The Linux kernel mailing list (LKML) is the main

electronic mailing list A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is re ...

for

Linux kernel The Linux kernel is a free and open-source, monolithic, modular, multitasking, Unix-like operating system kernel. It was originally authored in 1991 by Linus Torvalds for his i386-based PC, and it was soon adopted as the kernel for the GNU ...

development, where the majority of the announcements, discussions, debates, and

flame war Flaming or roasting is the act of posting insults, often including profanity or other offensive language, on the internet. This term should not be confused with the term trolling, which is the act of someone going online, or in person, and causi ...

s over the kernel take place. Many other mailing lists exist to discuss the different subsystems and ports of the Linux kernel, but LKML is the principal communication channel among Linux kernel developers. It is a very high-volume list, usually receiving about 1,000 messages each day, most of which are kernel code patches. Linux utilizes a workflow governed by LKML, which is the "

bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, such as in t ...

" where kernel development takes place. In his book ''Linux Kernel Development'',

Robert Love Robert M. Love (born c. 1981) is an American author, speaker, Google engineer, and open source software developer. Love is best known for his contributions to the Linux kernel, with notable work including the preemptive kernel, process schedule ...

notes: The LKML functions as the central place where Linux developers around the world share patches, argue about implementation details, and discuss other issues. The official releases of the Linux kernel are indicated by an email to LKML. New features are discussed and most code is posted to the list before any action is taken. It is also the official place for reporting bugs in the Linux kernel, in case one cannot find the maintainer to whom the bug should be reported. Author Michelle Delio suggests that it was on LKML that Tux, the official Linux mascot, was suggested and refined, although the accuracy of her reporting in other stories has been disputed. Many companies associated with Linux kernel make announcements and proposals on LKML; for example,

Novell Novell, Inc. was an American software and services company headquartered in Provo, Utah, that existed from 1980 until 2014. Its most significant product was the multi- platform network operating system known as Novell NetWare. Under the le ...

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 ser ...

VMware VMware, Inc. is an American cloud computing and virtualization technology company with headquarters in Palo Alto, California. VMware was the first commercially successful company to virtualize the x86 architecture. VMware's desktop software ru ...

, and IBM. The list subscribers include all the Linux kernel maintainers as well as other known figures in Linux circles, such as Jeff V. Merkey and

Eric S. Raymond Eric Steven Raymond (born December 4, 1957), often referred to as ESR, is an American software developer, open-source software advocate, and author of the 1997 essay and 1999 book ''The Cathedral and the Bazaar''. He wrote a guidebook for the ...

. A 2000 study found that 14,535 people, from at least 30 countries, sent at least one email to LKML between 1995 and 2000 to participate in the discussion of Linux development. Authors of books such as ''The Linux Kernel Development As A Model of Open Source Knowledge Creation'' and ''Motivation of Software Developers in Open Source Projects'', and ''Recovering Device Drivers'' have made use of LKML for their research studies and surveys.

Media coverage

LWN.net website frequently cover discussion on the lkml and the newsletter ''Kernel Traffic'' covered the activities of the Linux-kernel mailing list until November 2005. Many internet websites include

archives An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual o ...

of the mailing list, such as lore.kernel.org/lkml, lkml.org, mail-archive.com and

marc.info MARC (Mailing list ARChive) is a computer-related mailing list archive. It archives over 31 million e-mails from over 2400 mailing lists, with approximately 320,000 new mails added per month. The archive is hosted by KoreLogic, and is maintained b ...

Linus Torvalds on LKML

Linus Torvalds Linus Benedict Torvalds ( , ; born 28 December 1969) is a Finnish software engineer who is the creator and, historically, the lead developer of the Linux kernel, used by Linux distributions and other operating systems such as Android. He also ...

is known for angrily disagreeing with other developers on the LKML. Calling himself a "really unpleasant person", he later explained "I'd like to be a nice person and curse less and encourage people to grow rather than telling them they are idiots. I'm sorryI tried, it's just not in me." His attitude, which Torvalds considers necessary for making his point clear, has drawn opposition from

programmer

Sage Sharp Sage Sharp (formerly Sarah Sharp) is a software engineer who has worked on the Linux kernel, including serving on the Linux Foundation's Technical Advisory Board for two years. Sharp began working on the kernel in 2006 as an undergraduate at ...

and

systemd systemd is a software suite that provides an array of system components for Linux operating systems. Its main aim is to unify service configuration and behavior across Linux distributions; Its primary component is a "system and service manag ...

developer

Lennart Poettering Lennart Poettering (born 15 October 1980) is a German software engineer working for Microsoft and the original author of PulseAudio, Avahi and systemd. Life and career Poettering was born in Guatemala City but grew up in Rio de Janeiro ...

, among others. In 2018 Torvalds took a break from kernel development to work on improving his behavior and instituted a

code of conduct A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual party or an organization. Companies' codes of conduct A company code of conduct is a set of rules which is commonly writt ...

References

External links

Subscribe to the Linux Kernel Mailing List

at Indiana University
LKML archive
at MARC (archive)
Majordomo lists at vger.kernel.org
– Other Linux kernel related lists
A semi-daily LKML Summary Podcast

Official FAQ of the Linux Kernel Mailing List
(outdated)
The Linux Kernel Hub

Kernel Traffic website
{{Linux kernel Linux kernel Electronic mailing lists

Media coverage

Linus Torvalds on LKML

See also

References

External links