Linux firmware

This repository contains all these firmware images which have been extracted from older drivers, as well various new firmware images which we were never permitted to include in a GPL'd work, but which we have been permitted to redistribute under separate cover.

The upstream repository is located at https://gitlab.com/kernel-firmware/linux-firmware.git.

Submitting firmware

Licensing requirements

All firmware submitted to this repository must be redistributable to anyone, royalty-free, without restrictions beyond those listed in LICENSE-CRITERIA.md. Read that document before preparing a submission — it describes the grants a license must provide, the restrictions the project accepts, and how new license texts are reviewed. Vendors with an existing license file in LICENSES/ should reuse it; new license texts require explicit maintainer review as described in LICENSE-CRITERIA.md section 5.

Submission paths

To submit firmware to this repository, please do one of the following:

• open a MR upstream
• send a git binary diff to linux-firmware@kernel.org
• send a git pull request to: linux-firmware@kernel.org

Signed-off-by requirement

All commits must include a Signed-off-by line to track the provenance of the firmware. This signature must be from someone with authority over the licensing of the firmware, typically someone from within the company that owns or controls the firmware. The Signed-off-by line serves as an attestation that the contributor has the right to submit the firmware under the specified license terms and that it can be redistributed according to those terms.

At times, a contributor may work at a location that makes it difficult to submit patches or MRs from their offical company accounts. In this case, the Signed-off-by line in the commit should still be via the company address, but the submitter can use a personal address with the company address on CC for the MR or patch contribution.

Firmware must be submitted by the vendor that owns or controls it, or with the vendor's explicit participation. Submissions from third parties acting without vendor involvement will not be accepted: either the commit must carry a Signed-off-by from the vendor, or the vendor must be copied on the submission and acknowledge it.

AI assisted contributions

AI assisted contributions are welcome. If a commit was aided by or generated by an AI agent or tool, the contribution must note this in the commit message using an Assisted-by: trailer (or a similar convention such as Co-developed-by:), naming the tool or model used. The exact tag is not critical; clearly surfacing that AI was involved in producing the change is what matters. This requirement is in addition to, and does not replace, the Signed-off-by requirement above.

Quality

If your commit adds new firmware, it must update the WHENCE file to clearly state the license and that the firmware is redistributable. The full criteria a license must meet are in LICENSE-CRITERIA.md sections 5 and 6. If the license text is long, place it in the LICENSES/ directory and reference it from WHENCE (e.g. 'See LICENSE.foo for details.').

Where possible, the commit message should also include a changelog of the firmware itself — what changed in this revision — since for binary firmware the commit message is frequently the only human-readable record of the change.

To maintain consistent quality on the repository, please run the following before submitting a patch:

make check

If you don't have pre-commit installed, you can install it with:

pip install pre-commit

Your commit must contain a Signed-Off-By: from someone authoritative on the licensing of the firmware in question (i.e. from within the company that owns the code).

Warnings

1. Don't send any CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT in your e-mail, patch or request. Otherwise your firmware will never be accepted.
2. Maintainers are really busy, so don't expect a prompt reply.