DMA-BUF is a kernel-wide framework that lets different subsystems and drivers share large memory buffers without copying them, most famously used to pass video frames and textures between GPUs, cameras, video decoders, and display controllers. It also provides the synchronization primitives (fences, sync files) that coordinate when those shared buffers are safe to read or write.
This is not actually a hardware driver; it is core kernel infrastructure that countless graphics, media, and camera drivers depend on every day. Removing or deprecating it is not on the table — it underpins essentially all modern Linux graphics and video pipelines.
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27files
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monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 264 total · active in 53/61 months
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codex reasoning notes (technical)
Not a driver directory: contains DMA-BUF framework/core infrastructure and helper code, not hardware-specific kernel driver implementations.