linux-drivers/
drivers/mtd/nand

Raw NAND and SPI-NAND flash subsystem

The kernel's framework for talking to raw parallel NAND flash chips and serial (SPI) NAND flash, the kind of bare flash memory soldered onto routers, set-top boxes, industrial controllers, and other embedded Linux devices. It provides the shared infrastructure — bad-block handling, ECC engines, controller glue — that individual NAND controller and chip drivers plug into.

keep conf=0.89 deploy=medium replacement=none subsystem=mtd category=storage-flash
89%

recommendation

It should stay because this is an active subsystem, not a single legacy chip driver, with maintenance patches landing as recently as September 2025 and ongoing feature work like the hardware ECC engine framework added in 2021. Vendors including Winbond and Micron are still shipping new SPI-NAND and SLC NAND parts in 2025 for embedded designs, so the code continues to serve hardware sold today and has no upstream replacement.

repository signals

139 files
98,986 source lines
761 commits, 5y
+20,564 / −9,314 lines added / removed, 5y
200 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 761 total · active in 60/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 12 commits · +71 −18 2021-05: 29 commits · +1,118 −194 2021-06: 19 commits · +1,507 −169 2021-07: 2 commits · +8 −2 2021-08: 5 commits · +32 −21 2021-09: 38 commits · +153 −150 2021-10: 6 commits · +94 −78 2021-11: 12 commits · +129 −36 2021-12: 22 commits · +2,710 −348 2022-01: 25 commits · +403 −118 2022-02: 4 commits · +61 −28 2022-03: 12 commits · +178 −12 2022-04: 17 commits · +462 −137 2022-05: 7 commits · +35 −43 2022-06: 15 commits · +406 −91 2022-07: 15 commits · +94 −63 2022-08: 6 commits · +19 −21 2022-09: 13 commits · +107 −165 2022-10: 14 commits · +157 −47 2022-11: 3 commits · +7 −4 2022-12: 5 commits · +29 −27 2023-01: 9 commits · +349 −581 2023-02: 7 commits · +51 −63 2023-03: 12 commits · +187 −25 2023-04: 2 commits · +100 −192 2023-05: 4 commits · +20 −8 2023-06: 17 commits · +422 −260 2023-07: 40 commits · +835 −562 2023-08: 30 commits · +210 −359 2023-09: 12 commits · +19 −22 2023-10: 10 commits · +304 −20 2023-11: 13 commits · +208 −257 2023-12: 9 commits · +86 −24 2024-01: 3 commits · +20 −4 2024-02: 19 commits · +299 −181 2024-03: 6 commits · +97 −10 2024-04: 2 commits · +5 −6 2024-05: 13 commits · +476 −426 2024-06: 3 commits · +36 −28 2024-07: 3 commits · +53 −15 2024-08: 26 commits · +479 −191 2024-09: 5 commits · +262 −17 2024-10: 15 commits · +194 −186 2024-11: 8 commits · +1,234 −1,572 2024-12: 11 commits · +1,322 −11 2025-01: 9 commits · +108 −41 2025-02: 17 commits · +802 −80 2025-03: 4 commits · +854 −10 2025-04: 27 commits · +283 −192 2025-05: 8 commits · +232 −36 2025-06: 13 commits · +298 −111 2025-07: 10 commits · +79 −24 2025-08: 10 commits · +224 −1,294 2025-09: 25 commits · +1,150 −384 2025-10: 23 commits · +625 −99 2025-11: 8 commits · +107 −7 2025-12: 3 commits · +96 −4 2026-01: 33 commits · +567 −164 2026-02: 8 commits · +74 −70 2026-03: 3 commits · +17 −6 2026-04: 0 commits · +0 −0

sources

  1. lore.kernel.org

    Upstream maintenance is still active in 2025; linux-mtd carried a patch moving nand_check_erased_ecc_chunk() into nand/core.

  2. lore.kernel.org

    The subsystem received substantial feature work, including hardware ECC engine infrastructure, showing ongoing evolution rather than abandonment.

  3. winbond.com

    Winbond still markets QSPI NAND products for embedded systems, indicating the hardware class is still sold for new designs.

  4. winbond.com

    A Winbond QSPI NAND part page showed an 8Gb serial NAND product updated in November 2025, evidence of current product activity.

  5. my.micron.com

    Micron still lists SLC NAND products, supporting continued availability of NAND flash in current embedded markets.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

`drivers/mtd/nand` is an active subsystem directory, not a dead single-chip driver. lore_activity on `drivers/mtd/nand/core.c` returned 2025 and 2021 linux-mtd patches (URLs above), showing continuing maintenance and feature work; no removal evidence was found before budget limits were hit. web search results for Winbond and Micron product pages show SPI-NAND/SLC NAND still being sold for embedded use in 2025. Because this code covers still-shipping raw NAND/SPI-NAND devices and controllers, there is no natural upstream replacement driver; recommendation is to keep.