kernel-dev

kernel-dev

A Claude Code plugin bundling skills for Linux kernel development workflows.

This repo is both a plugin and a single-plugin marketplace, so users can install it directly via /plugin marketplace add <git-url> followed by /plugin install kernel-dev@kernel-dev.

Skills

Skill	Purpose
b4	Submit patches to mailing lists; b4 prep/send/trailers/am/shazam workflows.
git-bisect	Non-interactive git bisect run with vng boot-testing for kernel regressions.
git-rebase	Non-interactive rebase: reword, squash/fixup, reorder, --autosquash, --onto.
kernel-build	Build the Linux kernel with make, LLVM/GCC, config fragments, ccache.
virtme-ng	Boot and run commands in a kernel VM via vng; serial console capture.

After install, skills are namespaced by the plugin name (e.g., kernel-dev:b4).

Install

Throughout the install commands below, kernel-dev@kernel-dev is <plugin-name>@<marketplace-name>. Both happen to be named kernel-dev because this repo serves as both the plugin and its single-plugin marketplace.

Option 1: Local install from a checked-out copy (persistent)

If you have the repo checked out at e.g. /mydata/kernel-dev, register it as a local marketplace and install from there. From inside any Claude Code session:

/plugin marketplace add /mydata/kernel-dev
/plugin install kernel-dev@kernel-dev

/plugin marketplace add accepts a local filesystem path to any directory containing .claude-plugin/marketplace.json. The install survives across sessions and is the right choice if you intend to use the plugin regularly from a local clone (e.g. while iterating on it).

To pick this up after editing files in the repo, run /reload-plugins.

Option 2: One-session local load (no install)

To load the plugin into a single Claude Code session without any persistent install or marketplace registration, pass --plugin-dir at launch:

claude --plugin-dir /mydata/kernel-dev

The directory must contain .claude-plugin/plugin.json (it does). The flag can be passed multiple times to load multiple plugins. Useful for quickly trying changes without touching your installed-plugins state.

Option 3: Install from a git remote

/plugin marketplace add https://github.com/tzussman/kernel-dev-skill
/plugin install kernel-dev@kernel-dev

Verifying the install

Run /plugin to open the plugin manager. The Installed tab lists all loaded plugins grouped by scope (user, project, local) and shows the source each was loaded from — useful for confirming whether kernel-dev came from your local clone, a git remote, or a --plugin-dir flag.

After installing, individual skills are namespaced by the plugin name, e.g. kernel-dev:b4, kernel-dev:virtme-ng.

Uninstall or disable

/plugin disable kernel-dev@kernel-dev      # temporarily disable
/plugin uninstall kernel-dev@kernel-dev    # remove completely
/reload-plugins                            # apply without restarting

To remove the marketplace registration itself:

/plugin marketplace remove kernel-dev

Per-project enable

To enable this plugin only inside a specific kernel tree, commit a .claude/settings.json to that tree:

{
  "enabledPlugins": {
    "kernel-dev@kernel-dev": true
  }
}

Layout

kernel-dev/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   ├── plugin.json          # plugin manifest
│   └── marketplace.json     # marketplace catalog (points at "./" — this repo)
├── skills/
│   ├── b4/SKILL.md
│   ├── git-bisect/SKILL.md
│   ├── git-rebase/SKILL.md
│   ├── kernel-build/SKILL.md
│   └── virtme-ng/SKILL.md
└── README.md

The repo is co-located: the marketplace's source: "./" points back at the same directory as the plugin, so one git remote serves both roles.

Dependencies

These skills assume standard kernel-dev tooling on $PATH:

• b4: pip install --user b4
• virtme-ng: pip install --user virtme-ng (provides vng)
• kernel-build: make, GCC or LLVM/clang, ccache recommended
• git-bisect, git-rebase: just git

The individual SKILL.md files have detailed install/verification steps.

Updating

/plugin marketplace update kernel-dev    # refresh the catalog
/plugin install kernel-dev@kernel-dev    # reinstall — picks up the new version

Bump version in both plugin.json and marketplace.json when cutting a release.