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torvalds / linux

Linux kernel source tree

170.0k
C
Architecture: monolithic-kernel
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main
linux
arch
x86
arm64
drivers
gpu
net
fs
kernel
Makefile
Structural Architecture

The Linux kernel is the defining example of a monolithic core modularized through a vast tree of loadable hardware drivers and architectures. Its filesystem maps directly to hardware ecosystems and system boundaries (e.g., net, fs, drivers, arch).

  • Vast physical directory isolation based directly on hardware abstraction layers.
  • Monolithic C composition but highly detached modular driver compilation.

Notable Directories

/arch

Architecture-specific code grouped by hardware family (x86, arm, risc-v).

/drivers

The largest directory by far, housing thousands of device drivers.

/fs

Implementation of virtual filesystems and specific FS architectures (ext4, fat).

/kernel

The absolute core kernel runtime: scheduling, locking, and execution.

Build Your Own Ecosystem

Learn from linux's structure and craft your own software scaffolding.