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BSD syscall#6

svc · unix #6

close

Releases a file descriptor and decrements the reference count on the underlying open-file table entry.

Prototype

int close(int fd);

Returns: int

Arguments

NameTypeDirDescription
fdint-

Version history

XNU tagmacOS#
xnu-1456.1.26macOS 10.6 Snow Leopard6
xnu-1699.24.8macOS 10.7 Lion6
xnu-2050.18.24macOS 10.8 Mountain Lion6
xnu-2422.115.4macOS 10.9 Mavericks6
xnu-2782.40.9macOS 10.10 Yosemite6
xnu-3247.1.106macOS 10.11 El Capitan6
xnu-3789.1.32macOS 10.12 Sierra6
xnu-4570.1.46macOS 10.13 High Sierra6
xnu-4903.221.2macOS 10.14 Mojave6
xnu-6153.11.26macOS 10.15 Catalina6
xnu-1486.2.11—6
xnu-1504.15.3—6
xnu-1504.3.12—6
xnu-1504.7.4—6
xnu-1504.9.17—6
xnu-1504.9.26—6
xnu-1504.9.37—6
xnu-1699.22.73—6
xnu-1699.22.81—6
xnu-1699.24.23—6
xnu-1699.26.8—6
xnu-1699.32.7—6
xnu-2050.22.13—6
xnu-2050.24.15—6
xnu-2050.48.11—6
xnu-2050.7.9—6
xnu-2050.9.2—6
xnu-2422.1.72—6
xnu-2422.100.13—6
xnu-2422.110.17—6
xnu-2422.90.20—6
xnu-2782.1.97—6
xnu-2782.10.72—6
xnu-2782.20.48—6
xnu-2782.30.5—6
xnu-3247.10.11—6
xnu-3248.20.55—6
xnu-3248.30.4—6
xnu-3248.40.184—6
xnu-3248.50.21—6
xnu-3248.60.10—6
xnu-3789.21.4—6
xnu-3789.31.2—6
xnu-3789.41.3—6
xnu-3789.51.2—6
xnu-3789.60.24—6
xnu-3789.70.16—6
xnu-4570.20.62—6
xnu-4570.31.3—6
xnu-4570.41.2—6
xnu-4570.51.1—6
xnu-4570.61.1—6
xnu-4570.71.2—6
xnu-4903.231.4—6
xnu-4903.241.1—6
xnu-4903.270.47—6
xnu-6153.101.6—6
xnu-6153.121.1—6
xnu-6153.141.1—6
xnu-6153.41.3—6
xnu-6153.61.1—6
xnu-6153.81.5—6

Examples

C — close after use

close(fd);

Notes

The kernel removes the fd from the process file table and drops a reference on the fileglob. When the last reference disappears the vnode is inactivated, pending writes are flushed and any advisory locks held on the file are released. Closing a guarded descriptor without close_guard set is rejected with EBADF.

Detection

Endpoint Security emits ES_EVENT_TYPE_NOTIFY_CLOSE with the vnode being released. DTrace's syscall::close:entry/return fires per invocation; fs.fileops kernel probes capture the vnode reference drop.

Related APIs

opendupdup2guarded_close_npfcntlopenat