cfree(3)                   Library Functions Manual                   cfree(3)

NAME
       cfree - free allocated memory

LIBRARY
       Standard C library (libc, -lc)

SYNOPSIS

       #include <stdlib.h>

       /* In SunOS 4 */
       int cfree(void *ptr);

       /* In glibc or FreeBSD libcompat */
       void cfree(void *ptr);

       /* In SCO OpenServer */
       void cfree(unsigned int n, unsigned int size;
                  char ptr[size * n], unsigned int n, unsigned int size);

       /* In Solaris watchmalloc.so.1 */
       void cfree(size_t n, size_t size;
                  void ptr[size * n], size_t n, size_t size);

   Feature Test Macro Requirements for glibc (see feature_test_macros(7)):

       cfree():
           Since glibc 2.19:
               _DEFAULT_SOURCE
           glibc 2.19 and earlier:
               _BSD_SOURCE || _SVID_SOURCE

DESCRIPTION
       This function should never be used.  Use free(3) instead.  Starting
       with glibc 2.26, it has been removed from glibc.

   1-arg cfree
       In glibc, the function cfree() is a synonym for free(3), "added for
       compatibility with SunOS".

       Other systems have other functions with this name.  The declaration is
       sometimes in <stdlib.h> and sometimes in <malloc.h>.

   3-arg cfree
       Some SCO and Solaris versions have malloc libraries with a 3-argument
       cfree(), apparently as an analog to calloc(3).

       If you need it while porting something, add

           #define cfree(p, n, s) free((p))

       to your file.

       A frequently asked question is "Can I use free(3) to free memory
       allocated with calloc(3), or do I need cfree()?".  Answer: use free(3).

       An SCO manual writes: "The cfree routine is provided for compliance to
       the iBCSe2 standard and simply calls free.  The n and size arguments to
       cfree are not used."

RETURN VALUE
       The SunOS version of cfree() (which is a synonym for free(3)) returns 1
       on success and 0 on failure.  In case of error, errno is set to EINVAL:
       the value of ptr was not a pointer to a block previously allocated by
       one of the routines in the malloc(3) family.

ATTRIBUTES
       For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see
       attributes(7).

       +-----------------------------+---------------+------------------------+
       |Interface                    | Attribute     | Value                  |
       +-----------------------------+---------------+------------------------+
       |cfree ()                     | Thread safety | MT-Safe /* In glibc */ |
       +-----------------------------+---------------+------------------------+
VERSIONS
       The 3-argument version of cfree() as used by SCO conforms to the iBCSe2
       standard: Intel386 Binary Compatibility Specification, Edition 2.

STANDARDS
       None.

HISTORY
       Removed in glibc 2.26.

SEE ALSO
       malloc(3)

Linux man-pages 6.19              2026-02-08                          cfree(3)