On Mon, Jun 15, 2026 at 06:08:56PM +0200, Vincent Mailhol wrote: > DPS [1] defines GPT partition type UUIDs for OS partitions and > attributes that control whether such partitions should be > automatically discovered. The specification states that: > > The OS can discover and mount the necessary file systems with a > non-existent or incomplete /etc/fstab file and without the root= > kernel command line option. > > DPS is already implemented in systemd-gpt-auto-generator [2], which, > when embedded in an initrd, indeed allows automatic detection of the > root filesystem through its partition type UUID. > > This series adds this discovery feature directly into the kernel so > that people who are not using systemd or not using an initrd can still > benefit from it. The implementation follows the same model as > systemd-gpt-auto-generator:
I happen to co-maintain the DPS. It is userspace policy and complex userspace policy at that and does not belong into the kernel. This also implements a really tiny portion of the spec. It deals with a lot more complex concepts such as automatic partitioning during installation, verity, LUKS, containers. This is really not intended for the kernel at all. I mean, it's great that this spec is being used but I do not want this in the kernel just for the sake of auto-discovery. The DPS is completely generic and can be implemented by tooling other than systemd (util-linux implements it and so does refind iirc). I think not wanting to use or build alternative userspace tooling for this is a really weak argument for pushing this into the kernel.
