LF Live Maintainer Session: My Life as a Linux Kernel Developer and Maintainer with Jonathan Corbet

Why It Matters

The talk highlights how governance, tooling, and cultural changes made Linux kernel development scalable and sustainable, shaping the reliability of an OS that underpins critical infrastructure. Understanding this institutional history is important for maintainers, contributors, and companies that depend on upstream stability and predictable release practices.

Summary

Jonathan Corbet, veteran Linux kernel developer and LWN founder, recounted his decades-long journey from early Unix and BSD work through contributing to Linux, moving from informal patch submissions to full-time kernel involvement. He described the project's early, chaotic era—small communities, no SCM, and opaque patch handling—and traced the evolution toward formalized processes and tooling. Corbet credited figures like Andrew Morton for establishing response norms and release processes that transformed kernel development. He emphasized how the community scaled from hundreds to thousands of daily messages while professionalizing maintenance and testing practices.

Original Description

Jonathan Corbet and Shuah Khan will talk about Jonathan's experience as a kernel developer and maintainer, taking questions from the attendees. Jonathan will share what works and what doesn’t for him and strategies, interpersonal and technical skills and mindset that help him stay engaged for a longer term.