Re: [PATCH] get_maintainer: only use THE REST as a fallback

[Michael S. Tsirkin]

On Thu, Oct 08, 2026 at 08:51:19AM -0400, Konstantin Ryabitsev wrote:
> THE REST matches every file in the tree via "F: *" and "F: */", so
> get_maintainer.pl currently adds linux-kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx to every
> patch, regardless of whether the touched files already belong to a
> subsystem with its own mailing list.
> 
> Only add THE REST for a file when no other matching section provides a
> mailing list for it. Files that match no section, or only sections
> without an L: entry, still fall back to THE REST, so every patch keeps
> reaching at least one public list.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Konstantin Ryabitsev <konstantin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Not that I mind but it sure was nice that literally every patch was on
lore. Are all subsystem lists archived on lore?
If not maybe a new lore@ list just for archival purposes?

> ---
> LKML has become mostly a firehose of patches that are already going to a
> subsystem list. The reason is THE REST: it matches every file in the
> tree, so get_maintainer.pl adds linux-kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx to every
> single patch. During the week of Oct 1-7, 2026:
> 
>   - LKML carried 13,641 messages (~1,950/day), 90% of which were also
>     sent to at least one other list;
>   - with ~2,100 subscribers, that is about 29 million deliveries per
>     week for LKML alone.
> 
> This issue came up during the 2026 Maintainer Summit and the consensus
> was that "always include linux-kernel for every patch" was never the
> intent.
> 
> This patch makes THE REST a fallback as initially intended: it is only
> added for a file when no other matching MAINTAINERS section provides a
> mailing list for it.
> ---
>  scripts/get_maintainer.pl | 25 +++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  1 file changed, 25 insertions(+)
> 
> diff --git a/scripts/get_maintainer.pl b/scripts/get_maintainer.pl
> index 16b80a700d4a..966595c3a6de 100755
> --- a/scripts/get_maintainer.pl
> +++ b/scripts/get_maintainer.pl
> @@ -959,6 +959,14 @@ sub get_maintainers {
>  	    $tvi = $end + 1;
>  	}
>  
> +	# THE REST matches every file, so only fall back to it when no
> +	# other matching section provides a mailing list for this file.
> +	my ($the_rest) = grep { get_section_name($_) eq "THE REST" } keys %hash;
> +	if (defined($the_rest) &&
> +	    grep { $_ != $the_rest && section_has_list($_) } keys %hash) {
> +	    delete $hash{$the_rest};
> +	}
> +
>  	foreach my $line (sort {$hash{$b} <=> $hash{$a}} keys %hash) {
>  	    add_categories($line, "");
>  	    if ($sections) {
> @@ -1295,6 +1303,23 @@ sub find_ending_index {
>      return $index;
>  }
>  
> +sub get_section_name {
> +    my ($index) = @_;
> +
> +    return $typevalue[find_starting_index($index)];
> +}
> +
> +sub section_has_list {
> +    my ($index) = @_;
> +
> +    my $start = find_starting_index($index);
> +    my $end = find_ending_index($index);
> +    for (my $i = $start; $i < $end; $i++) {
> +	return 1 if ($typevalue[$i] =~ m/^L:/);
> +    }
> +    return 0;
> +}
> +
>  sub get_subsystem_name {
>      my ($index) = @_;
>  
> 
> ---
> base-commit: a90ee4305c4a5df72c11b31dacfdc76e00fcf78a
> change-id: 20261008-get-maintainer-the-rest-fallback-6655e8a648d4
> 
> Best regards,
> --  
> Konstantin Ryabitsev <konstantin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>