[PATCH v7 1/2] checkpatch: Allow passing config directory

From: Petr Vorel

Date: Tue Apr 21 2026 - 06:42:13 EST


checkpatch.pl searches for .checkpatch.conf in $CWD, $HOME and
$CWD/.scripts. Allow passing a single directory via
CHECKPATCH_CONFIG_DIR environment variable (empty value is ignored).
This allows to directly use project configuration file for projects
which vendored checkpatch.pl (e.g. LTP or u-boot).

Although it'd be more convenient for user to have --conf-dir option
(instead of using environment variable), code would get ugly because
options from the configuration file needs to be read before processing
command line options with Getopt::Long.

While at it, document directories and environment variable in -h help
and HTML doc.

Signed-off-by: Petr Vorel <pvorel@xxxxxxx>
---
Changes in v7 (both by sashiko):
* Fix empty variable, (I was thinking about but in the end I forgot).
* Print $HOME in help instead the actual value of $HOME environment variable.

Hopefully last version.

Link to v6:
https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20260420133014.484162-1-pvorel@xxxxxxx/

Link to v5:
https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20260417170346.448758-1-pvorel@xxxxxxx/

Link to v4:
https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20260415143636.272605-1-pvorel@xxxxxxx/

Link to v3:
https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20260408120603.54351-1-pvorel@xxxxxxx/

Link to v2:
https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20260224181623.89904-1-pvorel@xxxxxxx/

Link to v1:
https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20260202144221.76765-2-pvorel@xxxxxxx/

Documentation/dev-tools/checkpatch.rst | 7 +++++++
scripts/checkpatch.pl | 20 +++++++++++++++++---
2 files changed, 24 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/dev-tools/checkpatch.rst b/Documentation/dev-tools/checkpatch.rst
index dccede68698ca..010dfcd615afc 100644
--- a/Documentation/dev-tools/checkpatch.rst
+++ b/Documentation/dev-tools/checkpatch.rst
@@ -210,6 +210,13 @@ Available options:

Display the help text.

+Configuration file
+==================
+
+Default configuration options can be stored in ``.checkpatch.conf``, search
+path: ``.:$HOME:.scripts`` or in a directory specified by ``$CHECKPATCH_CONFIG_DIR``
+environment variable (falling back to the default search path).
+
Message Levels
==============

diff --git a/scripts/checkpatch.pl b/scripts/checkpatch.pl
index 0492d6afc9a1f..5a524d67de87e 100755
--- a/scripts/checkpatch.pl
+++ b/scripts/checkpatch.pl
@@ -57,6 +57,9 @@ my %ignore_type = ();
my @ignore = ();
my $help = 0;
my $configuration_file = ".checkpatch.conf";
+my $def_configuration_dirs_help = '.:$HOME:.scripts';
+(my $def_configuration_dirs = $def_configuration_dirs_help) =~ s/\$(\w+)/$ENV{$1} /g;
+my $env_config_dir = 'CHECKPATCH_CONFIG_DIR';
my $max_line_length = 100;
my $ignore_perl_version = 0;
my $minimum_perl_version = 5.10.0;
@@ -146,6 +149,11 @@ Options:
-h, --help, --version display this help and exit

When FILE is - read standard input.
+
+CONFIGURATION FILE
+Default configuration options can be stored in $configuration_file,
+search path: '$def_configuration_dirs_help' or in a directory specified by
+\$$env_config_dir environment variable (fallback to the default search path).
EOM

exit($exitcode);
@@ -237,7 +245,7 @@ sub list_types {
exit($exitcode);
}

-my $conf = which_conf($configuration_file);
+my $conf = which_conf($configuration_file, $env_config_dir, $def_configuration_dirs);
if (-f $conf) {
my @conf_args;
open(my $conffile, '<', "$conf")
@@ -1531,9 +1539,15 @@ sub which {
}

sub which_conf {
- my ($conf) = @_;
+ my ($conf, $env_key, $paths) = @_;
+ my $env_dir = $ENV{$env_key};
+
+ if (defined($env_dir) && $env_dir ne "") {
+ return "$env_dir/$conf" if (-e "$env_dir/$conf");
+ warn "$P: Can't find a readable $conf in '$env_dir', falling back to default search paths\n";
+ }

- foreach my $path (split(/:/, ".:$ENV{HOME}:.scripts")) {
+ foreach my $path (split(/:/, $paths)) {
if (-e "$path/$conf") {
return "$path/$conf";
}
--
2.53.0