ARM Mali-400 and Mali-450 (Utgard) GPU driver
Open-source graphics support for ARM's Mali-400 and Mali-450 GPUs (the "Utgard" generation), which were widely embedded in low-cost ARM SoCs from the early 2010s such as Allwinner A10/A20 and various Amlogic and Rockchip chips. The hardware still ships today inside long-lived single-board computers and industrial boards like the Olimex A20-OLinuXino-LIME2.
recommendation
Worth keeping but documenting its niche, because the Mali-400/450 GPUs it supports are an older generation that mainly lives on in long-lived single-board computers and industrial products such as the Allwinner A20-based Olimex LIME2, which is still sold new in 2025. Upstream activity through 2025 shows the driver is genuinely maintained, and there is no in-tree replacement: Panfrost covers newer Mali generations, not Utgard, so removing Lima would orphan the hardware that depends on it.
repository signals
sources
- lore.kernel.org
Upstream drm/lima still received non-trivial maintenance in late 2025 ('Use GEM-UMA helpers for memory management').
- lore.kernel.org
Upstream drm/lima also saw feature/behavior work in 2025 ('implement the file flush callback'), indicating active attention rather than abandonment.
- cateee.net
LKDDb identifies CONFIG_DRM_LIMA as the DRM driver for ARM Mali-400/450 GPUs and shows it remains present in current kernel series.
- olimex.com
A current retail product page still lists the A20-OLinuXino-LIME2 as in stock, and its featured SoC includes a dual-core Mali-400 GPU.
- olimex.com
The board wiki specifies the A20-OLinuXino-LIME2 uses an Allwinner A20 with dual-core Mali-400 GPU, tying a still-sold product to Lima-supported hardware.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Real driver directory with active upstream maintenance, so removal/deprecation is not justified. The two lore URLs were obtained via the `lore_activity` MCP tool on `drivers/gpu/drm/lima/lima_drv.c`; they show substantive 2025 drm/lima work. The LKDDb and Olimex URLs were obtained via web search. Deployment appears niche rather than broad: Lima-class Utgard GPUs survive mainly in older SBC/industrial products still sold by vendors like Olimex, so `deployments_today` is `low`. No in-tree replacement cleanly supersedes Lima for Mali-400/450 itself; Panfrost targets newer Mali generations, so `replacement_driver` is null. `keep-annotate` fits best: keep the driver, but document that it mainly serves aging/niche hardware families rather than mainstream new designs.