Vendor hooks in the Android kernel, from a 2026 LPC session

A Linux Plumbers Conference 2026 session covered vendor hooks and how they are used in the Android kernel. According to the record published in the LWN feed, the kernels used by Android have diverged significantly from the mainline kernel since the platform began. Many of those differences have been resolved over time, and the move to the generic kernel image helped bring the two closer. Even so, current devices still include many changes outside the mainline tree. The preferred way to implement these changes is through vendor hooks. In the session, led by Todd Kjos in the Android track, the discussion was dynamic and focused on how the hooks are used. This item is an automatic translation of LWN content, so to confirm details, check the original article on the LWN site through the link given in the feed, and the conference's official schedule. If you study this topic with AI help, avoid pasting unreviewed internal code, unpublished patches or device logs, since sensitive data can appear in such material.