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Linux

Linux is an open-source Unix-like operating system kernel originally created by Linus Torvalds. This index catalogs the userspace and kernel programming interfaces exposed by Linux, including system calls, eBPF, ioctl, netlink, procfs, sysfs, GPIO, and security interfaces such as Seccomp, Landlock, and Linux Security Modules. It also covers ecosystem APIs for systemd and PAM.

Linux publishes 10 APIs on the APIs.io network. Tagged areas include Kernel, Linux, Open Source, Operating System, and Unix.

Linux’s developer surface includes documentation and 4 more developer resources.

🌐 Visit website 📡 Source on GitHub
21.5/100 emerging ▬ flat Agent 3/100 human only Full breakdown ↓
scored 2026-08-05 · rubric v0.9.1
AccessFreemium
10 APIs
KernelLinuxOpen SourceOperating SystemUnixUserspace API

Kin Score

Kin Score Kin Score How this is scored →
scored 2026-08-05 · rubric v0.9.1
Composite quality — 21.5/100 · emerging
Contract Quality 0.0 / 25
Developer Ergonomics 3.0 / 20
Commercial Clarity 7.9 / 20
Operational Transparency 4.1 / 13
Governance 0.0 / 12
Discoverability 6.5 / 10
Agent readiness — 3/100 · human only
Machine-Readable Contract 0 / 18
Agentic Access Contract 0 / 10
MCP Server 0 / 12
Machine-Readable Auth 0 / 10
Idempotency 0 / 9
Stable Error Semantics 0 / 8
Request/Response Examples 0 / 7
Rate-Limit Signaling 7 / 7
Typed Event Surface 0 / 6
Agent Skills 0 / 5
Well-Known Catalog 0 / 4
Consent & Bot Identity 0 / 3
A2A Agent Card 0 / 8
Dry-Run / Simulate Mode 0 / 4
Improve this rating by publishing the missing artifacts — every area above can be raised, and the full rubric is at apis.io/rating/. This rating is computed from github.com/api-evangelist/linux: open an issue to ask a question, or submit a pull request to add artifacts. Want it done for you? Prioritized profiling — $2,500 →

APIs 10

Individual APIs this provider publishes, each with its own machine-readable definition.

Linux Kernel Userspace API

The set of stable userspace-facing interfaces exposed by the Linux kernel, including system calls, ioctls, eBPF, futex2, and the netlink protocol.

eBPF Userspace API

Extended Berkeley Packet Filter (eBPF) userspace API for loading and interacting with sandboxed programs running in the kernel.

Netlink API

Socket-based interface for communication between the kernel and userspace, used widely for networking, routing, and device configuration.

Seccomp BPF

SECure COMPuting mode with BPF filters, used to restrict which system calls a process can make for sandboxing and hardening.

Landlock

Unprivileged access-control framework allowing processes to restrict themselves and their descendants from filesystem and network operations.

procfs

Virtual filesystem mounted at /proc that exposes process and kernel information through a file-based interface.

sysfs

Virtual filesystem mounted at /sys that exports kernel object and device information to userspace.

systemd D-Bus API

The system and service manager API exposed by systemd over D-Bus for managing units, services, and the boot process.

Linux PAM

Pluggable Authentication Modules providing flexible, configurable authentication mechanisms for Linux applications.

udev

Device manager for the Linux kernel handling device nodes and hotplug events under /dev.

Scroll for all 10

Pricing Plans 1

Published pricing tiers and plan structures.

Linux Plans Pricing

3 plans

PLANS

Rate Limits 1

Documented rate limits and quota policies.

Linux Rate Limits

5 limits

RATE LIMITS

FinOps 1

Cost, billing, and metering signals for API financial operations.

Linux Finops

FINOPS

Security Posture 1

Authentication, domain security, vulnerability disclosure, and trust-center signals.

Linux Domain Security

TLSv1.3 · HSTS · DMARC

SECURITY

Resources

Documentation 2

Reference material describing how the API behaves

Documentation
Documentation
 Reference
Reference

Access & Security 1

Authentication, authorization, and security posture

DomainSecurity
DomainSecurity

Company 2

The organization behind the API

Website
Website
 Website
Website

Source (apis.yml)

apis.yml Raw ↑ 
aid: linux
name: Linux
description: Linux is an open-source Unix-like operating system kernel originally created by Linus Torvalds. This index catalogs
  the userspace and kernel programming interfaces exposed by Linux, including system calls, eBPF, ioctl, netlink, procfs,
  sysfs, GPIO, and security interfaces such as Seccomp, Landlock, and Linux Security Modules. It also covers ecosystem APIs
  for systemd and PAM.
type: Index
accessModel:
  pricing: freemium
  onboarding: unknown
  trial: false
  try_now: false
  public: false
  label: Freemium
  confidence: medium
  source:
  - plans
  generated: '2026-07-22'
  method: derived
position: Consumer
access: 3rd-Party
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/linux.png
tags:
- Kernel
- Linux
- Open Source
- Operating System
- Unix
- Userspace API
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/linux/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
created: '2024-01-15'
modified: '2026-04-28'
specificationVersion: '0.19'
apis:
- aid: linux:linux-kernel-userspace-api
  name: Linux Kernel Userspace API
  description: The set of stable userspace-facing interfaces exposed by the Linux kernel, including system calls, ioctls,
    eBPF, futex2, and the netlink protocol.
  humanURL: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/userspace-api/index.html
  tags:
  - Kernel
  - Userspace
  - System Calls
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/userspace-api/index.html
  - type: Reference
    url: https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man2/syscalls.2.html
- aid: linux:ebpf-userspace-api
  name: eBPF Userspace API
  description: Extended Berkeley Packet Filter (eBPF) userspace API for loading and interacting with sandboxed programs running
    in the kernel.
  humanURL: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/userspace-api/ebpf/index.html
  tags:
  - eBPF
  - Kernel
  - Observability
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/userspace-api/ebpf/index.html
- aid: linux:netlink-api
  name: Netlink API
  description: Socket-based interface for communication between the kernel and userspace, used widely for networking, routing,
    and device configuration.
  humanURL: https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man7/netlink.7.html
  tags:
  - Networking
  - IPC
  - Kernel
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/userspace-api/netlink/index.html
- aid: linux:seccomp-bpf
  name: Seccomp BPF
  description: SECure COMPuting mode with BPF filters, used to restrict which system calls a process can make for sandboxing
    and hardening.
  humanURL: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/userspace-api/seccomp_filter.html
  tags:
  - Security
  - Sandboxing
  - Syscalls
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/userspace-api/seccomp_filter.html
- aid: linux:landlock
  name: Landlock
  description: Unprivileged access-control framework allowing processes to restrict themselves and their descendants from
    filesystem and network operations.
  humanURL: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/userspace-api/landlock.html
  tags:
  - Security
  - Access Control
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/userspace-api/landlock.html
- aid: linux:procfs
  name: procfs
  description: Virtual filesystem mounted at /proc that exposes process and kernel information through a file-based interface.
  humanURL: https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man5/proc.5.html
  tags:
  - Filesystem
  - Process
  - Monitoring
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/filesystems/proc.html
- aid: linux:sysfs
  name: sysfs
  description: Virtual filesystem mounted at /sys that exports kernel object and device information to userspace.
  humanURL: https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man5/sysfs.5.html
  tags:
  - Filesystem
  - Devices
  - Kernel
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/filesystems/sysfs.html
- aid: linux:systemd-dbus
  name: systemd D-Bus API
  description: The system and service manager API exposed by systemd over D-Bus for managing units, services, and the boot
    process.
  humanURL: https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/dbus/
  tags:
  - systemd
  - D-Bus
  - Service Management
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/
  - type: Reference
    url: https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/dbus/
- aid: linux:linux-pam
  name: Linux PAM
  description: Pluggable Authentication Modules providing flexible, configurable authentication mechanisms for Linux applications.
  humanURL: http://www.linux-pam.org/
  tags:
  - Authentication
  - Security
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: http://www.linux-pam.org/Linux-PAM-html/
- aid: linux:udev
  name: udev
  description: Device manager for the Linux kernel handling device nodes and hotplug events under /dev.
  humanURL: https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/udev.html
  tags:
  - Devices
  - Hardware
  - Hotplug
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/udev.html
common:
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/linux-domain-security.yml
- type: Website
  name: Kernel.org
  description: Home of the Linux kernel project.
  url: https://www.kernel.org/
- type: Documentation
  name: Linux Kernel Documentation
  description: Official kernel documentation tree.
  url: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/
- type: Reference
  name: Linux man-pages
  description: The Linux man-pages project.
  url: https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/
- type: Website
  name: Linux Foundation
  description: The Linux Foundation hosts the Linux kernel project.
  url: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com