---
name: "fpurge"
section: "3"
platform: "linux"
package: "man-pages"
version: "6.19-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux", "freebsd"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/fpurge"
---

# fpurge(3)

purge a stream

## NAME

fpurge, \_\_fpurge - purge a stream

## LIBRARY

Standard C library (*libc*, *-lc*)

## SYNOPSIS

```
/* unsupported */
#include <stdio.h>
```

**int fpurge(FILE \****stream***);**

/\* supported \*/ **#include \<stdio.h\>** **#include \<stdio\_ext.h\>**

**void  \_\_fpurge(FILE \****stream***);**

## DESCRIPTION

The function **fpurge**() clears the buffers of the given stream. For output streams this discards any unwritten output. For input streams this discards any input read from the underlying object but not yet obtained via [**getc**(3)](/getc/3.md); this includes any text pushed back via [**ungetc**(3)](/ungetc/3.md). See also [**fflush**(3)](/fflush/3.md).

The function **\_\_fpurge**() does precisely the same, but without returning a value.

## RETURN VALUE

Upon successful completion **fpurge**() returns 0. On error, it returns -1 and sets *errno* to indicate the error.

## ERRORS

- **EBADF**

  *stream* is not an open stream.

## ATTRIBUTES

For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see [**attributes**(7)](/attributes/7.md).

| | | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Interface** | **Attribute** | **Value** |
| **\_\_fpurge**() | Thread safety | MT-Safe race:stream |

## STANDARDS

None.

## HISTORY

- **fpurge**()

  4\.4BSD. Not available under Linux.

- **\_\_fpurge**()

  Solaris, glibc 2.1.95.

## NOTES

Usually it is a mistake to want to discard input buffers.

## SEE ALSO

[**fflush**(3)](/fflush/3.md), [**setbuf**(3)](/setbuf/3.md), [**stdio\_ext**(3)](/stdio_ext/3.md)