# [$] Collaborating with out-of-tree tracers

> **Key Architectural Takeaway:** LTTng creator Mathieu Desnoyers seems a bit trapped in something of a catch-22 .

**Published:** 2026-10-14T13:56:50+00:00 
**Source:** Linux Weekly News (LWN.net) 
**Category:** kernel-os 
**Canonical URL:** https://fosswire.org/news/collaborating-with-out-of-tree-tracers.html 

## Executive Summary
LTTng creator Mathieu Desnoyers seems a bit trapped in something of a catch-22 . At the 2026 Linux Plumbers Conference (LPC), he led a discussion on the problem he is having in trying to collaborate with other tracing projects (e.g. ftrace , perf ) in the kernel. The feedback he has gotten, both over the years and more recently, does not show a path that would allow him to contribute the 21-year-old GPLv2-licensed LTTng tracing framework, or, incrementally, features from it, to the mainline kernel.

## Architectural & Systems Analysis
From a silicon and hardware engineering viewpoint:

- **Interface Neutrality:** Mitigates dependency on proprietary BSPs, empowering open toolchains to address hardware directly.
- **Supply Chain Verification:** Schematics and open pinouts allow deterministic audits against silicon errata.
- **Lifecycle Decoupling:** Decouples physical hardware utility from commercial vendor end-of-life obsolescence.

## Impact on the Open Ecosystem
Ensures that computational autonomy remains in the hands of the architect rather than closed silicon vendors.