NVIDIA Dev Proposes Formal AI Guidelines for Linux Kernel Contributions: “Co-Developed-By” Tag & Configs for Claude, Copilot & More

Veteran Linux kernel developer Sasha Levin, currently at NVIDIA and formerly with Google and Microsoft, has proposed the formal inclusion of guidelines for the use of AI assistants in kernel development within the official documentation. He also introduced a standardized configuration for tools such as Claude and other AI coders, which are already being actively employed in the creation of kernel patches.

Levin published an RFC—Request for Comments—advocating for the addition of a dedicated configuration file to the kernel repository, intended to be interpreted by AI assistants. Alongside this, he unveiled an initial set of rules delineating the appropriate use of AI in kernel development, including requirements for commit formatting and proper attribution.

The proposed patch consists of two primary components. The first introduces a unified configuration file referenced by tools like Claude, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Codeium, Continue, Windsurf, and Aider. This aims to ensure consistent AI behavior when interacting with the kernel codebase. The second component outlines the rules themselves: adherence to Linux coding standards, respect for established development processes, accurate authorship attribution when AI is involved, and strict compliance with licensing terms.

The accompanying examples illustrate how AI contributions should be formally acknowledged in commits, including the use of the Co-developed-by tag to explicitly denote machine co-authorship. According to Levin, this approach promotes transparency and integrity in the acceptance of patches into the mainline kernel.

Linus Torvalds’ response remains unknown, but the proposal is expected to spark lively debate. The question of AI’s role in the development of mission-critical system software has long been ripe for discussion, and the community now has an opportunity to establish clear and principled guidelines.