Any kernel driver repository/wiki out there?

[coalms]

It's a conundrum whenever I compile a kernel if the drivers I picked will work with my hardware or not. Sound codecs specifically are a headache, I have had times where output to input loopback was a thing so in voice chats everyone could hear me gaming so I was forces to push to talk.

I am currently compiling a new kernel to see if the reason pipewire doesn't work is because of my codec selection even though alsa does.
Where or how do you usually search for the right kernel drivers for your architecture?

[Banana]

If it comes to alsa there is https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/ALSA and https://docs.kernel.org/sound/hd-audio/models.html. The Gentoo wikid describes a way how to find the right kernel module.

For other hardware the best way will be to find the device id with any of the hardware detection tools https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Hardware_detection and then search for the id and linux kernel with your prefered search tool

[psycho]

Where or how do you usually search for the right kernel drivers for your architecture?

In the unlikely event that you can't find the documentation from searching, you can just throw everything at it and see what it uses. With hardware drivers like ALSA audio drivers, the kernel won't load modules for hardware that isn't present... so you can just build every driver you think your chipset could possibly be (as modules), see which one your kernel actually loads, and then rebuild disabling all the others.

In fact you don't even need to disable the others: that's how generic (prebuilt) distro kernels work, providing a huge range of modules and allowing the kernel to pick what it needs based on the hardware it detects. But, if you want a lean, tidy little kernel with only the drivers you need, booting a generic one and then using lsmod to see what it loaded can work as a clumsy way to identify your drivers. There is also a make localmodconfig method for going straight from the running modules to a kernel .config (obviously you need to plug in webcams, USB drivers, printers and anything else you want built before attempting it), although I don't use that myself so can't vouch for it.