# Linux kernel: AI-friendly with conditions

> AI-assisted patches are accepted when the AI use is tagged with Assisted-by and a human reviews the work, signs off and takes full responsibility. AI agents may not sign off or send anything on their own.

- What it is: The kernel at the heart of every Linux system. (Operating system)
- Homepage: https://kernel.org/
- Repository: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git
- Overall stance: AI-friendly with conditions (Mostly friendly). AI-assisted contributions are accepted with extra rules, such as disclosing AI use, or AI is banned for issues or written text.
- Last classified: 2026-10-09 (manual review, high confidence)
- Policy last changed: 2026-10-09
- Web page: https://areweaifriendly.com/projects/linux-kernel/

## Policy by area

- **Code contributions**: AI-friendly with conditions (AI use must be disclosed; Contributor takes full responsibility; A human must review the output; Output must be license-compatible; No autonomous agents)
- **Issues & bug reports**: AI-friendly with conditions (AI use must be disclosed; A human must review the output; No autonomous agents)
- **AI-written text**: AI-friendly with conditions (AI use must be disclosed)

## In their own words

- Code contributions: "AI agents MUST NOT add Signed-off-by tags. Only humans can legally certify the Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO)." (https://docs.kernel.org/process/coding-assistants.html)
- Code contributions: "Contributions should include an Assisted-by tag in the following format:" (https://docs.kernel.org/process/coding-assistants.html)
- Issues & bug reports: "if a tool was used to find a problem addressed by a change, that should be noted in the changelog." (https://docs.kernel.org/process/generated-content.html)
- Issues & bug reports: "leave the result to the reporter for review (the assistant must never send anything itself)" (https://docs.kernel.org/process/coding-assistants.html)
- AI-written text: "be transparent about the origin of content in cover letters and changelogs." (https://docs.kernel.org/process/generated-content.html)
- AI-written text: "The changelog was generated by handing the patch to a generative AI tool and asking it to write the changelog." (https://docs.kernel.org/process/generated-content.html)

## Sources

- [AI Coding Assistants — The Linux Kernel documentation](https://docs.kernel.org/process/coding-assistants.html), fetched 2026-10-09
- [Kernel Guidelines for Tool-Generated Content — The Linux Kernel documentation](https://docs.kernel.org/process/generated-content.html), fetched 2026-10-09