xref: /linux/Documentation/doc-guide/maintainer-profile.rst (revision 07c7b547a79605f1041d55b84d91a4a4d9c5b363)
1.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
2
3Documentation subsystem maintainer entry profile
4================================================
5
6The documentation "subsystem" is the central coordinating point for the
7kernel's documentation and associated infrastructure.  It covers the
8hierarchy under Documentation/ (with the exception of
9Documentation/devicetree), various utilities under scripts/ and, at least
10some of the time, LICENSES/.
11
12It's worth noting, though, that the boundaries of this subsystem are rather
13fuzzier than normal.  Many other subsystem maintainers like to keep control
14of portions of Documentation/, and many more freely apply changes there
15when it is convenient.  Beyond that, much of the kernel's documentation is
16found in the source as kerneldoc comments; those are usually (but not
17always) maintained by the relevant subsystem maintainer.
18
19The mailing list for documentation is linux-doc@vger.kernel.org.  Patches
20should be made against the docs-next tree whenever possible.
21
22Submit checklist addendum
23-------------------------
24
25When making documentation changes, you should actually build the
26documentation and ensure that no new errors or warnings have been
27introduced.  Generating HTML documents and looking at the result will help
28to avoid unsightly misunderstandings about how things will be rendered.
29
30Key cycle dates
31---------------
32
33Patches can be sent anytime, but response will be slower than usual during
34the merge window.  The docs tree tends to close late before the merge
35window opens, since the risk of regressions from documentation patches is
36low.
37
38Review cadence
39--------------
40
41I am the sole maintainer for the documentation subsystem, and I am doing
42the work on my own time, so the response to patches will occasionally be
43slow.  I try to always send out a notification when a patch is merged (or
44when I decide that one cannot be).  Do not hesitate to send a ping if you
45have not heard back within a week of sending a patch.
46