Re: [PATCH v2 0/5] kci-gitlab: Introducing GitLab-CI Pipeline for Kernel Testing

Nikolai Kondrashov
2025-01-24T12:58:21Z

Hi Jarkko,

On 1/23/25 11:30 PM, Jarkko Sakkinen wrote:
> On Thu Jan 23, 2025 at 3:53 PM EET, Vignesh Raman wrote:
>> We are working towards creating a generic, upstream GitLab-CI pipeline
>> (kci-gitlab) that will replace DRM-CI [1]. The proposed GitLab-CI pipeline
>> is designed with a distributed infrastructure model, making it possible
>> to run on any gitLab instance. We plan to leverage KernelCI [2] as the
>> backend, utilizing its hardware, rootfs, test plans, and KCIDB [3]
>> integration.
>
> Why can't you keep the next version of your great pipeline outside the
> kernel tree?
>
> If there is a legit motivation for doing that, why it needs to be bound
> to Gitlab? Why can't you make script callable from any CI?

Greetings from the (today's) sunny Espoo!

Of course we could keep it outside the kernel tree. However, the point of this
contribution is to provide kernel maintainers and developers with an easy way
to setup their CI pipeline on a GitLab instance (the main one, FreeDesktop
one, or any other). Basically this is like a template or a library, if you
wish, which helps you do that. Approved by Linus too.

Why GitLab? Because it's one of the best, if not *the* best CI system these
days, with lots of flexibility, and it's Open-Source too (well, at least
open-core, which is still very capable). And also because a number of
maintainers and companies are already using it.

Sure, a script could be contributed too, but the value of this contribution is
a ready-made integration. And we want to make it easily discoverable, and
easily contributed to.

BTW, here's the talk we gave at last year's LPC regarding current use of
GitLab in the kernel and surrounding community:

https://lpc.events/event/18/contributions/1728/

Nick