linux-drivers/
drivers/gpu/drm/i915

Intel i915 integrated and discrete GPU driver

Intel's main graphics driver, covering roughly two decades of integrated GPUs built into Intel CPUs and chipsets — from the original i915/GMA parts of the mid-2000s through HD Graphics, Iris, and the Xe-LP/HPG generations — plus the early Arc discrete cards. It handles display output, 3D acceleration, and media engines on the overwhelming majority of Intel-powered PCs and laptops running Linux.

keep conf=0.95 last_sold=2025 deploy=high replacement=drivers/gpu/drm/xe subsystem=gpu category=graphics-display
95%

recommendation

It should stay because i915 is one of the most heavily used graphics drivers in Linux, powering nearly every Intel laptop and desktop with integrated graphics from the mid-2000s through current Core and Arc products sold in 2025. Although Intel is gradually shifting newer GPUs (Tiger Lake and later) to the separate Xe driver, kernel documentation explicitly states i915 will continue to own the hardware already out of force_probe, and the directory still sees thousands of commits from nearly 200 contributors.

repository signals

905 files
416,397 source lines
9,800 commits, 5y
+319,328 / −209,243 lines added / removed, 5y
391 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 9,800 total · active in 61/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 97 commits · +1,657 −855 2021-05: 149 commits · +4,709 −2,214 2021-06: 171 commits · +13,000 −8,980 2021-07: 337 commits · +15,142 −8,527 2021-08: 121 commits · +5,022 −4,921 2021-09: 271 commits · +8,404 −4,359 2021-10: 267 commits · +11,716 −6,759 2021-11: 169 commits · +6,693 −3,847 2021-12: 175 commits · +4,774 −3,700 2022-01: 177 commits · +8,340 −8,031 2022-02: 255 commits · +10,474 −7,588 2022-03: 262 commits · +9,059 −5,100 2022-04: 158 commits · +12,490 −10,904 2022-05: 155 commits · +4,006 −1,783 2022-06: 150 commits · +5,978 −4,631 2022-07: 104 commits · +3,150 −1,100 2022-08: 142 commits · +5,257 −3,604 2022-09: 227 commits · +10,177 −7,150 2022-10: 222 commits · +7,691 −4,513 2022-11: 240 commits · +5,727 −2,869 2022-12: 122 commits · +3,356 −1,743 2023-01: 185 commits · +4,436 −3,341 2023-02: 151 commits · +7,526 −6,564 2023-03: 254 commits · +9,096 −5,159 2023-04: 159 commits · +9,823 −3,429 2023-05: 191 commits · +10,857 −7,263 2023-06: 159 commits · +3,999 −1,616 2023-07: 90 commits · +1,310 −760 2023-08: 159 commits · +3,452 −3,129 2023-09: 175 commits · +3,749 −1,301 2023-10: 216 commits · +5,537 −3,221 2023-11: 155 commits · +3,145 −1,938 2023-12: 120 commits · +1,951 −1,229 2024-01: 83 commits · +1,531 −692 2024-02: 179 commits · +3,601 −1,820 2024-03: 131 commits · +2,462 −2,042 2024-04: 234 commits · +6,513 −5,123 2024-05: 275 commits · +6,015 −3,891 2024-06: 205 commits · +4,248 −2,649 2024-07: 62 commits · +1,099 −636 2024-08: 120 commits · +4,021 −2,973 2024-09: 200 commits · +6,473 −4,709 2024-10: 180 commits · +5,576 −4,053 2024-11: 149 commits · +4,171 −3,288 2024-12: 136 commits · +2,687 −2,509 2025-01: 140 commits · +2,917 −1,759 2025-02: 224 commits · +7,295 −5,941 2025-03: 170 commits · +5,527 −4,654 2025-04: 126 commits · +3,533 −3,111 2025-05: 151 commits · +3,762 −2,580 2025-06: 121 commits · +5,967 −4,159 2025-07: 75 commits · +921 −718 2025-08: 119 commits · +1,544 −1,008 2025-09: 185 commits · +2,881 −1,947 2025-10: 156 commits · +3,885 −1,576 2025-11: 184 commits · +6,401 −2,751 2025-12: 149 commits · +3,691 −1,848 2026-01: 24 commits · +150 −105 2026-02: 11 commits · +488 −492 2026-03: 17 commits · +232 −53 2026-04: 3 commits · +21 −9

sources

  1. git.kernel.org

    Canonical upstream log page for the i915 directory; used alongside the provided commit statistics to support that the driver is still under heavy active development.

  2. docs.kernel.org

    Kernel documentation for i915 covers modern features including Gen12-era functionality such as PXP, indicating the driver is maintained for relatively recent Intel GPU generations.

  3. docs.kernel.org

    Xe is a newer Intel GPU driver for Tiger Lake and later, but the document explicitly says there is a transition period where platforms are supported by both Xe and i915 and that i915 will continue to support current platforms already out of force_probe.

  4. intel.com

    Intel support article lists Intel Arc A-series mobile graphics products, evidence that Intel GPU hardware in this general product family remained commercially offered in the mid-2020s.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Real driver directory, not an early-exit case. Recommendation is keep: the supplied tree-history stats already show extreme current activity (2511 substantive commits in 5 years, most recent 2026-03-23, 189 authors), which is inconsistent with deprecation/removal. No removal/deprecation evidence was found before tool fallback limits hit; shell attempt to query lore via `lei` failed because `lei` is not installed. URL acquisition: git.kernel.org log page by canonical recall; docs.kernel.org i915 and xe pages via web open/search; Intel Arc support page via web search. `drivers/gpu/drm/xe` is a partial successor for newer Intel GPUs, but not a universal replacement for the full installed i915 hardware base, so removal/deprecation is not justified.