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Linus Torvalds fabd5a8d24 — Add return value descriptions to several internal functions, addressing
kernel-doc complaints
 
 — Add the x86 maintainer mailing list to the resctrl section so they are
   automatically included in patch submissions, and reference the applicable
   contribution rules document
 
 — Allow users to apply a single Capacity Bitmask to all cache domains at once
   using '*' as a shorthand, instead of having to specify each domain
   individually. This is particularly user-friendly on high core-count systems
   with many cache clusters
 
 - When a user provides a non-existent domain ID while configuring cache
   allocation, ensure the failure reason is properly reported to the user
   rather than silently returning an error with a misleading "ok" status
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Merge tag 'x86_cache_for_v7.1_rc1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tip/tip

Pull x86 resource control updates from Borislav Petkov:

 - Add return value descriptions to several internal functions,
   addressing kernel-doc complaints

 - Add the x86 maintainer mailing list to the resctrl section so they
   are automatically included in patch submissions, and reference the
   applicable contribution rules document

 - Allow users to apply a single Capacity Bitmask to all cache domains
   at once using '*' as a shorthand, instead of having to specify each
   domain individually. This is particularly user-friendly on high
   core-count systems with many cache clusters

 - When a user provides a non-existent domain ID while configuring cache
   allocation, ensure the failure reason is properly reported to the
   user rather than silently returning an error with a misleading "ok"
   status

* tag 'x86_cache_for_v7.1_rc1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tip/tip:
  fs/resctrl: Add missing return value descriptions
  MAINTAINERS: Update resctrl entry
  fs/resctrl: Add "*" shorthand to set io_alloc CBM for all domains
  fs/resctrl: Report invalid domain ID when parsing io_alloc_cbm
2026-04-14 14:46:37 -07:00
arch - Print TDX module version during boot 2026-04-14 14:42:55 -07:00
block for-7.1/block-20260411 2026-04-13 15:51:31 -07:00
certs Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
crypto CRC updates for 7.1 2026-04-13 17:36:04 -07:00
Documentation — Add return value descriptions to several internal functions, addressing 2026-04-14 14:46:37 -07:00
drivers - Print TDX module version during boot 2026-04-14 14:42:55 -07:00
fs — Add return value descriptions to several internal functions, addressing 2026-04-14 14:46:37 -07:00
include x86/platform changes for v7.1: 2026-04-14 14:10:44 -07:00
init Scheduler changes for v7.1: 2026-04-14 13:33:36 -07:00
io_uring for-7.1/io_uring-20260411 2026-04-13 16:22:30 -07:00
ipc Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
kernel Scheduler changes for v7.1: 2026-04-14 13:33:36 -07:00
lib Locking updates for v7.1: 2026-04-14 12:36:25 -07:00
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 for-7.1/block-20260411 2026-04-13 15:51:31 -07:00
net Crypto library updates for 7.1 2026-04-13 17:31:39 -07:00
rust Locking updates for v7.1: 2026-04-14 12:36:25 -07:00
samples Driver core changes for 7.1-rc1 2026-04-13 19:03:11 -07:00
scripts objtool updates for v7.1: 2026-04-14 13:00:04 -07:00
security Crypto library updates for 7.1 2026-04-13 17:31:39 -07:00
sound - Complete LASS enabling: deal with vsyscall and EFI 2026-04-14 14:24:45 -07:00
tools - Complete LASS enabling: deal with vsyscall and EFI 2026-04-14 14:24:45 -07:00
usr kbuild: uapi: also test UAPI headers against C++ compilers 2026-03-25 13:24:42 +01:00
virt vfs-7.1-rc1.bh.metadata 2026-04-13 12:46:42 -07:00
.clang-format Devicetree updates for v7.0: 2026-02-11 18:27:08 -08:00
.clippy.toml rust: bump Clippy's MSRV and clean incompatible_msrv allows 2026-04-07 09:51:39 +02:00
.cocciconfig
.editorconfig editorconfig: add rst extension 2026-01-26 19:07:09 -08:00
.get_maintainer.ignore .get_maintainer.ignore: add myself 2026-04-02 16:48:25 +02:00
.gitattributes .gitattributes: set diff driver for Rust source code files 2023-05-31 17:48:25 +02:00
.gitignore kbuild: rust: provide an option to inline C helpers into Rust 2026-03-30 02:03:52 +02:00
.mailmap MAINTAINERS, mailmap: Change Ulf Hansson's email 2026-04-07 14:17:48 +02:00
.pylintrc docs: Move the python libraries to tools/lib/python 2025-11-18 09:22:40 -07:00
.rustfmt.toml
COPYING
CREDITS MAINTAINERS: remove Thomas Falcon from IBM ibmvnic 2026-03-05 07:35:45 -08:00
Kbuild checksyscalls: move instance functionality into generic code 2026-04-05 09:21:32 +02:00
Kconfig io_uring: Rename KConfig to Kconfig 2025-02-19 14:53:27 -07:00
MAINTAINERS — Add return value descriptions to several internal functions, addressing 2026-04-14 14:46:37 -07:00
Makefile Kbuild/Kconfig updates for 7.1 2026-04-14 09:18:40 -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