The Future of Rust in Linux

On September 19, at the Kernel Maintainers Summit, a significant conversation unfolded regarding the incorporation of Rust into Linux. Linus Torvalds, the founder of Linux, stated in a media interview that “if nothing else, Rust will be in Linux 6.1.”

For some time now, the Rust programming language has been a topic of interest for inclusion in the Linux kernel. At the 2020 Linux Plumbers Conference, a group of developers, including Thomas, Gaynor, and Josh Triplett, who co-leads the Rust language team, engaged in discussions about the theme “Barriers to in-tree Rust.” This topic encompassed the challenges that must be overcome to implement Rust as an optional development language within Linux kernel projects. The term “in-tree” refers to the practice of storing and compiling kernel modules alongside the kernel’s source code.

Wedson Almeida Filho from Google’s Android team noted that they believe Rust is ready to be used alongside C as a viable language for kernel implementation. He emphasized that Rust could help minimize potential bugs and security vulnerabilities in privileged code while maintaining compatibility with the core kernel and its performance.

The Rust programming language has effectively emerged as Linux's second primary language, offering several advantages over C, particularly in terms of memory safety. Developers frequently face the ongoing challenge of managing memory issues inherent in C.

Torvalds also expressed that a key motivation for introducing Rust into the kernel is to attract new developers to contribute to the project. He remarked, “I think Rust is one of the things that can bring innovation. We’re getting older and a little bit behind in our thinking.”

During the summit, Torvalds mentioned, “We debated the issue of Rust entering the Linux kernel, but the main focus was really on the compiler version.”

Additionally, at the 2022 Linux Plumbers Summit, Andreas Hindborg, chief engineer at Western Digital, showcased how users can develop a first-class driver in Rust, specifically the SSD NVM-Express (NVMe) driver for Linux. The maintainers are now convinced that it is time to embrace Rust in Linux, effectively supporting the proposal for its integration.

While Torvalds cautioned that Rust will initially serve as “core infrastructure only (i.e., no mature use cases yet),” this development marks a crucial first step for both Rust and Linux.

The discussion highlights the importance of Rust in Linux development, as seen in the video "Torvalds dismisses Rust issues, Mozilla.social closes, Kernel 6.11: Linux & Open Source News."