Linux kernel source tree
Find a file
Jonathan Corbet 330367bdc1 Merge branch 'mauro' into docs-mw
Mauro's work to include documentation from our Python modules.  His cover
letter follows:

This is an extended version of:
    https://lore.kernel.org/linux-doc/cover.1768488832.git.mchehab+huawei@kernel.org/

It basically adds everything we currently have inside libs/tool/python
to "tools" book inside documentation.

This version should be independent of the other series yet to be merged,
(including the jobserver one).

The vast amount of changes here are docstring cleanups and additions.
They mainly consists on:

- ensuring that every phrase will end with a period, making it uniform
  along all files;
- cleaning ups to better uniform docstrings;
- variable descriptions now use "#:" markup, as it allows autodoc to
  add them inside the documentation;
- added some missing docstrings;
- some new blank lines at comments to make ReST syntax parser happy;
- add a couple of sphinx markups (mainly, code blocks).

Most of those are minor changes, affecting only comments.

It also has one patch per libarary type, adding them to docs.

For kernel-doc, I did the cleanups first, as there is one code block
inside tools/lib/python/kdoc/latex_fonts.py that would cause a Sphinx
crash without such markups.

The series actually starts with 3 fixes:

- avoid "*" markups on indexes with deep> 3 to override text
- a variable rename to stop abusing doctree name
- don't rely on cwd to get Documentation/ location

patch 4 adds support to document scripts either at:
    - tools/
    - scripts/

patch 5 contains a CSS to better display autodoc html output.

For those who want to play with documentation, documenting a python
file is very simple. All it takes is to use:

    .. automodule:: lib.python.<dir+name>

Usually, we add a couple of control members to it to adjust
the desired documentation scope (add/remove members, showing class
inheritance, showing members that currently don't have
docstrings, etc). That's why we're using:

    .. automodule:: lib.python.kdoc.enrich_formatter
       :members:
       :show-inheritance:
       :undoc-members:

(and similar) inside tools/kdoc*.rst.

autodoc allows filtering in/out members, file docstrings, etc.

It also allows documenting just some members or functions with
directives like:

    ..autofunction:
    ..automember:

Sphinx also has a helper script to generate .rst files with
documentation:

    $ sphinx-apidoc -o foobar tools/lib/python/

which can be helpful to discover what should be documented,
although changes are needed to use what it produces.
2026-01-23 11:46:08 -07:00
arch Miscellaneous x86 fixes: 2025-12-21 14:41:29 -08:00
block block-6.19-20251218 2025-12-20 09:48:56 -08:00
certs sign-file,extract-cert: use pkcs11 provider for OPENSSL MAJOR >= 3 2024-09-20 19:52:48 +03:00
crypto Networking changes for 6.19. 2025-12-03 17:24:33 -08:00
Documentation Merge branch 'mauro' into docs-mw 2026-01-23 11:46:08 -07:00
drivers docs: kdoc: move kernel-doc to tools/docs 2026-01-20 15:31:06 -07:00
fs Fixes for 6.19-rc2 2025-12-20 12:45:35 -08:00
include docs: Update documentation to avoid mentioning of kernel.h 2025-12-22 14:59:18 -07:00
init Significant patch series in this pull request: 2025-12-06 14:01:20 -08:00
io_uring io_uring-6.19-20251218 2025-12-20 09:38:56 -08:00
ipc Significant patch series in this pull request: 2025-12-06 14:01:20 -08:00
kernel Fix IRQ thread affinity flags setup regression. 2025-12-21 14:34:13 -08:00
lib linux_kselftest-kunit-fixes-6.19-rc3 2025-12-20 11:59:06 -08:00
LICENSES LICENSES: Add modern form of the LGPL-2.1 tags to the usage guide section 2025-10-22 07:58:19 +02:00
mm slab fix for 6.19-rc2 2025-12-20 11:24:42 -08:00
net Including fixes from netfilter and CAN. 2025-12-19 07:55:35 +12:00
rust USB/Thunderbolt changes for 6.19-rc1 2025-12-06 18:42:12 -08:00
samples USB/Thunderbolt changes for 6.19-rc1 2025-12-06 18:42:12 -08:00
scripts docs: add a scripts/kernel-doc symbolic link 2026-01-20 15:57:06 -07:00
security Trivial optimization. 2025-12-14 15:21:02 +12:00
sound soundwire updates for 6.19 2025-12-13 16:26:55 +12:00
tools Merge branch 'mauro' into docs-mw 2026-01-23 11:46:08 -07:00
usr initramfs: add gen_init_cpio to hostprogs unconditionally 2025-11-26 21:55:40 +01:00
virt KVM fixes for 6.19-rc1 2025-12-18 18:38:45 +01:00
.clang-format s390/pci: Fix cyclic dead-lock in zpci_zdev_put() and zpci_scan_devices() 2025-12-14 11:03:58 +01:00
.clippy.toml rust: clean Rust 1.88.0's warning about clippy::disallowed_macros configuration 2025-05-07 00:11:47 +02:00
.cocciconfig
.editorconfig .editorconfig: remove trim_trailing_whitespace option 2024-06-13 16:47:52 +02:00
.get_maintainer.ignore MAINTAINERS: remove Alyssa Rosenzweig 2025-09-18 21:17:31 +02:00
.gitattributes .gitattributes: set diff driver for Rust source code files 2023-05-31 17:48:25 +02:00
.gitignore rust: kbuild: add proc macro library support 2025-11-24 17:15:36 +01:00
.mailmap Significant patch series in this pull request: 2025-12-06 14:01:20 -08:00
.pylintrc docs: Move the python libraries to tools/lib/python 2025-11-18 09:22:40 -07:00
.rustfmt.toml rust: add .rustfmt.toml 2022-09-28 09:02:20 +02:00
COPYING COPYING: state that all contributions really are covered by this file 2020-02-10 13:32:20 -08:00
CREDITS CREDITS: add whitespace before opening parentheses 2026-01-12 09:28:32 -07:00
Kbuild sched: Make migrate_{en,dis}able() inline 2025-09-25 09:57:16 +02:00
Kconfig io_uring: Rename KConfig to Kconfig 2025-02-19 14:53:27 -07:00
MAINTAINERS docs: kdoc: move kernel-doc to tools/docs 2026-01-20 15:31:06 -07:00
Makefile docs: kdoc: move kernel-doc to tools/docs 2026-01-20 15:31:06 -07:00
README docs: add AI Coding Assistants documentation 2026-01-06 14:55:06 -07:00

Linux kernel
============

The Linux kernel is the core of any Linux operating system. It manages hardware,
system resources, and provides the fundamental services for all other software.

Quick Start
-----------

* Report a bug: See Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst
* Get the latest kernel: https://kernel.org
* Build the kernel: See Documentation/admin-guide/quickly-build-trimmed-linux.rst
* Join the community: https://lore.kernel.org/

Essential Documentation
-----------------------

All users should be familiar with:

* Building requirements: Documentation/process/changes.rst
* Code of Conduct: Documentation/process/code-of-conduct.rst
* License: See COPYING

Documentation can be built with make htmldocs or viewed online at:
https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/


Who Are You?
============

Find your role below:

* New Kernel Developer - Getting started with kernel development
* Academic Researcher - Studying kernel internals and architecture
* Security Expert - Hardening and vulnerability analysis
* Backport/Maintenance Engineer - Maintaining stable kernels
* System Administrator - Configuring and troubleshooting
* Maintainer - Leading subsystems and reviewing patches
* Hardware Vendor - Writing drivers for new hardware
* Distribution Maintainer - Packaging kernels for distros
* AI Coding Assistant - LLMs and AI-powered development tools


For Specific Users
==================

New Kernel Developer
--------------------

Welcome! Start your kernel development journey here:

* Getting Started: Documentation/process/development-process.rst
* Your First Patch: Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
* Coding Style: Documentation/process/coding-style.rst
* Build System: Documentation/kbuild/index.rst
* Development Tools: Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst
* Kernel Hacking Guide: Documentation/kernel-hacking/hacking.rst
* Core APIs: Documentation/core-api/index.rst

Academic Researcher
-------------------

Explore the kernel's architecture and internals:

* Researcher Guidelines: Documentation/process/researcher-guidelines.rst
* Memory Management: Documentation/mm/index.rst
* Scheduler: Documentation/scheduler/index.rst
* Networking Stack: Documentation/networking/index.rst
* Filesystems: Documentation/filesystems/index.rst
* RCU (Read-Copy Update): Documentation/RCU/index.rst
* Locking Primitives: Documentation/locking/index.rst
* Power Management: Documentation/power/index.rst

Security Expert
---------------

Security documentation and hardening guides:

* Security Documentation: Documentation/security/index.rst
* LSM Development: Documentation/security/lsm-development.rst
* Self Protection: Documentation/security/self-protection.rst
* Reporting Vulnerabilities: Documentation/process/security-bugs.rst
* CVE Procedures: Documentation/process/cve.rst
* Embargoed Hardware Issues: Documentation/process/embargoed-hardware-issues.rst
* Security Features: Documentation/userspace-api/seccomp_filter.rst

Backport/Maintenance Engineer
-----------------------------

Maintain and stabilize kernel versions:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* Backporting Guide: Documentation/process/backporting.rst
* Applying Patches: Documentation/process/applying-patches.rst
* Subsystem Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git for Maintainers: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

System Administrator
--------------------

Configure, tune, and troubleshoot Linux systems:

* Admin Guide: Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Sysctl Tuning: Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/index.rst
* Tracing/Debugging: Documentation/trace/index.rst
* Performance Security: Documentation/admin-guide/perf-security.rst
* Hardware Monitoring: Documentation/hwmon/index.rst

Maintainer
----------

Lead kernel subsystems and manage contributions:

* Maintainer Handbook: Documentation/maintainer/index.rst
* Pull Requests: Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst
* Managing Patches: Documentation/maintainer/modifying-patches.rst
* Rebasing and Merging: Documentation/maintainer/rebasing-and-merging.rst
* Development Process: Documentation/process/maintainer-handbooks.rst
* Maintainer Entry Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git Configuration: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

Hardware Vendor
---------------

Write drivers and support new hardware:

* Driver API Guide: Documentation/driver-api/index.rst
* Driver Model: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/driver.rst
* Device Drivers: Documentation/driver-api/infrastructure.rst
* Bus Types: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/bus.rst
* Device Tree Bindings: Documentation/devicetree/bindings/
* Power Management: Documentation/driver-api/pm/index.rst
* DMA API: Documentation/core-api/dma-api.rst

Distribution Maintainer
-----------------------

Package and distribute the kernel:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* ABI Documentation: Documentation/ABI/README
* Kernel Configuration: Documentation/kbuild/kconfig.rst
* Module Signing: Documentation/admin-guide/module-signing.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Tainted Kernels: Documentation/admin-guide/tainted-kernels.rst

AI Coding Assistant
-------------------

CRITICAL: If you are an LLM or AI-powered coding assistant, you MUST read and
follow the AI coding assistants documentation before contributing to the Linux
kernel:

* Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst

This documentation contains essential requirements about licensing, attribution,
and the Developer Certificate of Origin that all AI tools must comply with.


Communication and Support
=========================

* Mailing Lists: https://lore.kernel.org/
* IRC: #kernelnewbies on irc.oftc.net
* Bugzilla: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/
* MAINTAINERS file: Lists subsystem maintainers and mailing lists
* Email Clients: Documentation/process/email-clients.rst