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Linux kernel patches are more likely to earn useful review when they solve a clearly explained problem, reach the right subsystem maintainers, and arrive with evidence that the change works. No checklist guarantees a merge: acceptance is a staged community decision, and maintainer acceptance is not the same as inclusion in mainline. The practices below are specific to Linux kernel contributions; other projects may use different submission rules.
Start with the problem, not the implementation
Explain what is broken or missing, who is affected, and what observable consequence makes the change worthwhile. Then describe the fix in plain language and in enough technical detail for reviewers to assess it. The kernel’s patch submission guide advises contributors to describe the problem and its user-visible impact.
Include reproducible circumstances, relevant diagnostics, or other evidence when they help establish the issue. If you claim a performance, memory, or size improvement, provide measurements and explain any trade-offs; an unsupported benefit claim makes the patch harder to evaluate.
Build a focused, self-contained patch
Keep each patch about one coherent problem
Separate unrelated fixes rather than bundling them into one change. A reviewer should be able to understand why the patch is needed, what it changes, and how its behavior can be checked without relying on unwritten context. Write the commit message for the permanent project history, not only for the people reviewing it today.
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Make a series easy to follow
When a change requires multiple patches, number them and put them in a clear dependency order. Explain how the pieces fit together, and keep version-to-version notes after the --- separator so they remain reviewer context rather than part of the eventual commit message. Use a concise subject that says what the patch changes.
Use attribution tags responsibly
Follow the kernel guide’s requirements for tags such as review and test acknowledgments. Do not add another person’s tag without the required permission, and remove an earlier tag if substantial revision means it no longer accurately reflects that person’s review or testing.
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Route the patch to the right people
Kernel development is organized by subsystem. Identify the relevant maintainer and tree, then follow that subsystem’s instructions in the project’s maintainer information. Sending a patch to a broad list of recipients—or assuming that the top-level maintainer is the right destination—can make review less effective.
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The submission guide describes email submission and recommends inline, plain-text patches so reviewers can comment on exact lines; it identifies git send-email as a practical sending method. Keep recipients relevant. User-space interface changes can involve additional documentation and mailing-list expectations, while security issues have a separate reporting path.
Run checks that fit the change
Validation should match the code path, configuration choices, and architectures your patch affects. The kernel’s patch submission checklist covers style, declarations, memory-barrier comments, Kconfig combinations, interface documentation, builds, and tests. Use the applicable checks rather than treating any single pass as proof of correctness.
- Review the kernel style guidance and run
scripts/checkpatch.plas appropriate. A clean style check does not establish that the code is correct. - Check that required declarations are included directly instead of relying on incidental header inclusion. For memory-barrier logic, provide the comments needed to explain the reasoning.
- Review relevant Kconfig combinations and document new or changed APIs and interfaces in their required locations.
- Run sparse where it applies, build relevant configurations, and test affected runtime paths. Consider cross-architecture builds and runtime checks when they are relevant to the change.
- Report only checks actually performed. Distinguish a successful build from runtime testing, and do not imply that an untested configuration passed.
Respond to review and keep the patch current
Review is part of the contribution, not a final hurdle after the work is done. Reply to comments, revise the patch when appropriate, and explain your reasoning when you do not adopt a suggestion. Make responses and revisions clear enough that reviewers can see what changed.
Maintainer acceptance moves a patch into a wider integration process; it does not guarantee mainline inclusion. If a patch remains unmerged, keep it aligned with the current kernel and continue the relevant review conversation when it has stalled without blocking feedback. After a merge, remain attentive to problems found by later testing and maintenance. The kernel’s development process overview explains how work proceeds through integration.
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Disclose meaningful tool-generated contribution content
The kernel’s tool-generated content guidelines call for transparency when a meaningful amount of contribution content was created by a tool rather than by a person in the Signed-off-by chain. In the cover letter and changelog, describe the tools’ role, the affected portions, and testing details that help reviewers assess the work. You remain responsible for understanding and being able to defend the full submission; tool assistance does not transfer responsibility for correctness.
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