The Linux kernel community uses a Code of Conduct based on the Contributor Covenant, version 1.4. This document describes that code of conduct, and explains how the Linux kernel community interprets and enforces it in practice. The interpretation is not static — it will be updated as the community’s understanding evolves.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/deelerdev/linux/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Our pledge
In the interest of fostering an open and welcoming environment, contributors and maintainers pledge to make participation in the project and the community a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.Our standards
Expected behavior
- Using welcoming and inclusive language
- Being respectful of differing viewpoints and experiences
- Gracefully accepting constructive criticism
- Focusing on what is best for the community
- Showing empathy towards other community members
Unacceptable behavior
- The use of sexualized language or imagery and unwelcome sexual attention or advances
- Trolling, insulting or derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks
- Public or private harassment
- Publishing others’ private information, such as a physical or electronic address, without explicit permission
- Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a professional setting
Our responsibilities
Maintainers are responsible for clarifying the standards of acceptable behavior and are expected to take appropriate and fair corrective action in response to any instances of unacceptable behavior. Maintainers have the right and responsibility to remove, edit, or reject comments, commits, code, wiki edits, issues, and other contributions that are not aligned to this Code of Conduct, or to ban temporarily or permanently any contributor for behaviors that they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful.Scope
The Code of Conduct applies within all project spaces and in public spaces when an individual is representing the project or its community — for example, using an official project email address, posting via an official social media account, or acting as an appointed representative at an online or offline event. The kernel community primarily interacts on public mailing lists. All of these lists are defined in theMAINTAINERS file in the kernel source tree, and all email sent to those lists is covered by the Code of Conduct. The kernel.org Bugzilla and other subsystem bug trackers are also covered.
The Code of Conduct does not prohibit including names, email addresses, and associated comments in mailing list messages, kernel changelog messages, or code comments.
Enforcement and reporting
Instances of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior may be reported by contacting the Code of Conduct Committee at conduct@kernel.org. All complaints will be reviewed and investigated and will result in a response deemed necessary and appropriate to the circumstances. The committee is obligated to maintain confidentiality with regard to the reporter. The exact members of the committee at any given time are listed at kernel.org/code-of-conduct.html. Members cannot access reports made before they joined or after they have left the committee. Any individual committee member — including the mediator — can be contacted directly if you do not wish to include the full committee in your report.Committee structure
The Code of Conduct Committee consists of volunteer community members appointed by the Technical Advisory Board (TAB), plus a professional mediator acting as a neutral third party. The committee reviews cases and consults with the TAB as needed. Enforcement decisions are brought to the TAB for implementation; decisions require approval by two-thirds of TAB members voting, excluding any committee members who also serve on the TAB. At quarterly intervals, the committee and TAB publish an anonymized report summarizing the reports received, their status, and any TAB-approved enforcement decisions with complete voting details.Enforcement process for unacceptable behavior
Community resolution
Most issues are resolved through community discussion. When individuals acknowledge their behavior and make amends in the setting where the violation occurred, no further escalation is needed.
Committee review
If the issue is not resolved through community discussion, it is reported to the committee at conduct@kernel.org. The committee investigates, working with all involved parties, with the goal of reaching a resolution agreeable to everyone.
Seek public apology
If working with the individual does not produce the desired outcome, the committee publicly calls out the behavior in the setting where the violation occurred and seeks a public apology. A public apology is the first step toward rebuilding the trust on which the community depends.
Remedial measures
If no public apology is forthcoming, the committee recommends remedial measures to the TAB for approval. These may include banning the violator from participating in kernel development for up to one full kernel development cycle. The scope of a ban can include:
- Denying patch contributions and pull requests
- Pausing collaboration by ignoring contributions and/or blocking email accounts
- Restricting ability to communicate via kernel.org platforms, including mailing lists and social media
Interpretation guidelines
The Linux kernel community’s interpretation of the Code of Conduct reflects the nature of kernel development.Technical review is not harassment
Kernel development is a personal process. Your contributions will be carefully reviewed, often resulting in critique and criticism. Review almost always requires improvements before code can be accepted. This happens because everyone involved wants the best possible solution for the overall success of Linux — it is not a violation of the Code of Conduct. Setting expertise expectations, making technical decisions, and rejecting unsuitable contributions are not violations of the Code of Conduct.Maintainer roles
In the kernel community, a “maintainer” is anyone listed in theMAINTAINERS file as responsible for a subsystem, driver, or file. Maintainers are expected to lead by example, but there is no requirement for them to unilaterally handle every conduct issue in their area. That responsibility belongs to the whole community. The Code of Conduct documents final escalation paths for unresolved conduct concerns.
Maintainers should be willing to help when problems arise and should work with others in the community. If you are unsure how to handle a situation, reach out to the TAB or other maintainers — doing so is not itself a violation report.
Priorities and entry hurdles
Maintainers have limited capacity to help new contributors overcome entry hurdles and must set priorities. This is not a Code of Conduct violation. The kernel community recognizes the challenge and provides resources such as kernelnewbies.org specifically to address it.Technical disputes vs. interpersonal disputes
Technical disputes
Technical disputes
Disagreements about code correctness, design, or architecture are a normal and necessary part of kernel development. Expertise requirements and decision-making authority in the hands of maintainers exist to ensure that the kernel remains technically sound. These are not interpersonal conduct matters.
Interpersonal disputes
Interpersonal disputes
Personal attacks, harassment, and other behavior that would be inappropriate in a professional setting are covered by the Code of Conduct regardless of whether they arise during a technical discussion. The technical merit of a contribution does not excuse how a reviewer or maintainer treats a contributor as a person.
A majority of reports
A majority of reports
A majority of reports the committee receives stem from misunderstandings about the development process and maintainers’ roles, responsibilities, and their right to make decisions on code acceptance. These are resolved through clarification of the development process and the scope of the Code of Conduct.
Who to contact
Code of Conduct Committee
Report conduct issues to the full committee at conduct@kernel.org. Reports are kept confidential.
Committee members
View the current committee membership at kernel.org/code-of-conduct.html.
Conflict mediator
Contact Joanna Lee at jlee@linuxfoundation.org if you prefer not to approach the TAB or the full committee.
Technical Advisory Board
The TAB approves enforcement decisions and can be consulted by maintainers uncertain how to handle a situation.