doc: develop: process: Explain when/how Custodians may edit patches

trini · xypron · commit 7db33677c29e · 2026-01-28T21:12:04.000+01:00
As seen with commit d503633 ("Revert "doc: board: starfive: update jh7110 common description""), it has not always been clear what is and isn't allowed by custodians, and what the expectations are. To prevent further unintentional conflicts, document the limited cases where custodians are allowed to modify patches directly, and how to do that. Signed-off-by: Tom Rini <trini@konsulko.com> Reviewed-by: Quentin Schulz <quentin.schulz@cherry.de>
diff --git a/doc/develop/process.rst b/doc/develop/process.rst
@@ -144,6 +144,12 @@ feedback to the submitter of a patch about what is going on:
     feels it has been too long since posting their patch and not
     received any feedback, it is OK to follow-up and ask.
 
+    * A custodian may make changes suggested by :doc:`checkpatch.pl
+      <checkpatch>`. They must also in turn amend the commit message noting
+      their change, for example ``[trini: Fix typos]``, and add their own
+      :ref:`Signed-off-by <dco>` tag. All other changes must be handled by
+      another iteration of the patch, or follow-up patch.
+
   * If the patch itself can still be applied to the tree. The custodian
     is expected to put in a "best effort" if a patch does not apply
     cleanly, but can be made to apply still. It is up to the custodian
