drivers/gpu/drm/qxl · keep-annotate

QXL paravirtual GPU for SPICE-based virtual machines

A virtual graphics card presented to QEMU/KVM guests, designed to pair with the SPICE remote-desktop protocol for efficient 2D acceleration and low-latency display streaming. It was the default choice for SPICE-based VM consoles for many years before virtio-gpu became the preferred modern option.

keep-annotate conf=0.84 deploy=low replacement=virtio_gpu subsystem=gpu category=graphics-display

84%

recommendation

Worth keeping but documenting its niche: QXL is a legacy paravirtual graphics device tied to the SPICE remote-desktop protocol, and QEMU now recommends virtio-gpu for new guests. However, the code is not abandoned — patches are still landing upstream in 2025, including real bug fixes — so it should remain available for the many existing VMs that still rely on it.

repository signals

20 files

6,573 source lines

78 commits, 5y

+431 / −422 lines added / removed, 5y

32 authors, 5y

monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 78 total · active in 37/61 months

sources

lore.kernel.org
Upstream activity is still current: a 2026 patch fixes qxl KMS poll cleanup, indicating the driver is maintained rather than abandoned.
qemu.org
QEMU documents `qxl` as a paravirtual graphics card that works best with guest drivers and is the recommended choice when using the SPICE protocol.
qemu.org
QEMU states VirtIO devices are the recommended device models for virtual machines unless a specific hardware model must be exercised.
qemu.org
QEMU documents virtio-gpu as the modern paravirtual GPU/display controller for guests, covering the same virtual-GPU use case with broader current capability.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Lore evidence came from `lore_file_timeline` and `lore_activity` on `drivers/gpu/drm/qxl/qxl_drv.c`; both showed recent 2025-2026 patch traffic, including a real bug fix, so this is not dormant. QEMU docs were obtained via `web.search_query`; they show QXL is a SPICE-era virtual GPU niche, while VirtIO is the generally recommended VM device family and virtio-gpu is the natural replacement for new guest deployments. Because QXL is virtual rather than sold hardware, `hardware_still_sold_new_in_2025=false` and `last_widely_available_year=null`. Recommendation is `keep-annotate`: legacy/niche, replacement exists, but upstream attention is still active.