The Linux kernel maintainers have officially abolished the requirement for developers to disclose the use of AI-assisted programming tools. The decision was finalized during the Linux Maintainers Summit held on October 8, 2026, in Prague, Czech Republic. Consequently, the 'Assisted-by' tag has been removed, and documentation regarding mandatory AI disclosure has been deleted.
Linus Torvalds, the founder of Linux, dismissed concerns regarding the removal of these disclosures as foolish. He argued that the focus should remain on whether a developer understands the code they submit, rather than the tools used to create it. Torvalds compared the restriction of AI tools to banning compilers in favor of manual assembly language programming, labeling such requirements as meaningless.
Torvalds has personally utilized AI tools, including Anthropic's Claude Code, to assist with code generation, testing, and documentation for kernel optimizations. He maintains that AI tools enhance development efficiency and make the process more engaging. The core standard for code acceptance remains the developer's ability to verify the quality and functional correctness of the contribution.
Proponents of the policy change noted that the previous disclosure rule lacked enforceability, as many contributors failed to label AI-generated code. Some maintainers also suggested that the tag served as free promotion for commercial AI vendors without providing clear benefits to the project. The project will now prioritize code quality and developer accountability over the origin of the code.
