Add guidance for AI assistants and developers using AI tools for kernel
contributions, per the consensus reached at the 2025 Maintainers Summit.

Create Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst with detailed guidance
on licensing, Signed-off-by requirements, and attribution format. The
README points AI tools to this documentation.

This will allow coding assistants to easily parse these instructions and
comply with guidelines set by the community.

Link: https://lwn.net/Articles/1049830/
Signed-off-by: Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org>
---
v2: Move guidance to Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst (Jon)

 Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst | 59 +++++++++++++++++++++
 Documentation/process/index.rst             |  1 +
 README                                      | 12 +++++
 3 files changed, 72 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst

diff --git a/Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst b/Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..899f4459c52d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+.. _coding_assistants:
+
+AI Coding Assistants
+++++++++++++++++++++
+
+This document provides guidance for AI tools and developers using AI
+assistance when contributing to the Linux kernel.
+
+AI tools helping with Linux kernel development should follow the standard
+kernel development process:
+
+* Documentation/process/development-process.rst
+* Documentation/process/coding-style.rst
+* Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
+
+Licensing and Legal Requirements
+================================
+
+All contributions must comply with the kernel's licensing requirements:
+
+* All code must be compatible with GPL-2.0-only
+* Use appropriate SPDX license identifiers
+* See Documentation/process/license-rules.rst for details
+
+Signed-off-by and Developer Certificate of Origin
+=================================================
+
+AI agents MUST NOT add Signed-off-by tags. Only humans can legally
+certify the Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO). The human submitter
+is responsible for:
+
+* Reviewing all AI-generated code
+* Ensuring compliance with licensing requirements
+* Adding their own Signed-off-by tag to certify the DCO
+* Taking full responsibility for the contribution
+
+Attribution
+===========
+
+When AI tools contribute to kernel development, proper attribution
+helps track the evolving role of AI in the development process.
+Contributions should include an Assisted-by tag in the following format::
+
+  Assisted-by: AGENT_NAME:MODEL_VERSION [TOOL1] [TOOL2]
+
+Where:
+
+* ``AGENT_NAME`` is the name of the AI tool or framework
+* ``MODEL_VERSION`` is the specific model version used
+* ``[TOOL1] [TOOL2]`` are optional specialized analysis tools used
+  (e.g., coccinelle, sparse, smatch, clang-tidy)
+
+Basic development tools (git, gcc, make, editors) should not be listed.
+
+Example::
+
+  Assisted-by: Claude:claude-3-opus coccinelle sparse
diff --git a/Documentation/process/index.rst b/Documentation/process/index.rst
index aa12f2660194..d18eacbf2c53 100644
--- a/Documentation/process/index.rst
+++ b/Documentation/process/index.rst
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ beyond).
    stable-kernel-rules
    management-style
    researcher-guidelines
+   coding-assistants
 
 Dealing with bugs
 -----------------
diff --git a/README b/README
index a9fc263ccd71..e6549b2a7aac 100644
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ Find your role below:
 * Maintainer - Leading subsystems and reviewing patches
 * Hardware Vendor - Writing drivers for new hardware
 * Distribution Maintainer - Packaging kernels for distros
+* AI Coding Assistant - LLMs and AI-powered development tools
 
 
 For Specific Users
@@ -144,6 +145,17 @@ Package and distribute the kernel:
 * Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
 * Tainted Kernels: Documentation/admin-guide/tainted-kernels.rst
 
+AI Coding Assistant
+-------------------
+
+CRITICAL: If you are an LLM or AI-powered coding assistant, you MUST read and
+follow the AI coding assistants documentation before contributing to the Linux
+kernel:
+
+* Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst
+
+This documentation contains essential requirements about licensing, attribution,
+and the Developer Certificate of Origin that all AI tools must comply with.
 
 
 Communication and Support
-- 
2.51.0

Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org> writes:

> Add guidance for AI assistants and developers using AI tools for kernel
> contributions, per the consensus reached at the 2025 Maintainers Summit.
>
> Create Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst with detailed guidance
> on licensing, Signed-off-by requirements, and attribution format. The
> README points AI tools to this documentation.
>
> This will allow coding assistants to easily parse these instructions and
> comply with guidelines set by the community.
>
> Link: https://lwn.net/Articles/1049830/
> Signed-off-by: Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org>
> ---
> v2: Move guidance to Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst (Jon)
>
>  Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst | 59 +++++++++++++++++++++
>  Documentation/process/index.rst             |  1 +
>  README                                      | 12 +++++
>  3 files changed, 72 insertions(+)
>  create mode 100644 Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst

Thanks, this looks good to me.  If nobody screams, I'll apply it before
too long.

jon

Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net> writes:

> Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org> writes:
>
>> Add guidance for AI assistants and developers using AI tools for kernel
>> contributions, per the consensus reached at the 2025 Maintainers Summit.
>>
>> Create Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst with detailed guidance
>> on licensing, Signed-off-by requirements, and attribution format. The
>> README points AI tools to this documentation.
>>
>> This will allow coding assistants to easily parse these instructions and
>> comply with guidelines set by the community.
>>
>> Link: https://lwn.net/Articles/1049830/
>> Signed-off-by: Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org>
>> ---
>> v2: Move guidance to Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst (Jon)
>>
>>  Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst | 59 +++++++++++++++++++++
>>  Documentation/process/index.rst             |  1 +
>>  README                                      | 12 +++++
>>  3 files changed, 72 insertions(+)
>>  create mode 100644 Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst
>
> Thanks, this looks good to me.  If nobody screams, I'll apply it before
> too long.

Nobody screamed ... applied, thanks.

jon