Speaker
Description
kci-dev was created as a standalone command-line tool that allows kernel developers and maintainers to interact directly with KernelCI. Since its initial releases, the project has grown beyond its original role as a thin client for triggering jobs and retrieving results.
The latest development cycle, including the v0.1.11 release, introduced a reusable Python library interface, direct submission of external build results to KCIDB, storage-related commands, broader result filtering, improved Maestro and Dashboard validation, machine-readable validation reports, distribution packaging workflows, and an experimental Model Context Protocol server for automation and AI-assisted tooling. Significant reliability work also addressed automated bisection, job watching, network timeouts, malformed output, configuration handling, and inconsistent Maestro behaviour.
These changes are moving kci-dev from a collection of CLI commands toward a common integration layer for kernel testing workflows. However, several important pieces are still missing before it can become a practical everyday tool for a broader group of kernel developers and maintainers.
Key gaps include first-class testing of email patch series through b4 and Patchwork, reproducible pre-submit test plans, reliable comparison of results between revisions, classification of regressions versus flaky or infrastructure failures, consistent interfaces across Maestro, KCIDB and the KernelCI Dashboard, richer lab and hardware metadata, caching and multi-tree reporting, and stable extension points for external tools.
This session will present the current state of kci-dev, distinguish mature functionality from experimental work, and discuss which missing workflows should be prioritised. The goal is to agree on interfaces, responsibilities and concrete contributions needed to make kci-dev a dependable bridge between kernel development workflows and KernelCI.