 handlers and similar contexts.
178 Use the following calls to access GPIOs from an atomic context:
180 int gpiod_get_value(const struct gpio_desc *desc);
181 void gpiod_set_value(struct gpio_desc *desc, int value);
183 The values are boolean, zero for low, nonzero for high. When reading the value
184 of an output pin, the value returned should be what's seen on the pin. That
185 won't always match the specified output value, because of issues including
186 open-drain signaling and output latencies.
188 The get/set calls do not return errors because "invalid GPIO" should have been
189 reported earlier from gpiod_direction_*(). However, note that not all platforms
190 can read the value of output pins; those that can't should always return zero.
191 Also, using these calls for GPIOs that can't safely be accessed without sleeping
192 (see below) is an error.
195 GPIO Access That May Sleep
196 --------------------------
197 Some GPIO controllers must be accessed using message based buses like I2C or
198 SPI. Commands to read or write those GPIO values require waiting to get to the
199 head of a queue to transmit a command and get its response. This requires
200 sleeping, which can't be done from inside IRQ handlers.
202 Platforms that support this type of GPIO distinguish them from other GPIOs by
203 returning nonzero from this call:
205 int gpiod_cansleep(const struct gpio_desc *desc)
207 To access such GPIOs, a different set of accessors is defined:
209 int gpiod_get_value_cansleep(const struct gpio_desc *desc)
210 void gpiod_set_value_cansleep(struct gpio_desc *desc, int value)
212 Accessing such GPIOs requires a context which may sleep, for example a threaded
213 IRQ handler, and those accessors must be used instead of spinlock-safe
214 accessors without the cansleep() name suffix.
216 Other than the fact that these accessors might sleep, and will work on GPIOs
217 that can't be accessed from hardIRQ handlers, these calls act the same as the
221 Active-low State and Raw GPIO Values
222 ------------------------------------
223 Device drivers like to manage the logical state of a GPIO, i.e. the value their
224 device will actually receive, no matter what lies between it and the GPIO line.
225 In some cases, it might make sense to control the actual GPIO line value. The
226 following set of calls ignore the active-low property of a GPIO and work on the
229 int gpiod_get_raw_value(const struct gpio_desc *desc)
230 void gpiod_set_raw_value(struct gpio_desc *desc, int value)
231 int gpiod_get_raw_value_cansleep(const struct gpio_desc *desc)
232 void gpiod_set_raw_value_cansleep(struct gpio_desc *desc, int value)
233 int gpiod_direction_output_raw(struct gpio_desc *desc, int value)
235 The active-low state of a GPIO can also be queried using the following call:
237 int gpiod_is_active_low(const struct gpio_desc *desc)
239 Note that these functions should only be used with great moderation ; a driver
240 should not have to care about the physical line level.
243 The active-low property
244 -----------------------
246 As a driver should not have to care about the physical line level, all of the
247 gpiod_set_value_xxx() or gpiod_set_array_value_xxx() functions operate with
248 the *logical* value. With this they take the active-low property into account.
249 This means that they check whether the GPIO is configured to be active-low,
250 and if so, they manipulate the passed value before the physical line level is
253 With this, all the gpiod_set_(array)_value_xxx() functions interpret the
254 parameter "value" as "active" ("1") or "inactive" ("0"). The physical line
255 level will be driven accordingly.
257 As an example, if the active-low property for a dedicated GPIO is set, and the
258 gpiod_set_(array)_value_xxx() passes "active" ("1"), the physical line level
263 Function (example) active-low property physical line
264 gpiod_set_raw_value(desc, 0); don't care low
265 gpiod_set_raw_value(desc, 1); don't care high
266 gpiod_set_value(desc, 0); default (active-high) low
267 gpiod_set_value(desc, 1); default (active-high) high
268 gpiod_set_value(desc, 0); active-low high
269 gpiod_set_value(desc, 1); active-low low
271 Please note again that the set_raw/get_raw functions should be avoided as much
272 as possible, especially by drivers which should not care about the actual
273 physical line level and worry about the logical value instead.
276 Set multiple GPIO outputs with a single function call
277 -----------------------------------------------------
278 The following functions set the output values of an array of GPIOs:
280 void gpiod_set_array_value(unsigned int array_size,
281 struct gpio_desc **desc_array,
283 void gpiod_set_raw_array_value(unsigned int array_size,
284 struct gpio_desc **desc_array,
286 void gpiod_set_array_value_cansleep(unsigned int array_size,
287 struct gpio_desc **desc_array,
289 void gpiod_set_raw_array_value_cansleep(unsigned int array_size,
290 struct gpio_desc **desc_array,
293 The array can be an arbitrary set of GPIOs. The functions will try to set
294 GPIOs belonging to the same bank or chip simultaneously if supported by the
295 corresponding chip driver. In that case a significantly improved performance
296 can be expected. If simultaneous setting is not possible the GPIOs will be set
299 The gpiod_set_array() functions take three arguments:
300 * array_size - the number of array elements
301 * desc_array - an array of GPIO descriptors
302 * value_array - an array of values to assign to the GPIOs
304 The descriptor array can be obtained using the gpiod_get_array() function
305 or one of its variants. If the group of descriptors returned by that function
306 matches the desired group of GPIOs, those GPIOs can be set by simply using
307 the struct gpio_descs returned by gpiod_get_array():
309 struct gpio_descs *my_gpio_descs = gpiod_get_array(...);
310 gpiod_set_array_value(my_gpio_descs->ndescs, my_gpio_descs->desc,
313 It is also possible to set a completely arbitrary array of descriptors. The
314 descriptors may be obtained using any combination of gpiod_get() and
315 gpiod_get_array(). Afterwards the array of descriptors has to be setup
316 manually before it can be used with gpiod_set_array().
318 Note that for optimal performance GPIOs belonging to the same chip should be
319 contiguous within the array of descriptors.
324 GPIO lines can quite often be used as IRQs. You can get the IRQ number
325 corresponding to a given GPIO using the following call:
327 int gpiod_to_irq(const struct gpio_desc *desc)
329 It will return an IRQ number, or a negative errno code if the mapping can't be
330 done (most likely because that particular GPIO cannot be used as IRQ). It is an
331 unchecked error to use a GPIO that wasn't set up as an input using
332 gpiod_direction_input(), or to use an IRQ number that didn't originally come
333 from gpiod_to_irq(). gpiod_to_irq() is not allowed to sleep.
335 Non-error values returned from gpiod_to_irq() can be passed to request_irq() or
336 free_irq(). They will often be stored into IRQ resources for platform devices,
337 by the board-specific initialization code. Note that IRQ trigger options are
338 part of the IRQ interface, e.g. IRQF_TRIGGER_FALLING, as are system wakeup
345 On ACPI systems, GPIOs are described by GpioIo()/GpioInt() resources listed by
346 the _CRS configuration objects of devices. Those resources do not provide
347 connection IDs (names) for GPIOs, so it is necessary to use an additional
348 mechanism for this purpose.
350 Systems compliant with ACPI 5.1 or newer may provide a _DSD configuration object
351 which, among other things, may be used to provide connection IDs for specific
352 GPIOs described by the GpioIo()/GpioInt() resources in _CRS. If that is the
353 case, it will be handled by the GPIO subsystem automatically. However, if the
354 _DSD is not present, the mappings between GpioIo()/GpioInt() resources and GPIO
355 connection IDs need to be provided by device drivers.
357 For details refer to Documentation/acpi/gpio-properties.txt
360 Interacting With the Legacy GPIO Subsystem
361 ==========================================
362 Many kernel subsystems still handle GPIOs using the legacy integer-based
363 interface. Although it is strongly encouraged to upgrade them to the safer
364 descriptor-based API, the following two functions allow you to convert a GPIO
365 descriptor into the GPIO integer namespace and vice-versa:
367 int desc_to_gpio(const struct gpio_desc *desc)
368 struct gpio_desc *gpio_to_desc(unsigned gpio)
370 The GPIO number returned by desc_to_gpio() can be safely used as long as the
371 GPIO descriptor has not been freed. All the same, a GPIO number passed to
372 gpio_to_desc() must have been properly acquired, and usage of the returned GPIO
373 descriptor is only possible after the GPIO number has been released.
375 Freeing a GPIO obtained by one API with the other API is forbidden and an