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1 | .. _stable_kernel_rules: |
2 | ||
5fe270a4 MCC |
3 | Everything you ever wanted to know about Linux -stable releases |
4 | =============================================================== | |
fc185d95 | 5 | |
e48e9909 JJ |
6 | Rules on what kind of patches are accepted, and which ones are not, into the |
7 | "-stable" tree: | |
fc185d95 | 8 | |
33568553 | 9 | - It or an equivalent fix must already exist in Linus' tree (upstream). |
fc185d95 | 10 | - It must be obviously correct and tested. |
84eb8d06 | 11 | - It cannot be bigger than 100 lines, with context. |
dca22a63 | 12 | - It must follow the |
8c27ceff | 13 | :ref:`Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst <submittingpatches>` |
dca22a63 | 14 | rules. |
33568553 TL |
15 | - It must either fix a real bug that bothers people or just add a device ID. |
16 | To elaborate on the former: | |
17 | ||
18 | - It fixes a problem like an oops, a hang, data corruption, a real security | |
19 | issue, a hardware quirk, a build error (but not for things marked | |
20 | CONFIG_BROKEN), or some "oh, that's not good" issue. | |
21 | - Serious issues as reported by a user of a distribution kernel may also | |
22 | be considered if they fix a notable performance or interactivity issue. | |
23 | As these fixes are not as obvious and have a higher risk of a subtle | |
24 | regression they should only be submitted by a distribution kernel | |
25 | maintainer and include an addendum linking to a bugzilla entry if it | |
26 | exists and additional information on the user-visible impact. | |
27 | - No "This could be a problem..." type of things like a "theoretical race | |
28 | condition", unless an explanation of how the bug can be exploited is also | |
29 | provided. | |
30 | - No "trivial" fixes without benefit for users (spelling changes, whitespace | |
31 | cleanups, etc). | |
fc185d95 | 32 | |
6e160d29 | 33 | |
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34 | Procedure for submitting patches to the -stable tree |
35 | ---------------------------------------------------- | |
fc185d95 | 36 | |
615f3eea BS |
37 | .. note:: |
38 | ||
39 | Security patches should not be handled (solely) by the -stable review | |
dca22a63 | 40 | process but should follow the procedures in |
44ac5aba | 41 | :ref:`Documentation/process/security-bugs.rst <securitybugs>`. |
5de61e7a | 42 | |
0f11447d | 43 | There are three options to submit a change to -stable trees: |
5de61e7a | 44 | |
6e160d29 TL |
45 | 1. Add a 'stable tag' to the description of a patch you then submit for |
46 | mainline inclusion. | |
47 | 2. Ask the stable team to pick up a patch already mainlined. | |
48 | 3. Submit a patch to the stable team that is equivalent to a change already | |
49 | mainlined. | |
50 | ||
51 | The sections below describe each of the options in more detail. | |
52 | ||
53 | :ref:`option_1` is **strongly** preferred, it is the easiest and most common. | |
54 | :ref:`option_2` is mainly meant for changes where backporting was not considered | |
55 | at the time of submission. :ref:`option_3` is an alternative to the two earlier | |
56 | options for cases where a mainlined patch needs adjustments to apply in older | |
57 | series (for example due to API changes). | |
3feb21bb | 58 | |
bbaee49c TL |
59 | When using option 2 or 3 you can ask for your change to be included in specific |
60 | stable series. When doing so, ensure the fix or an equivalent is applicable, | |
61 | submitted, or already present in all newer stable trees still supported. This is | |
62 | meant to prevent regressions that users might later encounter on updating, if | |
63 | e.g. a fix merged for 5.19-rc1 would be backported to 5.10.y, but not to 5.15.y. | |
64 | ||
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65 | .. _option_1: |
66 | ||
67 | Option 1 | |
68 | ******** | |
69 | ||
6e160d29 TL |
70 | To have a patch you submit for mainline inclusion later automatically picked up |
71 | for stable trees, add the tag | |
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72 | |
73 | .. code-block:: none | |
5de61e7a | 74 | |
5fa22429 | 75 | Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org |
5de61e7a | 76 | |
6e160d29 | 77 | in the sign-off area. Once the patch is mainlined it will be applied to the |
189057a1 TL |
78 | stable tree without anything else needing to be done by the author or |
79 | subsystem maintainer. | |
5fe270a4 | 80 | |
6e160d29 | 81 | To sent additional instructions to the stable team, use a shell-style inline |
db483303 | 82 | comment to pass arbitrary or predefined notes: |
8e9b9362 | 83 | |
db483303 | 84 | * Specify any additional patch prerequisites for cherry picking: |
189057a1 TL |
85 | |
86 | .. code-block:: none | |
5fe270a4 | 87 | |
2584f521 PG |
88 | Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 3.3.x: a1f84a3: sched: Check for idle |
89 | Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 3.3.x: 1b9508f: sched: Rate-limit newidle | |
90 | Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 3.3.x: fd21073: sched: Fix affinity logic | |
91 | Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 3.3.x | |
5fe270a4 MCC |
92 | Signed-off-by: Ingo Molnar <mingo@elte.hu> |
93 | ||
189057a1 | 94 | The tag sequence has the meaning of: |
5fe270a4 | 95 | |
189057a1 | 96 | .. code-block:: none |
8e9b9362 | 97 | |
8e9b9362 SAS |
98 | git cherry-pick a1f84a3 |
99 | git cherry-pick 1b9508f | |
100 | git cherry-pick fd21073 | |
101 | git cherry-pick <this commit> | |
102 | ||
4f013424 HV |
103 | Note that for a patch series, you do not have to list as prerequisites the |
104 | patches present in the series itself. For example, if you have the following | |
105 | patch series: | |
106 | ||
107 | .. code-block:: none | |
108 | ||
109 | patch1 | |
110 | patch2 | |
111 | ||
112 | where patch2 depends on patch1, you do not have to list patch1 as | |
113 | prerequisite of patch2 if you have already marked patch1 for stable | |
114 | inclusion. | |
115 | ||
db483303 | 116 | * Point out kernel version prerequisites: |
fdc81b79 | 117 | |
189057a1 | 118 | .. code-block:: none |
5fe270a4 | 119 | |
cf903e9d | 120 | Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 3.3.x |
fdc81b79 | 121 | |
189057a1 | 122 | The tag has the meaning of: |
5fe270a4 | 123 | |
189057a1 | 124 | .. code-block:: none |
5fe270a4 | 125 | |
fdc81b79 DD |
126 | git cherry-pick <this commit> |
127 | ||
189057a1 | 128 | For each "-stable" tree starting with the specified version. |
fdc81b79 | 129 | |
6e160d29 TL |
130 | Note, such tagging is unnecessary if the stable team can derive the |
131 | appropriate versions from Fixes: tags. | |
132 | ||
db483303 | 133 | * Delay pick up of patches: |
d0bde9ca | 134 | |
189057a1 | 135 | .. code-block:: none |
d0bde9ca TL |
136 | |
137 | Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # after 4 weeks in mainline | |
138 | ||
db483303 | 139 | * Point out known problems: |
d0bde9ca | 140 | |
189057a1 | 141 | .. code-block:: none |
d0bde9ca | 142 | |
6e160d29 | 143 | Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # see patch description, needs adjustments for <= 6.3 |
d0bde9ca | 144 | |
3feb21bb TL |
145 | .. _option_2: |
146 | ||
147 | Option 2 | |
148 | ******** | |
149 | ||
6e160d29 | 150 | If the patch already has been merged to mainline, send an email to |
3feb21bb | 151 | stable@vger.kernel.org containing the subject of the patch, the commit ID, |
bbaee49c | 152 | why you think it should be applied, and what kernel versions you wish it to |
3feb21bb TL |
153 | be applied to. |
154 | ||
155 | .. _option_3: | |
156 | ||
157 | Option 3 | |
158 | ******** | |
159 | ||
160 | Send the patch, after verifying that it follows the above rules, to | |
bbaee49c | 161 | stable@vger.kernel.org and mention the kernel versions you wish it to be applied |
6e160d29 TL |
162 | to. When doing so, you must note the upstream commit ID in the changelog of your |
163 | submission with a separate line above the commit text, like this: | |
3feb21bb TL |
164 | |
165 | .. code-block:: none | |
166 | ||
167 | commit <sha1> upstream. | |
168 | ||
169 | or alternatively: | |
170 | ||
171 | .. code-block:: none | |
172 | ||
173 | [ Upstream commit <sha1> ] | |
174 | ||
6e160d29 TL |
175 | If the submitted patch deviates from the original upstream patch (for example |
176 | because it had to be adjusted for the older API), this must be very clearly | |
177 | documented and justified in the patch description. | |
178 | ||
179 | ||
0f11447d TL |
180 | Following the submission |
181 | ------------------------ | |
5de61e7a | 182 | |
0f11447d TL |
183 | The sender will receive an ACK when the patch has been accepted into the |
184 | queue, or a NAK if the patch is rejected. This response might take a few | |
6e160d29 | 185 | days, according to the schedules of the stable team members. |
0f11447d TL |
186 | |
187 | If accepted, the patch will be added to the -stable queue, for review by other | |
188 | developers and by the relevant subsystem maintainer. | |
fc185d95 GKH |
189 | |
190 | ||
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191 | Review cycle |
192 | ------------ | |
fc185d95 | 193 | |
e48e9909 JJ |
194 | - When the -stable maintainers decide for a review cycle, the patches will be |
195 | sent to the review committee, and the maintainer of the affected area of | |
196 | the patch (unless the submitter is the maintainer of the area) and CC: to | |
197 | the linux-kernel mailing list. | |
198 | - The review committee has 48 hours in which to ACK or NAK the patch. | |
fc185d95 | 199 | - If the patch is rejected by a member of the committee, or linux-kernel |
e48e9909 JJ |
200 | members object to the patch, bringing up issues that the maintainers and |
201 | members did not realize, the patch will be dropped from the queue. | |
88d99e87 BS |
202 | - The ACKed patches will be posted again as part of release candidate (-rc) |
203 | to be tested by developers and testers. | |
204 | - Usually only one -rc release is made, however if there are any outstanding | |
205 | issues, some patches may be modified or dropped or additional patches may | |
206 | be queued. Additional -rc releases are then released and tested until no | |
207 | issues are found. | |
208 | - Responding to the -rc releases can be done on the mailing list by sending | |
209 | a "Tested-by:" email with any testing information desired. The "Tested-by:" | |
210 | tags will be collected and added to the release commit. | |
211 | - At the end of the review cycle, the new -stable release will be released | |
212 | containing all the queued and tested patches. | |
e48e9909 JJ |
213 | - Security patches will be accepted into the -stable tree directly from the |
214 | security kernel team, and not go through the normal review cycle. | |
fc185d95 GKH |
215 | Contact the kernel security team for more details on this procedure. |
216 | ||
6e160d29 | 217 | |
5fe270a4 MCC |
218 | Trees |
219 | ----- | |
2584f521 PG |
220 | |
221 | - The queues of patches, for both completed versions and in progress | |
222 | versions can be found at: | |
5fe270a4 | 223 | |
c1aa3871 | 224 | https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/stable-queue.git |
5fe270a4 | 225 | |
2584f521 PG |
226 | - The finalized and tagged releases of all stable kernels can be found |
227 | in separate branches per version at: | |
5fe270a4 | 228 | |
555d4493 | 229 | https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git |
2584f521 | 230 | |
587d39b2 BS |
231 | - The release candidate of all stable kernel versions can be found at: |
232 | ||
233 | https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable-rc.git/ | |
234 | ||
235 | .. warning:: | |
236 | The -stable-rc tree is a snapshot in time of the stable-queue tree and | |
237 | will change frequently, hence will be rebased often. It should only be | |
238 | used for testing purposes (e.g. to be consumed by CI systems). | |
239 | ||
fc185d95 | 240 | |
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241 | Review committee |
242 | ---------------- | |
fc185d95 | 243 | |
e48e9909 JJ |
244 | - This is made up of a number of kernel developers who have volunteered for |
245 | this task, and a few that haven't. |