linux-drivers/
drivers/media/rc

Consumer infrared remote-control receivers, transmitters, and RC-core

Linux's consumer-infrared remote-control stack, covering both the shared RC-core protocol decoder and a collection of concrete receivers and transmitters: USB IR dongles, PC media-center remotes, GPIO-attached IR diodes on embedded boards, and SoC IR blocks. It lets set-top boxes, TVs, media PCs, and hobbyist devices accept handheld remote presses and, in some cases, send IR commands back out.

keep-annotate conf=0.83 deploy=medium replacement=none subsystem=media category=media-other
83%

recommendation

It should stay because RC-core remains first-class kernel infrastructure: rc-main.c was still getting substantive fixes as recently as 2026, the kernel documents it as the supported way to receive and send IR remote events, and IR receivers like the Flirc USB dongle are still sold new in 2025. Annotation is warranted because the subtree mixes actively maintained SoC and GPIO IR support with older PC and media-center chips that deserve a closer look case-by-case.

repository signals

206 files
43,569 source lines
187 commits, 5y
+2,771 / −2,405 lines added / removed, 5y
69 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 187 total · active in 50/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 2 commits · +11 −430 2021-05: 0 commits · +0 −0 2021-06: 8 commits · +116 −19 2021-07: 6 commits · +465 −47 2021-08: 8 commits · +37 −9 2021-09: 10 commits · +43 −30 2021-10: 7 commits · +26 −479 2021-11: 7 commits · +13 −20 2021-12: 6 commits · +25 −97 2022-01: 6 commits · +63 −68 2022-02: 1 commit · +21 −7 2022-03: 4 commits · +240 −231 2022-04: 5 commits · +17 −8 2022-05: 13 commits · +86 −85 2022-06: 1 commit · +2 −2 2022-07: 2 commits · +7 −7 2022-08: 2 commits · +15 −24 2022-09: 3 commits · +16 −21 2022-10: 1 commit · +3 −3 2022-11: 2 commits · +4 −4 2022-12: 1 commit · +0 −6 2023-01: 3 commits · +21 −2 2023-02: 2 commits · +210 −0 2023-03: 13 commits · +22 −33 2023-04: 1 commit · +8 −5 2023-05: 1 commit · +6 −0 2023-06: 3 commits · +89 −90 2023-07: 1 commit · +5 −3 2023-08: 1 commit · +451 −71 2023-09: 4 commits · +141 −297 2023-10: 6 commits · +25 −33 2023-11: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-12: 2 commits · +80 −7 2024-01: 3 commits · +4 −1 2024-02: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-03: 8 commits · +38 −36 2024-04: 2 commits · +6 −9 2024-05: 3 commits · +8 −9 2024-06: 4 commits · +72 −6 2024-07: 3 commits · +33 −11 2024-08: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-09: 3 commits · +8 −8 2024-10: 5 commits · +8 −12 2024-11: 2 commits · +3 −2 2024-12: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-01: 3 commits · +111 −31 2025-02: 1 commit · +1 −2 2025-03: 1 commit · +42 −0 2025-04: 1 commit · +14 −14 2025-05: 1 commit · +13 −10 2025-06: 3 commits · +27 −15 2025-07: 6 commits · +66 −46 2025-08: 2 commits · +2 −5 2025-09: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-10: 2 commits · +1 −2 2025-11: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-12: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-01: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-02: 2 commits · +46 −48 2026-03: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-04: 0 commits · +0 −0

sources

  1. lore.kernel.org

    rc-core itself was still receiving substantive fixes in 2026, including a race fix touching drivers/media/rc/rc-main.c.

  2. docs.kernel.org

    The kernel documents RC-core as active infrastructure for receiving and sending remote-controller events and IR protocols.

  3. docs.kernel.org

    Kernel userspace documentation describes IR inputs as common on analog/digital devices and explains the active RC userspace interface.

  4. flirc.tv

    Standalone IR receiver/transmitter products for Linux/media-center style use were still being sold commercially in 2025-era storefronts.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

This is a real driver subtree, not a helper-only directory: Kconfig and file layout show RC-core plus concrete USB, PNP, GPIO, and SoC IR drivers. lore_file_timeline on drivers/media/rc/rc-main.c showed 101 matches since 2021 and a newest touch on 2026-04-20, with no evidence of subsystem retirement; that lore URL came from the lore_file_timeline tool. Kernel docs URLs were obtained via web search and support that RC-core remains first-class kernel infrastructure for IR RX/TX and userspace control. The Flirc product URL was obtained via web search; it is deployment evidence for the broader IR-remote hardware niche, not proof for every individual legacy chip in this directory. Because the subtree is active but contains a mix of modern SoC/GPIO support and clearly old PC/media-center hardware, the right call is keep-annotate rather than deprecate or remove.