drivers/gpu/drm/sysfb · keep

System firmware framebuffer DRM drivers (simpledrm, efidrm, vesadrm, ofdrm)

Small display drivers that adopt whatever framebuffer the system firmware (UEFI, VESA BIOS, Open Firmware, or a device-tree "simple-framebuffer") already set up at boot, giving Linux a working console and graphical display before a full GPU driver such as amdgpu, i915, nouveau, or virtio_gpu loads — or as a permanent fallback when none exists.

keep conf=0.91 last_sold=2025 deploy=high replacement=Native DRM/KMS GPU driver for the actual display hardware (for example amdgpu, i915/xe, nouveau, virtio_gpu, vmwgfx) subsystem=gpu category=graphics-display

91%

recommendation

It should stay because these drivers provide the early-boot and fallback display path on essentially every contemporary system, from UEFI PCs to ARM boards to virtual machines. Upstream activity is healthy, with bug-fix patches still flowing in 2026 and distributions like Ubuntu enabling simpledrm for brand-new hardware (NVIDIA IGX Thor) as recently as December 2025. There is no replacement at this layer; the eventual native GPU driver simply takes over from them.

repository signals

10 files

4,048 source lines

46 commits, 5y

+5,193 / −1,057 lines added / removed, 5y

9 authors, 5y

monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 46 total · active in 11/61 months

sources

spinics.net
A 2026 drm/sysfb efidrm bug-fix patch was posted and reviewed, showing active upstream maintenance rather than removal.
cateee.net
CONFIG_DRM_SIMPLEDRM is current in 6.16-6.19 and 7.0-rc+HEAD, and binds the platform/simple-framebuffer path.
cateee.net
CONFIG_DRM_EFIDRM is current in 6.16-6.19 and 7.0-rc+HEAD, and binds the platform/efi-framebuffer path.
bugs.launchpad.net
Ubuntu enabled CONFIG_DRM_SIMPLEDRM for IGX Thor in December 2025, indicating new-hardware deployment interest rather than legacy-only status.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Local shell inspection of drivers/gpu/drm/sysfb/Kconfig shows active DRM platform drivers for EFI, VESA, OF, and simple-framebuffer, all described as firmware/bootloader-provided framebuffers that hand off to native DRM drivers later. Local git log on the directory shows substantive activity through 2026-03-31. I first attempted lore/public-inbox access via shell (`lei`), but `lei` was unavailable; I then used exact-subject web search based on recent local commit subjects and found 2026 patch traffic on spinics for efidrm, plus current LKDDb entries and a 2025 Ubuntu enablement bug for IGX Thor. No removal/deprecation series surfaced in those checks. Because these drivers cover still-current UEFI/DT/VM early-boot display paths and remain actively fixed upstream, the directory should be kept.