This is a helper utility to work with patches made available via a public-inbox archive like lore.kernel.org. It is written to make it easier to participate in a patch-based workflows, like those used in the Linux kernel development.
The name “b4” was chosen for ease of typing and because B-4 was the precursor to Lore and Data in the Star Trek universe.
See https://b4.docs.kernel.org/ for online documentation.
Installing
To install the latest released version with pip:
python3 -m pip install b4
Or to install the latest master (warning, maybe broken!):
python3 -m pip install git+https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/utils/b4/b4.git@master
Shell completion
b4 makes use of the python-shtab module to provide static shell completion files. Currently python-shtab supports bash, zsh and tcsh, where others may be added in the future.
To install b4 with pip and shell completion use:
python3 -m pip install b4[completion]
Shell completion is provided by the command b4 --print-completion {bash,zsh,tcsh}. To enable shell completion run:
eval $(b4 --print-completion bash)
To make it permanent on new shells, add that command to your $HOME/.bashrc or $HOME/.zshrc.
Upgrading
If you previously installed from pypi:
python3 -m pip install --upgrade b4
Or to get the latest stuff from git:
python3 -m pip install --upgrade git+https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/utils/b4/b4.git@master
Running from the checkout dir
If you want to run from the checkout dir without installing the python package, you can use the included b4.sh wrapper. You can set it as an alias in your .bash_profile:
alias b4="$HOME/path/to/b4/b4.sh"
Setting up a symlink should also be possible. Remember to run the following commands after the initial clone:
git submodule update --init python3 -m pip install -r requirements.txt
Support
For support or with any other questions, please email tools@kernel.org, or browse the list archive at https://lore.kernel.org/tools.
Please send patches to tools@kernel.org.
Submissions must be made under the terms of the Linux Foundation certificate of contribution and should include a Signed-off-by: line. Please read the DCO file for full legal definition of what that implies.
1 maintainer
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