Re: [PATCH] MAINTAINERS: name the ext4 dev branch

[Matthias Goergens <matthias.goergens@gmail.com>]

On Wed, Sep 23, 2026 at 11:14:31PM -0400, Theodore Ts'o wrote:
> I also tried looking at the documentation, and I can't find any
> mention that the git branch could be specified.  Maybe we should
> update the documentation for T: in a separate patch to the MAINTAINERS
> file?

The header only says "SCM tree type and location", but the branch has
been used since hwmon named two in 2007, 109 of the 846 git T: lines
name one today, and get_maintainer.pl --self-test=scm has parsed it and
checked it with git ls-remote since 083bf9c56d06 (2017).

> I wonder if ext4 is the only tree which might have this issue...
>
>    git log --merges linux-next
>
> ... nope, apparently not.  I see a lot of branches which are merged
> into linux-net which are not mentioned in the MAINTAINERS file.

I'll take both on: patches documenting the branch, in the MAINTAINERS
header and where submitting-patches.rst sends contributors to the T:
entry, and patches bringing the T: entries in line with the branches
linux-next merges.  I'll Cc you on the documentation patches.

For the entries, my plan is to start with the roughly 160 T: lines
that name a repository whose HEAD is already in mainline while
linux-next pulls a different branch from it: one small patch per
repository, sent to that entry's maintainers as its own thread.  I'd
send a few first, to maintainers who usually respond quickly, and then
the rest in larger batches once the first ones have landed or drawn
comments.  You know far better than I do how maintainers take this
kind of tree-wide cleanup, so I'd welcome your view on that approach
before I start.

Thanks,
Matthias