Agent skill

Linux Kernel Architecture

by mohitmishra786 in mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills

Linux kernel architecture skill for subsystem overview. An agent skill from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.

MITAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Linux Kernel Architecture

skills CLI
$ npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill linux-kernel-architecture -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills linux-kernel-architecture --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/kernel-dev/linux-kernel-architecture .claude/skills/linux-kernel-architecture && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
linux-kernel-architecture
GitHub stars
253
Token cost
~763 tokens
SKILL.md length
201 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
138
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Linux kernel architecture skill for subsystem overview. An agent skill from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.

  • Works in 5 steps: Boot flow (x86/ARM64 simplified) → Major subsystems → Initcall levels → …
  • Navigating kernel source
  • SKILL.md covers Purpose, When to Use, Workflow and Common Problems, plus 1 more section
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Linux Kernel Architecture is an agent skill from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills. Linux kernel architecture skill for subsystem overview. Use when navigating kernel source, understanding boot flow, initcalls, or major subsystems (VFS, scheduler, MM). Activates on queries about kernel architecture, boot process, initcall levels, subsystem layout, or where code lives in linux.git.

Its SKILL.md is about 760 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Development. It works with Linux and Git. The repository describes itself as: A curated suite of AI agent skills for systems and low-level programming with C/C++, Rust, and Zig toolchains, covering compilers, debuggers, profilers, build systems…. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Navigating kernel source
  • Understanding boot flow
  • Major subsystems (VFS

Example prompts

  • “/linux-kernel-architecture”

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Boot flow (x86/ARM64 simplified)
  2. Major subsystems
  3. Initcall levels
  4. Finding code
  5. Agent usage

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit bdc5847. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are c and bash).

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Linux Kernel Architecture loads about 763 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 81 tokens; SKILL.md has 201 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~81
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~763

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills at commit bdc5847, republished under its MIT licence (© mohitmishra786). 201 words, ~763 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/linux-kernel-architecture/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
linux-kernel-architecture
description
Linux kernel architecture skill for subsystem overview. Use when navigating kernel source, understanding boot flow, initcalls, or major subsystems (VFS, scheduler, MM). Activates on queries about kernel architecture, boot process, initcall levels, subsystem layout, or where code lives in linux.git.

Linux Kernel Architecture

Purpose

Provide a mental map of the Linux kernel: boot sequence, major subsystems, key data structures, and where to look in source — complementing skills/kernel/kernel-internals with architecture-level navigation for driver and subsystem work.

When to Use

  • First time exploring linux.git for a feature or bug
  • Understanding how boot reaches init and driver probe
  • Tracing a syscall or interrupt through subsystems
  • Onboarding before skills/kernel-dev/platform-device-model or driver skills

Workflow

1. Boot flow (x86/ARM64 simplified)
firmware/UEFI
├── arch/*/boot — decompress kernel, early setup
├── start_kernel() — mm, scheduler, timers, IRQ subsys
├── rest_init() → kernel_init → run_init_process
└── userspace init (systemd)

Driver module_init / device_initcall run during start_kernel before init.

2. Major subsystems
SubsystemPath (typical)Key structs
Schedulerkernel/sched/task_struct, sched_entity
Memorymm/struct page, mm_struct, vm_area_struct
VFSfs/inode, dentry, file, super_block
Blockblock/request_queue, gendisk
Netnet/sk_buff, net_device
Driversdrivers/device, device_driver
Syscallskernel/, fs/, mm/SYSCALL_DEFINE*
3. Initcall levels
c
/* include/linux/init.h — order matters */
early_initcall → core_initcall → postcore_initcall
→ arch_initcall → subsys_initcall → fs_initcall
→ device_initcall → late_initcall

Platform drivers usually register at subsys_initcall or via module_init.

4. Finding code
bash
# Locate symbol
grep -rn "platform_driver_register" drivers/

# Trace config
./scripts/config --state CONFIG_FOO

# File hierarchy docs
ls Documentation/admin-guide/
5. Agent usage
/linux-kernel-architecture Where does page fault handling live and what calls it?

Common Problems

SymptomCauseFix
Driver probes too earlyInitcall vs DT orderingDefer with deferred_probe
Symbol missingBuilt as modulemodprobe or built-in CONFIG_*
Wrong subsystemSimilar names in drivers/Follow struct bus_type
Boot hangEarly printk disabledearlyprintk, initcall_debug
  • skills/kernel/kernel-internals — scheduler, SLUB, VFS depth
  • skills/kernel-dev/kernel-memory-management — mm/ details
  • skills/kernel-dev/platform-device-model — driver model
  • skills/kernel-dev/device-tree — hardware description
  • skills/low-level-programming/linux-kernel-modules — LKM basics

© mohitmishra786, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/kernel-dev/linux-kernel-architecture of mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit bdc5847

Compare with similar skills

Linux Kernel Architecture next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Linux Kernel Architecture compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Linux Kernel Architecture this skillmohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills253—~763Automated safety check: PassMIT
Dirextalk DeployerYingSuiAI/dirextalk-deployer457—~7.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Tk Impact Analysistonkeeper/tonkeeper-web444—~3.7kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Antigravity CLI StatuslineAndyAWD/antigravity-cli-statusline100—~2.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Gridbash Panesjasonsuhari/gridbash134—~1.5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
SetupProrise-cool/Claude-Code-Multi-Agent305—~3kAutomated safety check: NotesNone

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Works with

Categories

Questions about Linux Kernel Architecture

What does Linux Kernel Architecture do?

Linux kernel architecture skill for subsystem overview. An agent skill from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills. Linux Kernel Architecture is an agent skill from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills. Linux kernel architecture skill for subsystem overview.

When should I use Linux Kernel Architecture?

Linux Kernel Architecture fits situations like: navigating kernel source; understanding boot flow; major subsystems (VFS.

How do I install Linux Kernel Architecture in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill linux-kernel-architecture -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/kernel-dev/linux-kernel-architecture in mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills) into .claude/skills/linux-kernel-architecture in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Linux Kernel Architecture in Codex?

Run `npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill linux-kernel-architecture -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/kernel-dev/linux-kernel-architecture in mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills) into .agents/skills/linux-kernel-architecture in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Linux Kernel Architecture in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill linux-kernel-architecture -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/linux-kernel-architecture, .gemini/skills/linux-kernel-architecture, .github/skills/linux-kernel-architecture and .opencode/skills/linux-kernel-architecture in your project.

What does Linux Kernel Architecture need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Linux Kernel Architecture is instructions for the agent only.

Does Linux Kernel Architecture access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Linux Kernel Architecture safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Linux Kernel Architecture use?

Linux Kernel Architecture is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Linux Kernel Architecture use?

About 763 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.1k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Linux Kernel Architecture?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Linux Kernel Architecture: Dirextalk Deployer (YingSuiAI/dirextalk-deployer, 457 stars), Tk Impact Analysis (tonkeeper/tonkeeper-web, 444 stars), Antigravity CLI Statusline (AndyAWD/antigravity-cli-statusline, 100 stars) and Gridbash Panes (jasonsuhari/gridbash, 134 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Linux Kernel Architecture?

mohitmishra786 (a GitHub user) maintains it in mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills, which has 253 GitHub stars. The repository holds 138 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on June 27, 2026.

Source: mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.