Compared to my other kernel teammates, I’m a relative newcomer to how the kernel is packaged and prepared. They’ve been amazing at helping me understand how the Fedora kernel comes together. Much of the packaging scripts and tools for the kernel have grown organically and some of the knowledge is a bit tribal. I’ve tried to do my part by updating the kernel wiki. Even so, there’s many parts of the kernel package which could use improvement.

This is where Outreachy comes in. We’re looking for an Outreachy intern to help improve the scripts and tooling surrounding the kernel in Fedora. This isn’t working on the kernel directly. The Linux kernel has its own Outreachy project for those who are interested in kernel development. This internship is designed to help support the Fedora kernel to make the lives of both the maintainers and the community better. What kind of work might this involve?

  • Writing scripts to make regular kernel maintenance tasks easier
  • Writing scripts for Fedora users to use with the kernel
  • Verifying that the kernel.spec build options actually work and fixing or removing those that don’t
  • Updating old scripts and parts of makefiles (e.g. parts that still reference cvs)
  • Changing how kernel subpackages (kernel-core, kernel-devel etc.) are created
  • Tweaking parts of the Fedora kernel build process
  • Your own ideas to help improve the process!

This internship will have many smaller projects and tasks instead of just one big task like some internships.

What kind of technical skills will this internship involve?

  • Basic programming skills
  • Working with the command line
  • git
  • Shell scripting
  • RPM spec files
  • Maybe python or perl
  • Makefiles
  • Building kernels

You don’t have to come in as an expert on all these skills. This internship is for learning.

Interested? First, make sure you meet the eligibility requirements. Please double check the requirements about being a full-time student as this has caused confusion in the past. If you meet those requirements, there is a wiki page talking about how to get started with application tasks Feel free to e-mail me with any questions at my @fedoraproject.org address or catch me on IRC in PST.