diff --git a/doc/release-notes/rl-2611.section.md b/doc/release-notes/rl-2611.section.md
index 5e674df1f8da..20aa808653cd 100644
--- a/doc/release-notes/rl-2611.section.md
+++ b/doc/release-notes/rl-2611.section.md
@@ -19,6 +19,13 @@
 
 - `uhttpmock` providing 0.0 ABI was removed. `uhttpmock_1_0` providing 1.0 ABI was renamed to `uhttpmock` and `uhttpmock_1_0` was kept as an alias.
 
+- Linux kernel configuration has been moved out of the `linux-kernel` field of the platform structure into the kernel builders:
+  - `linux-kernel.name` has been removed.
+  - `linux-kernel.target` is available as the `target` parameter and passthru attribute on the kernel builders.
+  - `linux-kernel.installTarget` has been removed, as it should not be necessary to customize.
+  - `linux-kernel.DTB` is available as the `buildDTBs` parameter and passthru attribute on the kernel builders.
+  - `linux-kernel.{autoModules,preferBuiltin,extraConfig}` were already available as kernel builder parameters.
+
 - The ARMv5 Linux kernel build now uses a standard configuration and generates a standard compressed image instead of the deprecated legacy U‐Boot image format.
   `lib.systems.{examples,platforms}.{sheevaplug,pogoplug4}` have been unified into `lib.systems.examples.armv5tel-multiplatform`.
   Note that there is no official support for ARMv5 and it is not possible to build even a simple NixOS configuration out of the box.
diff --git a/lib/systems/default.nix b/lib/systems/default.nix
index 0df2efacdfcb..53c095711aef 100644
--- a/lib/systems/default.nix
+++ b/lib/systems/default.nix
@@ -299,12 +299,10 @@ let
         inherit
           (
             {
-              linux-kernel = args.linux-kernel or { };
               gcc = args.gcc or { };
             }
             // platforms.select final
           )
-          linux-kernel
           gcc
           ;
 
@@ -692,6 +690,11 @@ let
         };
       };
     in
+    # TODO: Remove in 27.05.
+    assert
+      args ? linux-kernel
+      -> throw "lib.systems.elaborate: linux-kernel has been removed; see the 26.11 release notes";
+
     assert final.useAndroidPrebuilt -> final.isAndroid;
     assert foldl' (pass: { assertion, message }: if assertion final then pass else throw message) true (
       final.parsed.abi.assertions or [ ]
diff --git a/lib/systems/platforms.nix b/lib/systems/platforms.nix
index 7c49b40e53d4..bf10364f796c 100644
--- a/lib/systems/platforms.nix
+++ b/lib/systems/platforms.nix
@@ -3,74 +3,21 @@
 # targetPlatform, etc) containing at least the minimal set of attrs
 # required (see types.parsedPlatform in lib/systems/parse.nix).  This
 # file takes an already-valid platform and further elaborates it with
-# optional fields; currently these are: linux-kernel, gcc, and rustc.
+# optional fields; currently these are: gcc, and rustc.
 
 { lib }:
 rec {
-  pc = {
-    linux-kernel = {
-      name = "pc";
-
-      baseConfig = "defconfig";
-      # Build whatever possible as a module, if not stated in the extra config.
-      autoModules = true;
-      target = "bzImage";
-    };
-  };
-
-  ##
-  ## POWER
-  ##
-
-  powernv = {
-    linux-kernel = {
-      name = "PowerNV";
-
-      baseConfig = "powernv_defconfig";
-      target = "vmlinux";
-      autoModules = true;
-    };
-  };
-
-  ppc64 = {
-    linux-kernel = {
-      name = "powerpc64";
-
-      baseConfig = "ppc64_defconfig";
-      target = "vmlinux";
-      autoModules = true;
-    };
-  };
-
   ##
   ## ARM
   ##
 
   armv5tel-multiplatform = {
-    linux-kernel = {
-      name = "armv5tel-multiplatform";
-
-      baseConfig = "multi_v5_defconfig";
-      DTB = true;
-      autoModules = true;
-      preferBuiltin = true;
-      target = "zImage";
-    };
     gcc = {
       arch = "armv5te";
     };
   };
 
   raspberrypi = {
-    linux-kernel = {
-      name = "raspberrypi";
-
-      baseConfig = "bcm2835_defconfig";
-      DTB = true;
-      autoModules = true;
-      preferBuiltin = true;
-      target = "zImage";
-    };
     gcc = {
       # https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raspberry_Pi#Specifications
       arch = "armv6kz";
@@ -105,7 +52,6 @@ rec {
 
   # https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/abis#v7a
   armv7a-android = {
-    linux-kernel.name = "armeabi-v7a";
     gcc = {
       arch = "armv7-a";
       float-abi = "softfp";
@@ -114,14 +60,6 @@ rec {
   };
 
   armv7l-hf-multiplatform = {
-    linux-kernel = {
-      name = "armv7l-hf-multiplatform";
-      baseConfig = "defconfig";
-      DTB = true;
-      autoModules = true;
-      preferBuiltin = true;
-      target = "zImage";
-    };
     gcc = {
       # Some table about fpu flags:
       # http://community.arm.com/servlet/JiveServlet/showImage/38-1981-3827/blogentry-103749-004812900+1365712953_thumb.png
@@ -146,14 +84,6 @@ rec {
   };
 
   aarch64-multiplatform = {
-    linux-kernel = {
-      name = "aarch64-multiplatform";
-      baseConfig = "defconfig";
-      DTB = true;
-      autoModules = true;
-      preferBuiltin = true;
-      target = "Image";
-    };
     gcc = {
       arch = "armv8-a";
     };
@@ -171,9 +101,6 @@ rec {
   ##
 
   ben_nanonote = {
-    linux-kernel = {
-      name = "ben_nanonote";
-    };
     gcc = {
       arch = "mips32";
       float = "soft";
@@ -230,17 +157,6 @@ rec {
   ## Other
   ##
 
-  riscv-multiplatform = {
-    linux-kernel = {
-      name = "riscv-multiplatform";
-      target = "Image";
-      autoModules = true;
-      preferBuiltin = true;
-      baseConfig = "defconfig";
-      DTB = true;
-    };
-  };
-
   loongarch64-multiplatform = {
     gcc = {
       # https://github.com/loongson/la-softdev-convention/blob/master/la-softdev-convention.adoc#10-operating-system-package-build-requirements
@@ -252,14 +168,6 @@ rec {
       # https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/pull/132173
       cmodel = "medium";
     };
-    linux-kernel = {
-      name = "loongarch-multiplatform";
-      target = "vmlinuz.efi";
-      autoModules = true;
-      preferBuiltin = true;
-      baseConfig = "defconfig";
-      DTB = true;
-    };
   };
 
   # This function takes a minimally-valid "platform" and returns an
@@ -267,17 +175,13 @@ rec {
   # included in the platform in order to further elaborate it.
   select =
     platform:
-    # x86
-    if platform.isx86 then
-      pc
-
     # ARM
-    else if platform.isAarch32 then
+    if platform.isAarch32 then
       let
         version = platform.parsed.cpu.version or null;
       in
       if version == null then
-        pc
+        { }
       else if lib.versionOlder version "6" then
         armv5tel-multiplatform
       else if lib.versionOlder version "7" then
@@ -291,24 +195,9 @@ rec {
     else if platform.isLoongArch64 then
       loongarch64-multiplatform
 
-    else if platform.isRiscV then
-      riscv-multiplatform
-
     else if platform.parsed.cpu == lib.systems.parse.cpuTypes.mipsel then
       (import ./examples.nix { inherit lib; }).mipsel-linux-gnu
 
-    else if platform.isPower64 then
-      if platform.isLittleEndian then powernv else ppc64
-
-    else if platform.isSh4 then
-      {
-        linux-kernel = {
-          target = "vmlinux";
-          # SH arch doesn't have a 'make install' target.
-          installTarget = "vmlinux";
-        };
-      }
-
     else
       { };
 }
diff --git a/nixos/modules/hardware/device-tree.nix b/nixos/modules/hardware/device-tree.nix
index dab3488b320e..3ba99cefcb20 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/hardware/device-tree.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/hardware/device-tree.nix
@@ -123,7 +123,8 @@ in
   options = {
     hardware.deviceTree = {
       enable = lib.mkOption {
-        default = pkgs.stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.DTB or false;
+        default = config.boot.kernelPackages.kernel.buildDTBs;
+        defaultText = lib.literalExpression "config.boot.kernelPackages.kernel.buildDTBs";
         type = lib.types.bool;
         description = ''
           Build device tree files. These are used to describe the
diff --git a/nixos/modules/installer/netboot/netboot.nix b/nixos/modules/installer/netboot/netboot.nix
index 4b5593d37d88..6e589f6cde3d 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/installer/netboot/netboot.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/installer/netboot/netboot.nix
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ with lib;
       #!ipxe
       # Use the cmdline variable to allow the user to specify custom kernel params
       # when chainloading this script from other iPXE scripts like netboot.xyz
-      kernel ${pkgs.stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.target} init=${config.system.build.toplevel}/init initrd=initrd ${toString config.boot.kernelParams} ''${cmdline}
+      kernel ${config.boot.kernelPackages.kernel.target} init=${config.system.build.toplevel}/init initrd=initrd ${toString config.boot.kernelParams} ''${cmdline}
       initrd initrd
       boot
     '';
diff --git a/nixos/modules/system/activation/top-level.nix b/nixos/modules/system/activation/top-level.nix
index e7f569fd78e5..2a05a18f83b7 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/system/activation/top-level.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/system/activation/top-level.nix
@@ -139,8 +139,8 @@ in
 
     system.boot.loader.kernelFile = mkOption {
       internal = true;
-      default = pkgs.stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.target;
-      defaultText = literalExpression "pkgs.stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.target";
+      default = config.boot.kernelPackages.kernel.target;
+      defaultText = literalExpression "config.boot.kernelPackages.kernel.target";
       type = types.str;
       description = ''
         Name of the kernel file to be passed to the bootloader.
diff --git a/nixos/modules/system/boot/loader/generations-dir/generations-dir.nix b/nixos/modules/system/boot/loader/generations-dir/generations-dir.nix
index 75d83d3190a3..705778c99e8c 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/system/boot/loader/generations-dir/generations-dir.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/system/boot/loader/generations-dir/generations-dir.nix
@@ -66,7 +66,6 @@ in
 
     system.build.installBootLoader = generationsDirBuilder;
     system.boot.loader.id = "generationsDir";
-    system.boot.loader.kernelFile = pkgs.stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.target;
 
   };
 }
diff --git a/nixos/release.nix b/nixos/release.nix
index eb86134241d8..efc2570c5a70 100644
--- a/nixos/release.nix
+++ b/nixos/release.nix
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ let
     tarball
     // {
       meta = {
-        description = "NixOS system tarball for ${system} - ${stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.name}";
+        description = "NixOS system tarball for ${system}";
         maintainers = map (x: lib.maintainers.${x}) maintainers;
       };
       inherit config;
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ let
         modules = makeModules module { };
       };
       build = configEvaled.config.system.build;
-      kernelTarget = configEvaled.pkgs.stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.target;
+      kernelTarget = build.kernel.target;
     in
     configEvaled.pkgs.symlinkJoin {
       name = "netboot";
diff --git a/pkgs/build-support/vm/default.nix b/pkgs/build-support/vm/default.nix
index 6be7d9ebb3f4..95e44929ddc9 100644
--- a/pkgs/build-support/vm/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/build-support/vm/default.nix
@@ -27,11 +27,10 @@
 
   # ----------------------------
   # The following  arguments form the "interface" of `pkgs.vmTools`.
-  # Note that `img` is a real package, but is set to this default in `all-packages.nix`.
   # ----------------------------
   customQemu ? null,
   kernel ? linux,
-  img ? stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.target,
+  img ? kernel.target,
   storeDir ? builtins.storeDir,
   rootModules ? [
     "virtio_pci"
diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/build.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/build.nix
index 23a08f5beaa4..8d727aa521fb 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/build.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/build.nix
@@ -63,6 +63,19 @@ lib.makeOverridable (
     kernelPatches ? [ ],
     # The kernel .config file
     configfile,
+    target ?
+      if stdenv.hostPlatform.isx86 then
+        "bzImage"
+      else if stdenv.hostPlatform.isAarch32 then
+        "zImage"
+      else if stdenv.hostPlatform.isAarch64 || stdenv.hostPlatform.isRiscV then
+        "Image"
+      else if stdenv.hostPlatform.isLoongArch64 then
+        "vmlinuz.efi"
+      else
+        "vmlinux",
+    buildDTBs ?
+      stdenv.hostPlatform.isAarch || stdenv.hostPlatform.isRiscV || stdenv.hostPlatform.isLoongArch64,
     # Manually specified nixexpr representing the config
     # If unspecified, this will be autodetected from the .config
     config ? lib.optionalAttrs (builtins.isPath configfile || allowImportFromDerivation) (
@@ -139,9 +152,7 @@ lib.makeOverridable (
     isModular = config.isYes "MODULES";
     withRust = config.isYes "RUST";
 
-    target = stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.target or "vmlinux";
-
-    buildDTBs = stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.DTB or false;
+    inherit buildDTBs target;
 
     # Dependencies that are required to build kernel modules
     moduleBuildDependencies = [
@@ -204,7 +215,7 @@ lib.makeOverridable (
 
     buildFlags = [
       "KBUILD_BUILD_VERSION=1-NixOS"
-      stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.target
+      target
       "vmlinux" # for "perf" and things like that
       "scripts_gdb"
     ]
@@ -496,6 +507,8 @@ lib.makeOverridable (
         config
         kernelPatches
         configfile
+        target
+        buildDTBs
         moduleBuildDependencies
         stdenv
         commonMakeFlags
@@ -511,7 +524,7 @@ lib.makeOverridable (
 
     # Some image types need special install targets
     installTargets = [
-      (stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.installTarget or (
+      (
         if
           (target == "zImage" || target == "Image.gz" || target == "vmlinuz.efi")
           && builtins.elem stdenv.hostPlatform.linuxArch [
@@ -525,7 +538,6 @@ lib.makeOverridable (
         else
           "install"
       )
-      )
     ];
 
     karch = stdenv.hostPlatform.linuxArch;
diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/common-config.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/common-config.nix
index f46e25f2c6be..8b61a9822f6d 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/common-config.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/common-config.nix
@@ -1130,7 +1130,7 @@ let
         useZstd = stdenv.buildPlatform.is64bit;
       in
       {
-        # stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.target assumes uncompressed on RISC-V.
+        # The default target assumes uncompressed on RISC-V.
         KERNEL_UNCOMPRESSED = lib.mkIf stdenv.hostPlatform.isRiscV yes;
 
         KERNEL_XZ = lib.mkIf (
diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/common-flags.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/common-flags.nix
index 410a112825ee..7e5b72d490d0 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/common-flags.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/common-flags.nix
@@ -36,5 +36,4 @@
     "CFLAGS_KERNEL=-I${clangLib}/lib/clang/${majorVer}/include"
   ]
 )
-++ (stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.makeFlags or [ ])
 ++ extraMakeFlags
diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/generic.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/generic.nix
index f1e46a32b9c1..30c356823ddc 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/generic.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/generic.nix
@@ -32,7 +32,16 @@ lib.makeOverridable (
     version,
 
     # Allows overriding the default defconfig
-    defconfig ? null,
+    # TODO: Reconsider some of these defaults?
+    defconfig ?
+      if stdenv.hostPlatform.isAarch32 && stdenv.hostPlatform.parsed.cpu.version or null == "5" then
+        "multi_v5_defconfig"
+      else if stdenv.hostPlatform.isAarch32 && stdenv.hostPlatform.parsed.cpu.version or null == "6" then
+        "bcm2835_defconfig"
+      else if stdenv.hostPlatform.isPower64 then
+        if stdenv.hostPlatform.isLittleEndian then "powernv_defconfig" else "ppc64_defconfig"
+      else
+        "defconfig",
 
     # Legacy overrides to the intermediate kernel config, as string
     extraConfig ? "",
@@ -66,20 +75,17 @@ lib.makeOverridable (
     # symbolic name and `patch' is the actual patch.  The patch may
     # optionally be compressed with gzip or bzip2.
     kernelPatches ? [ ],
-    ignoreConfigErrors ?
-      !lib.elem stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.name or "" [
-        "aarch64-multiplatform"
-        "pc"
-      ],
+    ignoreConfigErrors ? !(stdenv.hostPlatform.isx86 || stdenv.hostPlatform.isAarch64),
     extraMeta ? { },
     extraPassthru ? { },
 
     isLTS ? false,
     isZen ? false,
 
-    # easy overrides to stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel members
-    autoModules ? stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.autoModules or true,
-    preferBuiltin ? stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.preferBuiltin or false,
+    autoModules ? true,
+    # TODO: Remove this default?
+    preferBuiltin ?
+      stdenv.hostPlatform.isAarch || stdenv.hostPlatform.isRiscV || stdenv.hostPlatform.isLoongArch64,
     kernelArch ? stdenv.hostPlatform.linuxArch,
     kernelTests ? { },
 
@@ -116,9 +122,7 @@ lib.makeOverridable (
     intermediateNixConfig =
       configfile.moduleStructuredConfig.intermediateNixConfig
       # extra config in legacy string format
-      + extraConfig
-      # need the 'or ""' at the end in case enableCommonConfig = true and extraConfig is not present
-      + lib.optionalString enableCommonConfig stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.extraConfig or "";
+      + extraConfig;
 
     structuredConfigFromPatches = map (
       {
@@ -205,8 +209,7 @@ lib.makeOverridable (
       buildPhase =
         let
           # e.g. "defconfig"
-          kernelBaseConfig =
-            if defconfig != null then defconfig else stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.baseConfig or "defconfig";
+          kernelBaseConfig = defconfig;
           kernelIntermediateConfig = writeText "kernel-intermediate-config" (
             kernelConfigFun intermediateNixConfig
           );
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
index 30674f248999..08e2ffcc2826 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
@@ -909,9 +909,7 @@ with pkgs;
     inherit (darwin) signingUtils;
   };
 
-  vmTools = callPackage ../build-support/vm {
-    img = stdenv.hostPlatform.linux-kernel.target;
-  };
+  vmTools = callPackage ../build-support/vm { };
 
   releaseTools = callPackage ../build-support/release { };