linux-drivers/
drivers/dma

DMAengine subsystem and SoC DMA controller drivers

DMA controllers are hardware blocks that shuffle data between memory and peripherals without tying up the CPU. This directory holds the shared DMAengine framework plus drivers for the DMA engines built into modern SoCs from Arm, Apple, AMD, Qualcomm, ST, TI, Xilinx and others, used in phones, laptops, embedded boards and servers.

keep conf=0.93 deploy=high replacement=none subsystem=dma category=infrastructure
93%

recommendation

It should stay because this is a live, heavily maintained subsystem covering DMA controllers from virtually every active SoC vendor — Arm, Apple, AMD, Qualcomm, STMicroelectronics, TI, Xilinx and many more. Core fixes were still landing in 2026, and hardware like Arm's CoreLink DMA-350 is actively being sold into new designs in 2025.

repository signals

243 files
162,171 source lines
1,408 commits, 5y
+37,631 / −19,455 lines added / removed, 5y
338 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 1,408 total · active in 60/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 15 commits · +1,579 −224 2021-05: 24 commits · +144 −42 2021-06: 29 commits · +252 −226 2021-07: 54 commits · +1,560 −905 2021-08: 37 commits · +2,654 −231 2021-09: 21 commits · +100 −59 2021-10: 47 commits · +719 −340 2021-11: 20 commits · +463 −128 2021-12: 36 commits · +777 −642 2022-01: 15 commits · +46 −20 2022-02: 15 commits · +1,764 −68 2022-03: 13 commits · +106 −48 2022-04: 47 commits · +598 −234 2022-05: 43 commits · +1,397 −327 2022-06: 28 commits · +109 −291 2022-07: 19 commits · +176 −68 2022-08: 25 commits · +756 −198 2022-09: 30 commits · +626 −201 2022-10: 53 commits · +1,584 −7,241 2022-11: 12 commits · +314 −143 2022-12: 13 commits · +1,704 −29 2023-01: 39 commits · +1,615 −451 2023-02: 15 commits · +108 −32 2023-03: 28 commits · +565 −174 2023-04: 20 commits · +1,151 −116 2023-05: 32 commits · +1,187 −346 2023-06: 2 commits · +1 −2 2023-07: 21 commits · +99 −2,469 2023-08: 52 commits · +810 −403 2023-09: 71 commits · +231 −250 2023-10: 20 commits · +381 −164 2023-11: 18 commits · +215 −70 2023-12: 42 commits · +1,976 −363 2024-01: 32 commits · +428 −177 2024-02: 11 commits · +59 −51 2024-03: 29 commits · +239 −199 2024-04: 16 commits · +442 −270 2024-05: 18 commits · +1,963 −96 2024-06: 21 commits · +314 −41 2024-07: 10 commits · +40 −36 2024-08: 19 commits · +2,520 −253 2024-09: 11 commits · +334 −124 2024-10: 24 commits · +944 −216 2024-11: 14 commits · +728 −129 2024-12: 17 commits · +347 −77 2025-01: 3 commits · +16 −11 2025-02: 21 commits · +218 −71 2025-03: 4 commits · +681 −7 2025-04: 31 commits · +425 −187 2025-05: 17 commits · +199 −70 2025-06: 7 commits · +329 −51 2025-07: 9 commits · +79 −43 2025-08: 15 commits · +436 −74 2025-09: 8 commits · +50 −57 2025-10: 13 commits · +35 −48 2025-11: 51 commits · +444 −237 2025-12: 10 commits · +86 −14 2026-01: 28 commits · +198 −112 2026-02: 5 commits · +241 −247 2026-03: 7 commits · +69 −49 2026-04: 0 commits · +0 −0

sources

  1. lore.kernel.org

    Core dmaengine code in this directory was still receiving bug-fix patch traffic on 2026-04-24 ('dmaengine: Fix possible use after free').

  2. lore.kernel.org

    Core dmaengine code also saw another 2026 fix series ('Fix refcount leak in channel register error path'), indicating ongoing upstream maintenance rather than removal.

  3. kernel.org

    Current kernel documentation still documents dmaengine controller-provider drivers as a live subsystem/API.

  4. arm.com

    A currently marketed hardware family represented in this directory exists in 2025-era products: Arm CoreLink DMA-350 is an actively promoted DMA controller IP block.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

`drivers/dma` is an umbrella subsystem directory, not a single obsolete chip driver: local shell inspection of Kconfig/Makefile shows many active vendor families (Arm DMA-350, Apple ADMAC, AMD, Qualcomm, STM32, TI, Xilinx, etc.). The two lore URLs were obtained via `lore_file_timeline` on `drivers/dma/dmaengine.c`, which showed sustained 2024-2026 patch activity and no removal signal. The kernel-doc URL was obtained by `web.search_query` on kernel.org, and the Arm DMA-350 URL by `web.search_query` on arm.com. Because this directory covers currently shipping SoC DMA IP and has no single successor driver, the correct recommendation is to keep it.