[PATCH v2] checkpatch: suppress strscpy warnings for userspace tools

[PATCH v2] checkpatch: suppress strscpy warnings for userspace tools

[Suchit Karunakaran]

The checkpatch.pl script currently warns against the use of strcpy, 
strlcpy, and strncpy, recommending strscpy as a safer alternative. 
However, these warnings are also triggered for code under tools/ and 
scripts/, which are userspace utilities where strscpy is not available.
This patch suppresses these warnings for files in tools/ and scripts/.

Signed-off-by: Suchit Karunakaran <suchitkarunakaran@gmail.com>

Changes since v1:
- Create is_userspace function to check if the file is in userspace
  directories
---
 scripts/checkpatch.pl | 10 +++++++---
 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/scripts/checkpatch.pl b/scripts/checkpatch.pl
index e722dd6fa8ef..472cd8aac9c3 100755
--- a/scripts/checkpatch.pl
+++ b/scripts/checkpatch.pl
@@ -7019,20 +7019,24 @@ sub process {
 #			}
 #		}
 
+        sub is_userspace {
+            my ($file) = @_;
+            return ($file =~ m@\btools/@ || $file =~ m@\bscripts/@);
+        }
 # strcpy uses that should likely be strscpy
-		if ($line =~ /\bstrcpy\s*\(/) {
+		if ($line =~ /\bstrcpy\s*\(/ && !is_userspace($realfile)) {
 			WARN("STRCPY",
 			     "Prefer strscpy over strcpy - see: https://github.com/KSPP/linux/issues/88\n" . $herecurr);
 		}
 
 # strlcpy uses that should likely be strscpy
-		if ($line =~ /\bstrlcpy\s*\(/) {
+		if ($line =~ /\bstrlcpy\s*\(/ && !is_userspace($realfile)) {
 			WARN("STRLCPY",
 			     "Prefer strscpy over strlcpy - see: https://github.com/KSPP/linux/issues/89\n" . $herecurr);
 		}
 
 # strncpy uses that should likely be strscpy or strscpy_pad
-		if ($line =~ /\bstrncpy\s*\(/) {
+		if ($line =~ /\bstrncpy\s*\(/ && !is_userspace($realfile)) {
 			WARN("STRNCPY",
 			     "Prefer strscpy, strscpy_pad, or __nonstring over strncpy - see: https://github.com/KSPP/linux/issues/90\n" . $herecurr);
 		}
-- 
2.50.1

Re: [PATCH v2] checkpatch: suppress strscpy warnings for userspace tools

[Joe Perches]

On Sun, 2025-07-27 at 18:20 +0530, Suchit Karunakaran wrote:
> The checkpatch.pl script currently warns against the use of strcpy, 
> strlcpy, and strncpy, recommending strscpy as a safer alternative. 
> However, these warnings are also triggered for code under tools/ and 
> scripts/, which are userspace utilities where strscpy is not available.
> This patch suppresses these warnings for files in tools/ and scripts/.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Suchit Karunakaran <suchitkarunakaran@gmail.com>
> 
> Changes since v1:
> - Create is_userspace function to check if the file is in userspace
>   directories

the changelog bit should go below the --- line

> ---

This
>  scripts/checkpatch.pl | 10 +++++++---
>  1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/scripts/checkpatch.pl b/scripts/checkpatch.pl
[]
> @@ -7019,20 +7019,24 @@ sub process {
>  #			}
>  #		}
>  
> +        sub is_userspace {
> +            my ($file) = @_;
> +            return ($file =~ m@\btools/@ || $file =~ m@\bscripts/@);

All other sub uses start in without indentation.
Please move this next to other sub blocks.

Please do a git ls-files -- '*tools/' and see if too many other
files are matched, especially the Documentation/ ones.

> +        }
>  # strcpy uses that should likely be strscpy
> -		if ($line =~ /\bstrcpy\s*\(/) {
> +		if ($line =~ /\bstrcpy\s*\(/ && !is_userspace($realfile)) {
>  			WARN("STRCPY",
>  			     "Prefer strscpy over strcpy - see: https://github.com/KSPP/linux/issues/88\n" . $herecurr);
>  		}

Re: [PATCH v2] checkpatch: suppress strscpy warnings for userspace tools

[Suchit Karunakaran]

On Tue, 29 Jul 2025 at 15:54, Joe Perches <joe@perches.com> wrote:
>
> On Sun, 2025-07-27 at 18:20 +0530, Suchit Karunakaran wrote:
> > The checkpatch.pl script currently warns against the use of strcpy,
> > strlcpy, and strncpy, recommending strscpy as a safer alternative.
> > However, these warnings are also triggered for code under tools/ and
> > scripts/, which are userspace utilities where strscpy is not available.
> > This patch suppresses these warnings for files in tools/ and scripts/.
> >
> > Signed-off-by: Suchit Karunakaran <suchitkarunakaran@gmail.com>
> >
> > Changes since v1:
> > - Create is_userspace function to check if the file is in userspace
> >   directories
>
> the changelog bit should go below the --- line
>
> > ---
>
> This

Sorry I will change it in the next version.

> >  scripts/checkpatch.pl | 10 +++++++---
> >  1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
> >
> > diff --git a/scripts/checkpatch.pl b/scripts/checkpatch.pl
> []
> > @@ -7019,20 +7019,24 @@ sub process {
> >  #                    }
> >  #            }
> >
> > +        sub is_userspace {
> > +            my ($file) = @_;
> > +            return ($file =~ m@\btools/@ || $file =~ m@\bscripts/@);
>
> All other sub uses start in without indentation.
> Please move this next to other sub blocks.
>

Yup will do it.

> Please do a git ls-files -- '*tools/' and see if too many other
> files are matched, especially the Documentation/ ones.
>

I didn't quite understand this. Could you please elaborate?

Re: [PATCH v2] checkpatch: suppress strscpy warnings for userspace tools

[Joe Perches]

On Tue, 2025-07-29 at 17:15 +0530, Suchit Karunakaran wrote:
> On Tue, 29 Jul 2025 at 15:54, Joe Perches <joe@perches.com> wrote:
> > 
> > On Sun, 2025-07-27 at 18:20 +0530, Suchit Karunakaran wrote:
> > > The checkpatch.pl script currently warns against the use of strcpy,
> > > strlcpy, and strncpy, recommending strscpy as a safer alternative.
> > > However, these warnings are also triggered for code under tools/ and
> > > scripts/, which are userspace utilities where strscpy is not available.
> > > This patch suppresses these warnings for files in tools/ and scripts/.
> > > 
> > > Signed-off-by: Suchit Karunakaran <suchitkarunakaran@gmail.com>
> > > 
> > > Changes since v1:
> > > - Create is_userspace function to check if the file is in userspace
> > >   directories
> > 
> > the changelog bit should go below the --- line
> > 
> > > ---
> > 
> > This
> 
> Sorry I will change it in the next version.
> 
> > >  scripts/checkpatch.pl | 10 +++++++---
> > >  1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
> > > 
> > > diff --git a/scripts/checkpatch.pl b/scripts/checkpatch.pl
> > []
> > > @@ -7019,20 +7019,24 @@ sub process {
> > >  #                    }
> > >  #            }
> > > 
> > > +        sub is_userspace {
> > > +            my ($file) = @_;
> > > +            return ($file =~ m@\btools/@ || $file =~ m@\bscripts/@);
> > 
> > All other sub uses start in without indentation.
> > Please move this next to other sub blocks.
> > 
> 
> Yup will do it.
> 
> > Please do a git ls-files -- '*tools/' and see if too many other
> > files are matched, especially the Documentation/ ones.
> > 
> 
> I didn't quite understand this. Could you please elaborate?

The search pattern m@\btools/@ matches files other than the
first level tools/ directory.

It also matches Documentation/tools/

Perhaps using m@^tools/@ to match only the first level tools
and change $file to $realfile to make it clear it's not
a/tools or b/tools like the diff filenames.

Re: [PATCH v2] checkpatch: suppress strscpy warnings for userspace tools

[Suchit Karunakaran]

On Tue, 29 Jul 2025 at 19:14, Joe Perches <joe@perches.com> wrote:
>
> On Tue, 2025-07-29 at 17:15 +0530, Suchit Karunakaran wrote:
> > On Tue, 29 Jul 2025 at 15:54, Joe Perches <joe@perches.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > On Sun, 2025-07-27 at 18:20 +0530, Suchit Karunakaran wrote:
> > > > The checkpatch.pl script currently warns against the use of strcpy,
> > > > strlcpy, and strncpy, recommending strscpy as a safer alternative.
> > > > However, these warnings are also triggered for code under tools/ and
> > > > scripts/, which are userspace utilities where strscpy is not available.
> > > > This patch suppresses these warnings for files in tools/ and scripts/.
> > > >
> > > > Signed-off-by: Suchit Karunakaran <suchitkarunakaran@gmail.com>
> > > >
> > > > Changes since v1:
> > > > - Create is_userspace function to check if the file is in userspace
> > > >   directories
> > >
> > > the changelog bit should go below the --- line
> > >
> > > > ---
> > >
> > > This
> >
> > Sorry I will change it in the next version.
> >
> > > >  scripts/checkpatch.pl | 10 +++++++---
> > > >  1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
> > > >
> > > > diff --git a/scripts/checkpatch.pl b/scripts/checkpatch.pl
> > > []
> > > > @@ -7019,20 +7019,24 @@ sub process {
> > > >  #                    }
> > > >  #            }
> > > >
> > > > +        sub is_userspace {
> > > > +            my ($file) = @_;
> > > > +            return ($file =~ m@\btools/@ || $file =~ m@\bscripts/@);
> > >
> > > All other sub uses start in without indentation.
> > > Please move this next to other sub blocks.
> > >
> >
> > Yup will do it.
> >
> > > Please do a git ls-files -- '*tools/' and see if too many other
> > > files are matched, especially the Documentation/ ones.
> > >
> >
> > I didn't quite understand this. Could you please elaborate?
>
> The search pattern m@\btools/@ matches files other than the
> first level tools/ directory.
>
> It also matches Documentation/tools/
>
> Perhaps using m@^tools/@ to match only the first level tools
> and change $file to $realfile to make it clear it's not
> a/tools or b/tools like the diff filenames.
>

Apologies, I missed that part. Will fix it in the next version. Thanks!

Re: [PATCH v2] checkpatch: suppress strscpy warnings for userspace tools

[Suchit Karunakaran]

On Tue, 29 Jul 2025 at 19:14, Joe Perches <joe@perches.com> wrote:
>
> On Tue, 2025-07-29 at 17:15 +0530, Suchit Karunakaran wrote:
> > On Tue, 29 Jul 2025 at 15:54, Joe Perches <joe@perches.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > On Sun, 2025-07-27 at 18:20 +0530, Suchit Karunakaran wrote:
> > > > The checkpatch.pl script currently warns against the use of strcpy,
> > > > strlcpy, and strncpy, recommending strscpy as a safer alternative.
> > > > However, these warnings are also triggered for code under tools/ and
> > > > scripts/, which are userspace utilities where strscpy is not available.
> > > > This patch suppresses these warnings for files in tools/ and scripts/.
> > > >
> > > > Signed-off-by: Suchit Karunakaran <suchitkarunakaran@gmail.com>
> > > >
> > > > Changes since v1:
> > > > - Create is_userspace function to check if the file is in userspace
> > > >   directories
> > >
> > > the changelog bit should go below the --- line
> > >
> > > > ---
> > >
> > > This
> >
> > Sorry I will change it in the next version.
> >
> > > >  scripts/checkpatch.pl | 10 +++++++---
> > > >  1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
> > > >
> > > > diff --git a/scripts/checkpatch.pl b/scripts/checkpatch.pl
> > > []
> > > > @@ -7019,20 +7019,24 @@ sub process {
> > > >  #                    }
> > > >  #            }
> > > >
> > > > +        sub is_userspace {
> > > > +            my ($file) = @_;
> > > > +            return ($file =~ m@\btools/@ || $file =~ m@\bscripts/@);
> > >
> > > All other sub uses start in without indentation.
> > > Please move this next to other sub blocks.
> > >
> >
> > Yup will do it.
> >
> > > Please do a git ls-files -- '*tools/' and see if too many other
> > > files are matched, especially the Documentation/ ones.
> > >
> >
> > I didn't quite understand this. Could you please elaborate?
>
> The search pattern m@\btools/@ matches files other than the
> first level tools/ directory.
>
> It also matches Documentation/tools/
>
> Perhaps using m@^tools/@ to match only the first level tools
> and change $file to $realfile to make it clear it's not
> a/tools or b/tools like the diff filenames.
>

On a related note, should we also suppress warnings for the
Documentation folder?

Re: [PATCH v2] checkpatch: suppress strscpy warnings for userspace tools

[Joe Perches]

On 2025-07-29 07:59, Suchit Karunakaran wrote:

> On a related note, should we also suppress warnings for the
> Documentation folder?

No

Re: [PATCH v2] checkpatch: suppress strscpy warnings for userspace tools

[Markus Elfring]

…
> This patch suppresses …

See also:
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst?h=v6.16#n94

Regards,
Markus

Re: [PATCH v2] checkpatch: suppress strscpy warnings for userspace tools

[Suchit Karunakaran]

On Tue, 29 Jul 2025 at 20:12, Markus Elfring <Markus.Elfring@web.de> wrote:
>
> …
> > This patch suppresses …
>
> See also:
> https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst?h=v6.16#n94
>

Thanks for the suggestion. Will keep this in mind next time.

Re: [PATCH v2] checkpatch: suppress strscpy warnings for userspace tools

[Greg KH]

On Tue, Jul 29, 2025 at 08:15:03PM +0530, Suchit Karunakaran wrote:
> On Tue, 29 Jul 2025 at 20:12, Markus Elfring <Markus.Elfring@web.de> wrote:
> >
> > …
> > > This patch suppresses …
> >
> > See also:
> > https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst?h=v6.16#n94
> >
> 
> Thanks for the suggestion. Will keep this in mind next time.
> 


Hi,

This is the semi-friendly patch-bot of Greg Kroah-Hartman.

Markus, you seem to have sent a nonsensical or otherwise pointless
review comment to a patch submission on a Linux kernel developer mailing
list.  I strongly suggest that you not do this anymore.  Please do not
bother developers who are actively working to produce patches and
features with comments that, in the end, are a waste of time.

Patch submitter, please ignore Markus's suggestion; you do not need to
follow it at all.  The person/bot/AI that sent it is being ignored by
almost all Linux kernel maintainers for having a persistent pattern of
behavior of producing distracting and pointless commentary, and
inability to adapt to feedback.  Please feel free to also ignore emails
from them.

thanks,

greg k-h's patch email bot