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In the last few years, the capabilities of coding tools have exploded. As those capabilities have expanded, contributors and maintainers have more and more questions about how and when to apply those capabilities. Add new Documentation to guide contributors on how to best use kernel development tools, new and old. Note, though, there are fundamentally no new or unique rules in this new document. It clarifies expectations that the kernel community has had for many years. For example, researchers are already asked to disclose the tools they use to find issues by Documentation/process/researcher-guidelines.rst. This new document just reiterates existing best practices for development tooling. In short: Please show your work and make sure your contribution is easy to review. Signed-off-by: Dave Hansen <dave.hansen@linux.intel.com> Reviewed-by: Shuah Khan <shuah@kernel.org> Reviewed-by: Kees Cook <kees@kernel.org> Reviewed-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org> Reviewed-by: Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@kernel.org> Reviewed-by: Luis Chamberlain <mcgrof@kernel.org> Reviewed-by: SeongJae Park <sj@kernel.org> Reviewed-by: Dan Williams <dan.j.williams@intel.com> Reviewed-by: Steven Rostedt <rostedt@goodmis.org> Reviewed-by: Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@kernel.org> Reviewed-by: Simon Glass <simon.glass@canonical.com> Reviewed-by: Lee Jones <lee@kernel.org> Reviewed-by: Lorenzo Stoakes <lorenzo.stoakes@oracle.com> Cc: NeilBrown <neilb@ownmail.net> Cc: Lorenzo Stoakes <lorenzo.stoakes@oracle.com> Cc: Dan Williams <dan.j.williams@intel.com> Cc: Theodore Ts'o <tytso@mit.edu> Cc: Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org> Cc: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net> Cc: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz> Cc: workflows@vger.kernel.org Cc: ksummit@lists.linux.dev Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/cfb8bb96-e798-474d-bc6f-9cf610fe720f@lucifer.local/ -- Changes from v5: * Add more review tags * Add a blurb to the "special" asks bullet to mention that extra testing may be requested. * Reword the closing paragraph of "Out of Scope" section for clarity * Remove an "AI" and make small wording tweak (Jon) Changes from v4: * Modest tweaking and rewording to strengthen language * Add a section to help alleviate concerns that the document would not enable maintainers to act forcefully enough in the face of high-volume low-quality contributions (aka. AI slop). This is very close to some text that Lorenzo posted. I just made some very minor wording tweaks and spelling fixes. * Note: v4 mistakenly had "v3" in the subject Changes from v3: * Wording/formatting tweaks (Randy) Changes from v2: * Mention testing (Shuah) * Remove "very", rename LLM => coding assistant (Dan) * More formatting sprucing up and minor typos (Miguel) * Make changelog and text less flashy (Christian) * Tone down critical=>helpful (Neil) Changes from v1: * Rename to generated-content.rst and add to documentation index. (Jon) * Rework subject to align with the new filename * Replace commercial names with generic ones. (Jon) * Be consistent about punctuation at the end of bullets for whole sentences. (Miguel) * Formatting sprucing up and minor typos (Miguel) This document was a collaborative effort from all the members of the TAB. I just reformatted it into .rst and wrote the changelog. Signed-off-by: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net> Message-ID: <20260119200418.89541-1-dave.hansen@linux.intel.com> |
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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