[PATCH] rust: conclude the Rust experiment

[PATCH] rust: conclude the Rust experiment

[Miguel Ojeda]

The Rust support was merged in v6.1 into mainline in order to help
determine whether Rust as a language was suitable for the kernel,
i.e. worth the tradeoffs, technically, procedurally and socially.

At the 2025 Linux Kernel Maintainers Summit, the experiment has just
been deemed concluded [1].

Thus remove the section -- it was not fully true already anyway, since
there are already uses of Rust in production out there, some well-known
Linux distributions enable it and it is already in millions of devices
via Android.

Obviously, this does not mean that everything works for every kernel
configuration, architecture, toolchain etc., or that there won't be
new issues. There is still a ton of work to do in all areas, from the
kernel to upstream Rust, GCC and other projects. And, in fact, certain
combinations (such as the mixed GCC+LLVM builds and the upcoming GCC
support) are still quite experimental but getting there.

But the experiment is done, i.e. Rust is here to stay.

I hope this signals commitment from the kernel to companies and other
entities to invest more into it, e.g. into giving time to their kernel
developers to train themselves in Rust.

Thanks to the many kernel maintainers that gave the project their
support and patience throughout these years, and to the many other
developers, whether in the kernel or in other projects, that have
made this possible. I had a long list of 173 names in the credits of
the original pull that merged the support into the kernel [2], and now
such a list would be way longer, so I will not even try to compose one,
but again, thanks a lot, everybody.

Link: https://lwn.net/Articles/1049831/ [1]
Link: https://git.kernel.org/linus/8aebac82933f [2]
Signed-off-by: Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@kernel.org>
---
I could update the first link to the full LWN article when published.

 Documentation/rust/index.rst | 18 ------------------
 1 file changed, 18 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/rust/index.rst b/Documentation/rust/index.rst
index ec62001c7d8c..e61524959dbc 100644
--- a/Documentation/rust/index.rst
+++ b/Documentation/rust/index.rst
@@ -7,24 +7,6 @@ Documentation related to Rust within the kernel. To start using Rust
 in the kernel, please read the quick-start.rst guide.
 
 
-The Rust experiment
--------------------
-
-The Rust support was merged in v6.1 into mainline in order to help in
-determining whether Rust as a language was suitable for the kernel, i.e. worth
-the tradeoffs.
-
-Currently, the Rust support is primarily intended for kernel developers and
-maintainers interested in the Rust support, so that they can start working on
-abstractions and drivers, as well as helping the development of infrastructure
-and tools.
-
-If you are an end user, please note that there are currently no in-tree
-drivers/modules suitable or intended for production use, and that the Rust
-support is still in development/experimental, especially for certain kernel
-configurations.
-
-
 Code documentation
 ------------------
 

base-commit: cb015814f8b6eebcbb8e46e111d108892c5e6821
-- 
2.52.0

Re: [PATCH] rust: conclude the Rust experiment

[Miguel Ojeda]

On Sat, Dec 13, 2025 at 1:01 AM Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@kernel.org> wrote:
>
> it is already in millions of devices
> via Android.

Thanks to Google for confirming this, by the way.

Cheers,
Miguel

Re: [PATCH] rust: conclude the Rust experiment

[Miguel Ojeda]

On Sat, Dec 13, 2025 at 1:01 AM Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@kernel.org> wrote:
>
> Link: https://lwn.net/Articles/1049831/ [1]
> Link: https://git.kernel.org/linus/8aebac82933f [2]
> Signed-off-by: Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@kernel.org>
> ---
> I could update the first link to the full LWN article when published.

It was just published, so the tag will be:

Link: https://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/1050174/6b6d55c90ce1100f/ [1]

(LWN is OK with it being a subscriber link -- thanks!)

Cheers,
Miguel

Re: [PATCH] rust: conclude the Rust experiment

[Joel Fernandes]

> On Dec 13, 2025, at 12:21 PM, Miguel Ojeda <miguel.ojeda.sandonis@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> On Sat, Dec 13, 2025 at 1:01 AM Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@kernel.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Link: https://lwn.net/Articles/1049831/ [1]
>> Link: https://git.kernel.org/linus/8aebac82933f [2]
>> Signed-off-by: Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@kernel.org>
>> ---
>> I could update the first link to the full LWN article when published.
> 
> It was just published, so the tag will be:
> 
> Link: https://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/1050174/6b6d55c90ce1100f/ [1]
> 
> (LWN is OK with it being a subscriber link -- thanks!)

Congrats Miguel and co.  I am late to the party but was moderately following the efforts as they were going on from the early days and it is great to see this milestone. Looking forward to participating, especially via Nova efforts.

 Thanks.

Re: [PATCH] rust: conclude the Rust experiment

[Gary Guo]

On Sat, 13 Dec 2025 01:00:42 +0100
Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@kernel.org> wrote:

> The Rust support was merged in v6.1 into mainline in order to help
> determine whether Rust as a language was suitable for the kernel,
> i.e. worth the tradeoffs, technically, procedurally and socially.
> 
> At the 2025 Linux Kernel Maintainers Summit, the experiment has just
> been deemed concluded [1].
> 
> Thus remove the section -- it was not fully true already anyway, since
> there are already uses of Rust in production out there, some well-known
> Linux distributions enable it and it is already in millions of devices
> via Android.
> 
> Obviously, this does not mean that everything works for every kernel
> configuration, architecture, toolchain etc., or that there won't be
> new issues. There is still a ton of work to do in all areas, from the
> kernel to upstream Rust, GCC and other projects. And, in fact, certain
> combinations (such as the mixed GCC+LLVM builds and the upcoming GCC
> support) are still quite experimental but getting there.

Indeed. This is not the end, but it is perhaps the end of the beginning
:)

> 
> But the experiment is done, i.e. Rust is here to stay.
> 
> I hope this signals commitment from the kernel to companies and other
> entities to invest more into it, e.g. into giving time to their kernel
> developers to train themselves in Rust.
> 
> Thanks to the many kernel maintainers that gave the project their
> support and patience throughout these years, and to the many other
> developers, whether in the kernel or in other projects, that have
> made this possible. I had a long list of 173 names in the credits of
> the original pull that merged the support into the kernel [2], and now
> such a list would be way longer, so I will not even try to compose one,
> but again, thanks a lot, everybody.

I would like to say a huge thank you tyo you, Miguel.

RfL won't be possible without your tireless effort in working with all
other maintainers, connecting with the Rust projects and all relevant
parties. Your leadership truly excels.

> 
> Link: https://lwn.net/Articles/1049831/ [1]

RE: your later reply, the non-subscriber link
https://lwn.net/Articles/1050174/ should be fine if you pick this up a week later.

> Link: https://git.kernel.org/linus/8aebac82933f [2]
> Signed-off-by: Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@kernel.org>

Probably not needed, but if you want a tag:

Reviewed-by: Gary Guo <gary@garyguo.net>

Best,
Gary

> ---
> I could update the first link to the full LWN article when published.
> 
>  Documentation/rust/index.rst | 18 ------------------
>  1 file changed, 18 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/Documentation/rust/index.rst b/Documentation/rust/index.rst
> index ec62001c7d8c..e61524959dbc 100644
> --- a/Documentation/rust/index.rst
> +++ b/Documentation/rust/index.rst
> @@ -7,24 +7,6 @@ Documentation related to Rust within the kernel. To start using Rust
>  in the kernel, please read the quick-start.rst guide.
>  
>  
> -The Rust experiment
> --------------------
> -
> -The Rust support was merged in v6.1 into mainline in order to help in
> -determining whether Rust as a language was suitable for the kernel, i.e. worth
> -the tradeoffs.
> -
> -Currently, the Rust support is primarily intended for kernel developers and
> -maintainers interested in the Rust support, so that they can start working on
> -abstractions and drivers, as well as helping the development of infrastructure
> -and tools.
> -
> -If you are an end user, please note that there are currently no in-tree
> -drivers/modules suitable or intended for production use, and that the Rust
> -support is still in development/experimental, especially for certain kernel
> -configurations.
> -
> -
>  Code documentation
>  ------------------
>  
> 
> base-commit: cb015814f8b6eebcbb8e46e111d108892c5e6821

Re: [PATCH] rust: conclude the Rust experiment

[Greg KH]

On Sat, Dec 13, 2025 at 01:00:42AM +0100, Miguel Ojeda wrote:
> The Rust support was merged in v6.1 into mainline in order to help
> determine whether Rust as a language was suitable for the kernel,
> i.e. worth the tradeoffs, technically, procedurally and socially.
> 
> At the 2025 Linux Kernel Maintainers Summit, the experiment has just
> been deemed concluded [1].
> 
> Thus remove the section -- it was not fully true already anyway, since
> there are already uses of Rust in production out there, some well-known
> Linux distributions enable it and it is already in millions of devices
> via Android.
> 
> Obviously, this does not mean that everything works for every kernel
> configuration, architecture, toolchain etc., or that there won't be
> new issues. There is still a ton of work to do in all areas, from the
> kernel to upstream Rust, GCC and other projects. And, in fact, certain
> combinations (such as the mixed GCC+LLVM builds and the upcoming GCC
> support) are still quite experimental but getting there.
> 
> But the experiment is done, i.e. Rust is here to stay.
> 
> I hope this signals commitment from the kernel to companies and other
> entities to invest more into it, e.g. into giving time to their kernel
> developers to train themselves in Rust.
> 
> Thanks to the many kernel maintainers that gave the project their
> support and patience throughout these years, and to the many other
> developers, whether in the kernel or in other projects, that have
> made this possible. I had a long list of 173 names in the credits of
> the original pull that merged the support into the kernel [2], and now
> such a list would be way longer, so I will not even try to compose one,
> but again, thanks a lot, everybody.
> 
> Link: https://lwn.net/Articles/1049831/ [1]
> Link: https://git.kernel.org/linus/8aebac82933f [2]
> Signed-off-by: Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@kernel.org>
> ---

Acked-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>

Re: [PATCH] rust: conclude the Rust experiment

[Benno Lossin]

On Sat Dec 13, 2025 at 1:00 AM CET, Miguel Ojeda wrote:
> The Rust support was merged in v6.1 into mainline in order to help
> determine whether Rust as a language was suitable for the kernel,
> i.e. worth the tradeoffs, technically, procedurally and socially.
>
> At the 2025 Linux Kernel Maintainers Summit, the experiment has just
> been deemed concluded [1].
>
> Thus remove the section -- it was not fully true already anyway, since
> there are already uses of Rust in production out there, some well-known
> Linux distributions enable it and it is already in millions of devices
> via Android.
>
> Obviously, this does not mean that everything works for every kernel
> configuration, architecture, toolchain etc., or that there won't be
> new issues. There is still a ton of work to do in all areas, from the
> kernel to upstream Rust, GCC and other projects. And, in fact, certain
> combinations (such as the mixed GCC+LLVM builds and the upcoming GCC
> support) are still quite experimental but getting there.
>
> But the experiment is done, i.e. Rust is here to stay.
>
> I hope this signals commitment from the kernel to companies and other
> entities to invest more into it, e.g. into giving time to their kernel
> developers to train themselves in Rust.
>
> Thanks to the many kernel maintainers that gave the project their
> support and patience throughout these years, and to the many other
> developers, whether in the kernel or in other projects, that have
> made this possible. I had a long list of 173 names in the credits of
> the original pull that merged the support into the kernel [2], and now
> such a list would be way longer, so I will not even try to compose one,
> but again, thanks a lot, everybody.

It's been a blast making the experiment a success! I remember the
beginning of my RfL journey very fondly. I did not expect the warm
welcome I received for my very naive issue that I created about mutex
initialization. I think it is your open-mindedness and kindness that
lead the experiment to the great success we have today. It would not
have been possible without you to assemble all of the experts we needed
to make this work. So thank you for that!

Now looking ahead, we have lots of more fun work to do in all sorts of
areas. I will continue with my work on the Rust side of things,
pin-init and reviewing.

> Link: https://lwn.net/Articles/1049831/ [1]
> Link: https://git.kernel.org/linus/8aebac82933f [2]
> Signed-off-by: Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@kernel.org>

Acked-by: Benno Lossin <lossin@kernel.org>

Cheers,
Benno

Re: [PATCH] rust: conclude the Rust experiment

[Andreas Hindborg]

"Miguel Ojeda" <ojeda@kernel.org> writes:

> The Rust support was merged in v6.1 into mainline in order to help
> determine whether Rust as a language was suitable for the kernel,
> i.e. worth the tradeoffs, technically, procedurally and socially.
>
> At the 2025 Linux Kernel Maintainers Summit, the experiment has just
> been deemed concluded [1].
>
> Thus remove the section -- it was not fully true already anyway, since
> there are already uses of Rust in production out there, some well-known
> Linux distributions enable it and it is already in millions of devices
> via Android.
>
> Obviously, this does not mean that everything works for every kernel
> configuration, architecture, toolchain etc., or that there won't be
> new issues. There is still a ton of work to do in all areas, from the
> kernel to upstream Rust, GCC and other projects. And, in fact, certain
> combinations (such as the mixed GCC+LLVM builds and the upcoming GCC
> support) are still quite experimental but getting there.
>
> But the experiment is done, i.e. Rust is here to stay.
>
> I hope this signals commitment from the kernel to companies and other
> entities to invest more into it, e.g. into giving time to their kernel
> developers to train themselves in Rust.
>
> Thanks to the many kernel maintainers that gave the project their
> support and patience throughout these years, and to the many other
> developers, whether in the kernel or in other projects, that have
> made this possible. I had a long list of 173 names in the credits of
> the original pull that merged the support into the kernel [2], and now
> such a list would be way longer, so I will not even try to compose one,
> but again, thanks a lot, everybody.
>
> Link: https://lwn.net/Articles/1049831/ [1]
> Link: https://git.kernel.org/linus/8aebac82933f [2]
> Signed-off-by: Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@kernel.org>

An important milestone. Congratulations to all!

Acked-by: Andreas Hindborg <a.hindborg@kernel.org>


Best regards,
Andreas Hindborg

Re: [PATCH] rust: conclude the Rust experiment

[Danilo Krummrich]

On 12/13/25 1:00 AM, Miguel Ojeda wrote:
> At the 2025 Linux Kernel Maintainers Summit, the experiment has just
> been deemed concluded [1].

Acked-by: Danilo Krummrich <dakr@kernel.org>