// the take
A short, text-based tutorial by Greg Kroah-Hartman (longtime Linux kernel maintainer) on how to write and submit a kernel patch: the process, formatting conventions, mailing list etiquette, and common first-timer mistakes. It's for anyone trying to get their first patch accepted upstream, not for learning kernel internals or C.
Written by someone who has reviewed and merged an enormous number of real kernel patches, so the advice on patch format, changelog wording, and signing-off reflects what actually gets accepted rather than generic open-source etiquette. The walkthrough and lxf_article text files are plain prose, easy to read without special tooling, and the PDF/ODP slides work as a companion talk if you want the condensed version. Content is narrow and focused on one specific, high-value skill rather than trying to cover kernel development broadly.
No commits since 2021 and kernel submission conventions (tooling like b4, some mailing list practices, checkpatch rules) have shifted since then, so parts are stale even though the core etiquette mostly still holds. It's static documentation with no exercises, sample patches to practice on, or automated checks — you read it, you don't interact with it. Several files are binary/proprietary formats (.odp, .odt) which is an odd choice for a project about open collaboration, and there's no indication anyone is maintaining or updating it going forward.
We read the README, the directory tree and a key source file in October 2026. Nobody pays to be listed. How we judge →