The Rust for Linux maintainer, Wedson Almeida Filho, is calling it quits, saying he lacks “the energy and enthusiasm” to deal with “nontechnical nonsense.”

Rust made its way into the Linux kernel with version 6.1, becoming only the second language supported by the kernel, behind the original C. With each release of the kernel, Rust support has continued to grow, but that doesn’t mean it’s been a smooth ride.

Filho, who works as a software engineer at Microsoft, sent an email to the kernel mailing list to explain why he is stepping back from the project.

I am retiring from the project. After almost 4 years, I find myself lacking the energy and enthusiasm I once had to respond to some of the nontechnical nonsense, so it’s best to leave it up to those who still have it in them.

Filho goes on to express how much he enjoyed working with the Rust for Linux team.

To the Rust for Linux team: thank you, you are great. It was a pleasure working with you all; the times we spent discussing technical issues, finding ways to address soundness holes, etc. were something I always enjoyed and looked forward to. I count myself lucky to have collaborated with such a talented and friendly group.

I wish all the success to the project.

Interestingly, the next part of the email subtly addresses the kind of drama Filho evidently was tired of dealing with.

I truly believe the future of kernels is with memory-safe languages. I am no visionary but if Linux doesn’t internalize this, I’m afraid some other kernel will do to it what it did to Unix.

Lastly, I’ll leave a small, 3min 30s, sample for context here: https://youtu.be/WiPp9YEBV0Q?t=1529 — and to reiterate, no one is trying force anyone else to learn Rust nor prevent refactorings of C code.

That last statement is telling, given there has been growing reports that some of the long-time developers working on the Linux kernel resented Rust’s inclusion. In fact, in recent comments, Linux creator Linus Torvalds expressed his own disappointment with the situation.

“I was expecting updates to be faster, but part of the problem is that old-time kernel developers are used to C and don’t know Rust,” Torvalds said, via The Linux Experiment. “They’re not exactly excited about having to learn a new language that is, in some respects, very different. So there’s been some pushback on Rust.”

Torvalds is known to put his foot down and yank developers back in line when they stray too. If the Rust for Linux project keeps losing top maintainers because of unnecessary drama and pushback, it’s a safe bet Torvalds may soon intervene and set things straight.