Getting started with kernel development
First Steps
Kernel coder Greg Kroah-Hartman explains how to take your first steps with the kernel team – and highlights some exciting new developments in Linux.
No discussion of Linux is complete without a look at the sprawling yet wonderfully efficient operation at the center of it all: the kernel development project. For an inside look, we chased down one of the leading insiders: Greg Kroah-Hartman is a Linux Foundation fellow and the maintainer of the kernel stable branch. He also created the udev device manager, founded the Linux Driver project, and worked on many other drivers and subsystems in the Linux space. We asked Greg how he got started – and how an aspiring kernel hacker who is new in the field could take their first steps.
Linux Magazine: For readers who don't know you, how long have you been working on the Linux kernel, what are you working on, and how does that influence your daily routine?
Greg Kroah-Hartman: I started contributing to Linux pretty late compared to many other core kernel developers, with my first patches getting merged I think in 1997 or 1998. I had been using Linux for quite a while before that, but I just did not have the time to contribute to it before then.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Digital Autonomy
• The Answer Was Already on the Shelf
• Changing the Chip Industry: How Public Investment Has Grown Open Silicon
• United Nations Open Source Portal Goes Live
• EU Open Source Strategy Plays Key Role in Tech Sovereignty Package
• France Says “Au Revoir” to Microsoft
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
The Linux Kernel Dev Staging Area Now Rejects AI-Generated Patches
Unless a kernel patch is a valid security fix, it will be rejected if it was created using AI.
-
Linux Surpasses Double-Digit Market Share
According to two sources, the Linux operating system has hit a major milestone in market share that naysayers thought would never happen.
-
AI Helped Develop a Linux Exploit
A use-after-free race exploit was discovered and exploited on CentOS Stream 9.
-
Yet Another Linux Kernel Vulnerability Discovered
Affecting millions of systems, a kernel flaw discovered by Qualys could allow users to gain root privileges.
-
Ubuntu 26.10 to Include Ubuntu Certified Hardware Check
If you've ever wondered if your laptop or PC is officially certified to run Ubuntu, that curiosity will soon be met.
-
Substantial Update to IPFire Now Available
The lastest version of IPFire features a fundamental change to how the system handles DNS.
-
Gnome Working on Test Center App to Make Testing Easier
It's now possible to test experimental features on the Gnome desktop without worrying that you'll break things.
-
New Vulnerability Discovered in Linux Kernel
Hiding out for nearly 15 years, the Ghostlock vulnerability allows a standard logged-in user to gain root privileges.
-
New Linux Flaw Lets Attackers Escape VMs
A 16-year-old vulnerability allows an attacker to escape a virtual machine, gain access to the host, and execute malicious code.
-
Hannah Montana Linux Is Back!
Developer Noah Cagle decided the world needed the once obscure but beloved Linux distribution and gave it a decidedly pink refresh.