Hi, On Wed, 3 Jun 2026 at 06:06, Simon Glass <[email protected]> wrote: > > Dear U-Boot Contributors, > > I would like to introduce the U-Boot Concept tree along with a few thoughts > on its role in U-Boot. > > By way of background, I have been a contributor for about 15 years - around > 10k commits and countless reviews. I have introduced many innovations into > the project: e.g. sandbox, device tree, C test infrastructure, Binman, > standard boot. Of course I could not have done any of this without the U-Boot > community (nor would there be any point). > > As the U-Boot project has matured, the demands for mainline stability and > rigorous review have created a natural friction for landing complex, > large-scale feature and refactoring series at the necessary pace. This > structural reality, which has slowed the adoption of ambitious efforts like > bootstd, VBE, xPL [1], and CI-connected hardware labs, is what the Concept > tree is designed to alleviate. > > I strongly believe that projects must evolve in order to stay relevant in the > long term. This includes code-refactoring, new features and subsystems, along > with migration of old code to use them. A look back at the U-Boot of 2010 > shows how far the project has come. I don't think anyone would still be using > U-Boot if it had not evolved. > > I have set up a 'Concept' tree, a possible future for U-Boot, as a way to > regain the old pace of innovation. This environment is a proving ground for > new features where we maintain a lower bar for risk tolerance and > completeness. We will accept partial and speculative features, provided the > underlying code remains robust and of high quality, with the shared > understanding that features may be dropped if they do not prove beneficial. > > Another difference is AI. I believe that AI is the next step on from > compilers, which also took a long time to produce good code and find > acceptance. The Concept tree welcomes (and encourages) high-quality AI > contributions and reviews. It accepts PRs and allows reviews on PRs or the > mailing list. It relies 99% on automated tests (sandbox, QEMU and labs) so > sets a high bar for testing. It uses a separate Gitlab instance for now and > of course uses a separate mailing list and Patchwork project to avoid > cluttering the main list. Concept runs an AI-powered cherry-picker so that it > keeps up with mainline. In no sense is it operated as a fork. > > Once features are landed and functional in Concept I hope that many will find > their way to mainline, although inevitably some rework will be needed. > > I recognise that introducing a new 'Concept' tree might initially cause > confusion or concern. This is an invitation to work together to define its > role. I welcome all feedback - positive or negative - here on the mailing > list, privately, or on irc. Let’s discuss how this initiative can help U-Boot > remain the defining firmware for the 2030s. > > [1] > https://lore.kernel.org/u-boot/CAFLszTg6sKpZ1yP3Pjgk9_Fx3MOh=iet2oahfglf3_nc+xx...@mail.gmail.com/
Just to report that after some brief discussions, we have agreed on a path forward here (thank you Peter!). Concept will become a custodian tree in U-Boot's Gitlab instance. I will run it, with access to my hardware lab. It will cherry-pick from mainline and accept code through its own channels (PRs and separate mailing list + patchwork). When features are ready for mainline, I will send patches to the main list for review in the normal way. I have been working to migrate things off u-boot.org (lab, gitlab, blog... and email). I am transferring u-boot.org to the SFC once this is finished in the next few days. If we do end up setting up email addresses for people on u-boot.org, I'd appreciate keeping sjg@ Tom, Neil Peter, please can you ack this to confirm you are happy with it? > > Concept tree: > : > :: > ...:::. > :: :. - > . ::::::- - ::. .. > .:: .: -== =.:. > ::.- ::::. ::. :=:. :::: > ::. :: =.. :.-::: =: > .:-:-. -.:: ::=-:=: > ::::::=. -.:: ===: ::. > ::.:::=::=: -===:--==-::--:: > :. :-=-.:==:. .: :: > ===: :: : > ==: > == > :== > -==: > -+=: > =++=. > .-===: Regards, Simon
