[PATCH 1/2] MAINTAINERS: document the branch in git T: entries

[PATCH 1/2] MAINTAINERS: document the branch in git T: entries

[Matthias Goergens]

T: entries have named a branch after the repository URL since commit
a1aa5a770dc3 ("MAINTAINERS: update hwmon subsystem git trees"), and
109 of the 846 git T: lines do so today.  Commit 083bf9c56d06
("get_maintainer: add more --self-test options") taught
get_maintainer.pl to parse that optional branch and check it with git
ls-remote.  The preamble, however, still describes T: as it did after
commit 50306fb5398f ("[PATCH] Clarify T: field in MAINTAINERS"), as
"tree type and location", and does not mention the branch.

Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst sends contributors to the
T: entry to find the tree to prepare patches against.  When
development happens on a branch other than the repository's HEAD, a
branch-less entry points them at the wrong tree; on 2026-09-24, 173 of
the 273 repositories named without a branch had a HEAD that mainline
already contained.

Document the existing practice and say when to name a branch.

Suggested-by: Theodore Ts'o <tytso@mit.edu>
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/arSMwd1bGO1vrif-@mit.edu/
Signed-off-by: Matthias Goergens <matthias.goergens@gmail.com>
---
Ted, as I said in my reply on the ext4 patch
(https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260924033200.3615554-1-matthias.goergens@gmail.com/),
I'm sending only a few of the per-tree T: patches for now, and would
value your view before sending the rest.

 MAINTAINERS | 2 ++
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+)

diff --git a/MAINTAINERS b/MAINTAINERS
index cc3cae2e378b..6edc17d66b44 100644
--- a/MAINTAINERS
+++ b/MAINTAINERS
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ Descriptions of section entries and preferred order
        See Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst for details.
 	T: *SCM* tree type and location.
 	   Type is one of: git, hg, quilt, stgit, topgit
+	   A git entry may name a branch after the URL; name one when
+	   development does not happen on the repository's HEAD.
 	F: *Files* and directories wildcard patterns.
 	   A trailing slash includes all files and subdirectory files.
 	   F:	drivers/net/	all files in and below drivers/net

base-commit: 40288c9206c17eb66a603262e06a58d300d0f279
-- 
2.55.0

[PATCH 2/2] docs: submitting-patches: mention the branch in T: entries

[Matthias Goergens]

A git T: entry in MAINTAINERS may name a branch after the repository
URL, and where it does, that branch rather than the repository's HEAD
is the one to prepare patches against.  Say so where contributors are
sent to the T: entry.

Suggested-by: Theodore Ts'o <tytso@mit.edu>
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/arSMwd1bGO1vrif-@mit.edu/
Signed-off-by: Matthias Goergens <matthias.goergens@gmail.com>
---
 Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst | 5 +++--
 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst b/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
index 7ae79452e1b4..2936388dcaee 100644
--- a/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
+++ b/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
@@ -37,8 +37,9 @@ which can be grabbed with::
 Note, however, that you may not want to develop against the mainline tree
 directly.  Most subsystem maintainers run their own trees and want to see
 patches prepared against those trees.  See the **T:** entry for the subsystem
-in the MAINTAINERS file to find that tree, or simply ask the maintainer if
-the tree is not listed there.
+in the MAINTAINERS file to find that tree, and the branch to work against if
+the entry names one, or simply ask the maintainer if the tree is not listed
+there.
 
 .. _describe_changes:
 
-- 
2.55.0

Re: [PATCH 1/2] MAINTAINERS: document the branch in git T: entries

[Krzysztof Kozlowski]

On 24/09/2026 05:35, Matthias Goergens wrote:
> T: entries have named a branch after the repository URL since commit
> a1aa5a770dc3 ("MAINTAINERS: update hwmon subsystem git trees"), and
> 109 of the 846 git T: lines do so today.  Commit 083bf9c56d06
> ("get_maintainer: add more --self-test options") taught
> get_maintainer.pl to parse that optional branch and check it with git
> ls-remote.  The preamble, however, still describes T: as it did after
> commit 50306fb5398f ("[PATCH] Clarify T: field in MAINTAINERS"), as
> "tree type and location", and does not mention the branch.
> 
> Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst sends contributors to the
> T: entry to find the tree to prepare patches against.  When
> development happens on a branch other than the repository's HEAD, a
> branch-less entry points them at the wrong tree; on 2026-09-24, 173 of
> the 273 repositories named without a branch had a HEAD that mainline
> already contained.
> 
> Document the existing practice and say when to name a branch.
> 
> Suggested-by: Theodore Ts'o <tytso@mit.edu>
> Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/arSMwd1bGO1vrif-@mit.edu/
> Signed-off-by: Matthias Goergens <matthias.goergens@gmail.com>
> ---
> Ted, as I said in my reply on the ext4 patch
> (https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260924033200.3615554-1-matthias.goergens@gmail.com/),
> I'm sending only a few of the per-tree T: patches for now, and would
> value your view before sending the rest.
> 
>  MAINTAINERS | 2 ++
>  1 file changed, 2 insertions(+)
> 
> diff --git a/MAINTAINERS b/MAINTAINERS
> index cc3cae2e378b..6edc17d66b44 100644
> --- a/MAINTAINERS
> +++ b/MAINTAINERS
> @@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ Descriptions of section entries and preferred order
>         See Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst for details.
>  	T: *SCM* tree type and location.
>  	   Type is one of: git, hg, quilt, stgit, topgit
> +	   A git entry may name a branch after the URL; name one when
> +	   development does not happen on the repository's HEAD.

What is repository's HEAD? The one ref in remotes/origin/HEAD? Pointing
almost always to the master branch? I think no one works on master
branch, because that mirrors origin/master. So basically this would
expect EVERY tree entry to be renamed... and then - which branch - since
almost all of us have more than one (at least fixes and for-next).
Basically the DEFAULT is that you do not work on master.

If you disagree, please point me where is the HEAD:
https://web.git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/krzk/linux.git/
(and all branches are active, meaning nothing is stalled or some wip-dev
work)

I don't think this change in that form and naming is useful for developers.

What contributors need is the branch feeding next, because this is the
base for them.

Best regards,
Krzysztof

Re: [PATCH 1/2] MAINTAINERS: document the branch in git T: entries

[Krzysztof Kozlowski]

On 24/09/2026 10:22, Krzysztof Kozlowski wrote:
> On 24/09/2026 05:35, Matthias Goergens wrote:
>> T: entries have named a branch after the repository URL since commit
>> a1aa5a770dc3 ("MAINTAINERS: update hwmon subsystem git trees"), and
>> 109 of the 846 git T: lines do so today.  Commit 083bf9c56d06
>> ("get_maintainer: add more --self-test options") taught
>> get_maintainer.pl to parse that optional branch and check it with git
>> ls-remote.  The preamble, however, still describes T: as it did after
>> commit 50306fb5398f ("[PATCH] Clarify T: field in MAINTAINERS"), as
>> "tree type and location", and does not mention the branch.
>>
>> Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst sends contributors to the
>> T: entry to find the tree to prepare patches against.  When
>> development happens on a branch other than the repository's HEAD, a
>> branch-less entry points them at the wrong tree; on 2026-09-24, 173 of
>> the 273 repositories named without a branch had a HEAD that mainline
>> already contained.
>>
>> Document the existing practice and say when to name a branch.
>>
>> Suggested-by: Theodore Ts'o <tytso@mit.edu>
>> Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/arSMwd1bGO1vrif-@mit.edu/
>> Signed-off-by: Matthias Goergens <matthias.goergens@gmail.com>
>> ---
>> Ted, as I said in my reply on the ext4 patch
>> (https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260924033200.3615554-1-matthias.goergens@gmail.com/),
>> I'm sending only a few of the per-tree T: patches for now, and would
>> value your view before sending the rest.
>>
>>  MAINTAINERS | 2 ++
>>  1 file changed, 2 insertions(+)
>>
>> diff --git a/MAINTAINERS b/MAINTAINERS
>> index cc3cae2e378b..6edc17d66b44 100644
>> --- a/MAINTAINERS
>> +++ b/MAINTAINERS
>> @@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ Descriptions of section entries and preferred order
>>         See Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst for details.
>>  	T: *SCM* tree type and location.
>>  	   Type is one of: git, hg, quilt, stgit, topgit
>> +	   A git entry may name a branch after the URL; name one when
>> +	   development does not happen on the repository's HEAD.
> 
> What is repository's HEAD? The one ref in remotes/origin/HEAD? Pointing
> almost always to the master branch? I think no one works on master
> branch, because that mirrors origin/master. So basically this would
> expect EVERY tree entry to be renamed... and then - which branch - since
> almost all of us have more than one (at least fixes and for-next).
> Basically the DEFAULT is that you do not work on master.
> 
> If you disagree, please point me where is the HEAD:
> https://web.git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/krzk/linux.git/
> (and all branches are active, meaning nothing is stalled or some wip-dev
> work)
> 
> I don't think this change in that form and naming is useful for developers.
> 
> What contributors need is the branch feeding next, because this is the
> base for them.
> 

Also, people could explain their branches in ABOUT page...
https://web.git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/krzk/linux.git/about/

Best regards,
Krzysztof

Re: [PATCH 2/2] docs: submitting-patches: mention the branch in T: entries

[Krzysztof Kozlowski]

On 24/09/2026 05:35, Matthias Goergens wrote:
> A git T: entry in MAINTAINERS may name a branch after the repository
> URL, and where it does, that branch rather than the repository's HEAD
> is the one to prepare patches against.  Say so where contributors are
> sent to the T: entry.
> 
> Suggested-by: Theodore Ts'o <tytso@mit.edu>
> Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/arSMwd1bGO1vrif-@mit.edu/
> Signed-off-by: Matthias Goergens <matthias.goergens@gmail.com>
> ---
>  Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst | 5 +++--
>  1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst b/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
> index 7ae79452e1b4..2936388dcaee 100644
> --- a/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
> +++ b/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
> @@ -37,8 +37,9 @@ which can be grabbed with::
>  Note, however, that you may not want to develop against the mainline tree
>  directly.  Most subsystem maintainers run their own trees and want to see
>  patches prepared against those trees.  See the **T:** entry for the subsystem
> -in the MAINTAINERS file to find that tree, or simply ask the maintainer if
> -the tree is not listed there.
> +in the MAINTAINERS file to find that tree, and the branch to work against if
> +the entry names one, or simply ask the maintainer if the tree is not listed
> +there.

Honestly this should be squashed with previous. It is one logical change
- amend format of T: entry and update the docs which reference that T:.

Best regards,
Krzysztof