On Thu, Jul 17, 2025 at 9:59 PM Manos Pitsidianakis <manos.pitsidiana...@linaro.org> wrote: > > Add a section about b4, an actively maintained and widely packaged CLI > tool for contributing to patch-based development projects. > > Reviewed-by: Gustavo Romero <gustavo.rom...@linaro.org> > Signed-off-by: Manos Pitsidianakis <manos.pitsidiana...@linaro.org> > --- > Changes in v2: > - s/later/letter and add review trailers (thanks Gustavo) > - Link to v1: > https://lore.kernel.org/qemu-devel/20250717-docs_add_b4_section-v1-1-2dfb4ad2f...@linaro.org > ---
(Ping) Alex, does this look OK to you? If yes could you pick it up? > docs/devel/submitting-a-patch.rst | 40 > +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-- > 1 file changed, 38 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) > > diff --git a/docs/devel/submitting-a-patch.rst > b/docs/devel/submitting-a-patch.rst > index > f7917b899f6892ef74908fe8f1399b6ae5a30324..dd1cf32ad35a98528f43918eceb2cc8a4847c5b6 > 100644 > --- a/docs/devel/submitting-a-patch.rst > +++ b/docs/devel/submitting-a-patch.rst > @@ -235,6 +235,38 @@ to another list.) ``git send-email`` (`step-by-step > setup guide > works best for delivering the patch without mangling it, but > attachments can be used as a last resort on a first-time submission. > > +.. _use_b4: > + > +Use B4 > +~~~~~~ > + > +The `b4`_ tool, used for Linux kernel development, can also be used for QEMU > +development. It is packaged in most distros and PyPi. The QEMU source tree > +includes a ``b4`` project configuration file at the root: ``.b4-config``. > + > +Example workflow to prepare a patch series: > + > +1. Start with a clean checkout of the ``master`` branch. > +2. Create a new series with a topical branch name using ``b4 prep -n > descriptive-name``. > + ``b4`` will create a ``b4/descriptive-name`` branch and switch to it. > +3. Commit your changes, following this page's guidelines about proper commit > messages etc. > +4. Write a descriptive cover letter with ``b4 prep --edit-cover``. > +5. Add maintainer and reviewer CCs with ``b4 prep --auto-to-cc``. You can > make > + changes to Cc: and To: recipients by editing the cover letter. > +6. Run patch checks with ``b4 prep --check``. > +7. Optionally review the patches with ``b4 send --dry-run`` which will print > the > + raw patches in standard output. > + > +To send the patches, you can: > + > +- Setup ``git-send-email`` and use ``b4 send``, or > +- Export the patches to files using ``b4 send -o OUTPUT_DIR`` and send them > manually. > + > +For more details, consult the `b4 documentation`_. > + > +.. _b4 documentation: https://b4.docs.kernel.org/ > +.. _b4: https://github.com/mricon/b4/ > + > .. _use_git_publish: > > Use git-publish > @@ -418,7 +450,7 @@ Retrieve an existing series > --------------------------- > > If you want to apply an existing series on top of your tree, you can simply > use > -`b4 <https://github.com/mricon/b4>`__. > +`b4`_. > > :: > > @@ -533,7 +565,11 @@ summary belongs. The `git-publish > <https://github.com/stefanha/git-publish>`__ script can help with > tracking a good summary across versions. Also, the `git-backport-diff > <https://github.com/codyprime/git-scripts>`__ script can help focus > -reviewers on what changed between revisions. > +reviewers on what changed between revisions. The ``b4`` tool automatically > +generates a version history section in the cover letter, including links to > the > +previous versions on `Lore`_. > + > +.. _Lore: https://lore.kernel.org/ > > .. _tips_and_tricks: > > > --- > base-commit: f96b157ebb93f94cd56ebbc99bc20982b8fd86ef > change-id: 20250717-docs_add_b4_section-fc37e538b20b > > -- > γαῖα πυρί μιχθήτω >
