Re: Documentation suggestion on Netlink specs: missing fixed-header info

Re: Documentation suggestion on Netlink specs: missing fixed-header info

[Randy Dunlap]

Hi netdev:

Does anyone know what this means and what to do about it?
Thanks.

On 11/5/26 2:48 AM, Wessel Jacobi wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> The "fixed-header" information is missing for the Netlink rt-route specification docs.
> This is pretty essential information for working with Netlink, and I was tearing my hair out on why I couldn't find it.
> 
> Compare the (visible) `fixed-header` at [1] with the (absent) `fixed-header` information on [2]. The `fixed-header` key *is* present in the source yaml `Documentation/netlink/specs/rt-route.yaml` [3], but it seems it doesn't get reflected in the generated HTML version.
> 
> The HTML documentation would be more pleasant and useful if it had all the relevant information.
> 
> Thank you
> 
> [1]: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/v7.4-rc1/netlink/specs/rt-link.html#operations
> [2]: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/v7.4-rc1/netlink/specs/rt-route.html#operations
> [3]: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/Documentation/netlink/specs/rt-route.yaml?h=v7.4-rc1#n709
> 

-- 
~Randy

Re: Documentation suggestion on Netlink specs: missing fixed-header info

[Hangbin Liu]

Hi Randy,
On Wed, Nov 11, 2026 at 06:16:51PM -0800, Randy Dunlap wrote:
> Hi netdev:
> 
> Does anyone know what this means and what to do about it?
> Thanks.

Wessel noted that the `fixed-header` field appears in `rt-link.html` but is
missing from `rt-route.html`, even though the field is present in `rt-route.yaml`.

I think it is because we put it in the operations in rt-route.yaml.

  operations:
    enum-model: directional
    fixed-header: rtmsg
    name-prefix: rtm-
    list:

While in rt-link.yaml it's in the list field

  operations:
    enum-model: directional
    name-prefix: rtm-
    list:
      -
        name: newlink
        doc: Create a new link.
        attribute-set: link-attrs
        fixed-header: ifinfomsg

I will do a test and post the update if works.

Thanks
Hangbin

> 
> On 11/5/26 2:48 AM, Wessel Jacobi wrote:
> > Hello,
> > 
> > The "fixed-header" information is missing for the Netlink rt-route specification docs.
> > This is pretty essential information for working with Netlink, and I was tearing my hair out on why I couldn't find it.
> > 
> > Compare the (visible) `fixed-header` at [1] with the (absent) `fixed-header` information on [2]. The `fixed-header` key *is* present in the source yaml `Documentation/netlink/specs/rt-route.yaml` [3], but it seems it doesn't get reflected in the generated HTML version.
> > 
> > The HTML documentation would be more pleasant and useful if it had all the relevant information.
> > 
> > Thank you
> > 
> > [1]: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/v7.4-rc1/netlink/specs/rt-link.html#operations
> > [2]: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/v7.4-rc1/netlink/specs/rt-route.html#operations
> > [3]: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/Documentation/netlink/specs/rt-route.yaml?h=v7.4-rc1#n709
> > 
> 
> -- 
> ~Randy