[PATCH v2] get_maintainer: add ** glob pattern support

From: Matteo Croce

Date: Mon Mar 02 2026 - 05:41:12 EST


Add support for the ** glob operator in MAINTAINERS F: and X: patterns,
matching any number of path components (like Python's ** glob).

The existing * to .* conversion with slash-count check is preserved.
** is converted to (?:.*), a non-capturing group used as a marker to
bypass the slash-count check in file_match_pattern(), allowing the
pattern to cross directory boundaries.

This enables patterns like F: **/*[_-]kunit*.c to match files at any
depth in the tree.

Signed-off-by: Matteo Croce <teknoraver@xxxxxxxx>
---
MAINTAINERS | 1 +
scripts/get_maintainer.pl | 9 +++++++--
2 files changed, 8 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/MAINTAINERS b/MAINTAINERS
index 96e97d25e1c2..4ca6f6745f9c 100644
--- a/MAINTAINERS
+++ b/MAINTAINERS
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ Descriptions of section entries and preferred order
F: drivers/net/ all files in and below drivers/net
F: drivers/net/* all files in drivers/net, but not below
F: */net/* all files in "any top level directory"/net
+ F: fs/**/*foo*.c all *foo*.c files in any subdirectory of fs
One pattern per line. Multiple F: lines acceptable.
X: *Excluded* files and directories that are NOT maintained, same
rules as F:. Files exclusions are tested before file matches.
diff --git a/scripts/get_maintainer.pl b/scripts/get_maintainer.pl
index 4414194bedcf..f0ca0db6ddc2 100755
--- a/scripts/get_maintainer.pl
+++ b/scripts/get_maintainer.pl
@@ -375,8 +375,10 @@ sub read_maintainer_file {
##Filename pattern matching
if ($type eq "F" || $type eq "X") {
$value =~ s@\.@\\\.@g; ##Convert . to \.
+ $value =~ s/\*\*/\x00/g; ##Convert ** to placeholder
$value =~ s/\*/\.\*/g; ##Convert * to .*
$value =~ s/\?/\./g; ##Convert ? to .
+ $value =~ s/\x00/(?:.*)/g; ##Convert placeholder to (?:.*)
##if pattern is a directory and it lacks a trailing slash, add one
if ((-d $value)) {
$value =~ s@([^/])$@$1/@;
@@ -746,8 +748,10 @@ sub self_test {
if (($type eq "F" || $type eq "X") &&
($self_test eq "" || $self_test =~ /\bpatterns\b/)) {
$value =~ s@\.@\\\.@g; ##Convert . to \.
+ $value =~ s/\*\*/\x00/g; ##Convert ** to placeholder
$value =~ s/\*/\.\*/g; ##Convert * to .*
$value =~ s/\?/\./g; ##Convert ? to .
+ $value =~ s/\x00/(?:.*)/g; ##Convert placeholder to (?:.*)
##if pattern is a directory and it lacks a trailing slash, add one
if ((-d $value)) {
$value =~ s@([^/])$@$1/@;
@@ -921,7 +925,7 @@ sub get_maintainers {
my $value_pd = ($value =~ tr@/@@);
my $file_pd = ($file =~ tr@/@@);
$value_pd++ if (substr($value,-1,1) ne "/");
- $value_pd = -1 if ($value =~ /^\.\*/);
+ $value_pd = -1 if ($value =~ /^(\.\*|\(\?:\.\*\))/);
if ($value_pd >= $file_pd &&
range_is_maintained($start, $end) &&
range_has_maintainer($start, $end)) {
@@ -955,6 +959,7 @@ sub get_maintainers {
$line =~ s/([^\\])\.([^\*])/$1\?$2/g;
$line =~ s/([^\\])\.$/$1\?/g; ##Convert . back to ?
$line =~ s/\\\./\./g; ##Convert \. to .
+ $line =~ s/\(\?:\.\*\)/\*\*/g; ##Convert (?:.*) to **
$line =~ s/\.\*/\*/g; ##Convert .* to *
}
my $count = $line =~ s/^([A-Z]):/$1:\t/g;
@@ -1048,7 +1053,7 @@ sub file_match_pattern {
if ($file =~ m@^$pattern@) {
my $s1 = ($file =~ tr@/@@);
my $s2 = ($pattern =~ tr@/@@);
- if ($s1 == $s2) {
+ if ($s1 == $s2 || $pattern =~ /\(\?:/) {
return 1;
}
}
--
2.53.0