Re: [PATCH] riscv: Remove support for XIP kernel

From: Paul Walmsley

Date: Thu Feb 12 2026 - 19:19:48 EST


On Mon, 2 Feb 2026, Nam Cao wrote:

> XIP has a history of being broken for long periods of time. In 2023, it was
> broken for 18 months before getting fixed [1]. In 2024 it was 4 months [2].
>
> And now it is broken again since commit a44fb5722199 ("riscv: Add runtime
> constant support"), 10 months ago.
>
> These are clear signs that XIP feature is not being used.
>
> I occasionally looked after XIP, but mostly because I was bored and had
> nothing better to do.
>
> Remove XIP support. Revert is possible if someone shows up complaining.
>
> Link: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-riscv/20231212-customary-hardcover-e19462bf8e75@wendy/ [1]
> Link: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-riscv/20240526110104.470429-1-namcao@xxxxxxxxxxxxx/ [2]
> Signed-off-by: Nam Cao <namcao@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: Frederik Haxel <haxel@xxxxxx>
> Cc: Vitaly Wool <vitaly.wool@xxxxxxxxxxxx>

Thanks, queued here - first for an experimental branch, and ultimately for
v7.1.


- Paul