nfs-silly-rename · shipping · also silly rename, NFS .nfs file

NFS silly rename

NFS silly rename is a client workaround that temporarily renames an in-use file's directory entry and defers its removal until local references are released.

Linux v6.12 uses a hidden .nfs name and deferred unlink. The nfs_unlink branch is conditional on a dentry reference count above one and absence of the inode's preservation flag; this count is not a file-descriptor count. [3] [2] The original Sun paper documents client-crash leftovers and a cross-client removal limitation, not modern fleet rates. [1]

Relations

related

nfs-storage, nfs-preserve-unlinked, unlink, open-file-description

Advantages

• Helps preserve access through existing local references while removing the application's original name.

Limitations

• Does not establish a complete inventory of other clients' opens.
• A hidden name is not evidence of media failure, successful cleanup or secure erasure.

Citations

1. R. Sandberg, D. Goldberg, S. Kleiman, D. Walsh and B. Lyon. Design and Implementation of the Sun Network Filesystem. Summer USENIX 1985, pp. 119-130; open-file semantics, pp. 126-127. (accessed 2026-10-16)
2. Linux v6.12, fs/nfs/unlink.c: nfs_sillyrename and asynchronous cleanup. (accessed 2026-10-16)
3. Linux v6.12, fs/nfs/dir.c: nfs_unlink gates silly rename on the inode preservation flag. (accessed 2026-10-16)
4. Why deleted NFS files become .nfs files (accessed 2026-10-16)

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