“ The Rust for Linux project seems to be steadily progressing. According to its official website, there are at least six full-time engineers working on it across various companies. There are even more part-time contributors.”
Due to its safety features, Rust can reduce errors such as memory overflows and prevent multi-threaded data race issues. It can also minimize logical errors due to compile-time checks. Linus Torvalds has consistently supported the inclusion of Rust in Linux kernel development. However, there have been some opposing voices within the community, leading to various incidents. For example, in September 2024, Wedson Almeida Filho, a core maintainer of the Rust for Linux project and a Microsoft engineer, announced his withdrawal from the project due to prolonged non-technical disputes within the community. At that time, support for Rust was still in its early stages. In February 2025, Hector Martin, the head of Asahi Linux, also resigned from his position maintaining Apple Silicon due to community conflicts.The Rust kernel policy, which was likely released around February this year, defines a strategy for Rust kernel development. Its purpose is to reduce community disputes and conflicts, addressing some concerns of Rust for Linux members while expressing strong support for Rust for Linux.One section states:
Who is responsible if a C change breaks a build with Rust enabled?
The usual kernel policy applies. So, by default, changes should not be introduced if they are known to break the build, including Rust.
However, exceptionally, for Rust, a subsystem may allow temporarily breaking Rust code.
https://rust-for-linux.com/rust-kernel-policy
This policy indicates that, in principle, if a developer (such as a C kernel developer) submits a kernel change that causes other kernel modules (including Rust) to malfunction, the submitter should be responsible for fixing the error. However, temporarily, it is allowed to break the Rust kernel subsystem in the case of an urgent C patch. Nevertheless, this error still needs to be fixed as soon as possible to prevent escalation, such as someone complaining to Linus.
The breakage should nevertheless be fixed as soon as possible, ideally before the breakage reaches Linus.
As the Rust kernel abstraction layer is being built, Linux continues to encourage everyone to gradually switch, rewrite, or create new Rust-related modules. From the research, many predict that by the second half of 2025, more kernel modules will be rewritten in Rust.Related resources:
https://rust-for-linux.com/
https://github.com/Rust-for-Linux
https://fosdem.org/2025/events/attachments/fosdem-2025-6507-rust-for-linux/slides/237976/2025-02-0_iwSaMYM.pdf
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