Open Source Summit India 2026

Linux kernel development has long since moved past the point of lacking contributors, with around 2,000 developers participating in each release and up to 330 first-time committers [1]. What the development process is missing, however, are reviewers and maintainers.

If you ever thought that becoming a Linux kernel maintainer was something reserved for members of a secret kernel lodge, join this talk in which we will explain why - and how - you should become a Linux kernel maintainer, with a focus on improving the Embedded Linux ecosystem.

Intention of this talk is not only present Krzysztof's ideas how to become Linux kernel maintainer, but also bring discussion with the audience, hoping more senior kernel maintainers will join and participate with their ideas and comments. Thus it could be considered a sort of half-Birds of Feather session.

[1] LWN.net: Some 6.18 development statistics, https://lwn.net/Articles/1046966/