Longtime Linux developer Sasha Levin of NVIDIA (and formerly of Google and Microsoft) as well as being the Linux LTS kernel co-maintainer today proposed a Linux kernel AI coding assistant configuration and documentation/rules for contributing to the Linux kernel with patches that are (co)authored by AI coding utilities.
Sasha Levin sent out a short time ago a Request For Comments “RFC” on introducing an AI coding assistant configuration file to the Linux kernel documentation area for AI coding assistants like Claude to interpret. Plus an initial set of rules for contributing to the Linux kernel with AI attribution requirements and other details for those wanting to contribute to the upstream Linux kernel with the assistance of AI helpers like Claude and Grok.
Sasha Levin explained with the RFC patch series:
“This patch series adds unified configuration and documentation for AI coding assistants working with the Linux kernel codebase. As AI tools become increasingly common in software development, it’s important to establish clear guidelines for their use in kernel development.
The series consists of two patches:
1. The first patch adds unified configuration files for various AI coding assistants (Claude, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Codeium, Continue, Windsurf, and Aider). These are all symlinked to a central documentation file to ensure consistency across tools.
2. The second patch adds the actual rules and documentation that guide AI assistants on Linux kernel development practices, including:
– Following kernel coding standards
– Respecting the development process
– Properly attributing AI-generated contributions
– Understanding licensing requirementsThe examples below demonstrate how these guidelines work in practice, showing proper AI attribution in commits and the assistant’s understanding of kernel documentation requirements.
All AI assistants are required to identify themselves in commits using Co-developed-by tags, ensuring full transparency about AI involvement in code development.”
It will be interesting to see where this leads and what perspective Linus Torvalds may share on the matter.
