> Linux 7.1 is also notable for its code removals. Driven by AI-assisted bug reporting, ISDN and other old network driver code was removed to avoid that influx of bug reporting against those very rarely touched or used drivers for obsolete hardware.
Moving really old and unused code out of the kernel just to get less AI-assisted bug reports is IMO one of the best consequence ever of AI.
I love it.
We should start trimming the fat out of everything.
I know it's a bit of a meme but I'm on Debian Stable and I am running the backport kernel, which is on version 6.19. So only one minor version away from the current 7.0.
I wish more people would consider Debian for their devices. It is a very stable system, which I appreciate, and, unlike Ubuntu, it was really an "it just works" experience, without any of the friction points that smaller distros have. I installed Debian Trixie on a very recent device (granted, all AMD for compatibility) when Trixie was still the Testing version, and all the necessary drivers were present.
Now if only I could figure out how to build packages and contribute back to Debian... Also if only AMD could get their NPU support for Linux figured out...
Probably because it got popular as the easy Linux distro back in the 2000s and that label is sticking.
I remember that I attempted to install Debian on my laptop in 2009. It was ugly. I installed Ubuntu 8.04 and it was a totally different and much nicer experience. Because of that I've been on Ubuntu until they started pushing snaps very aggressively. I live booted Debian 11 and realized that its UI was exactly the same. I don't know when it happened during that dozen of years but there wasn't anymore a reason to stick to Ubuntu. I installed Debian 11 and got a faster machine with less background processes. I'm on Debian 13 now. I've been told that KDE is much better than what I attempted to use in 2014 so maybe I could give it a try, but it's unclear to me what I have to gain.
It’s fairly easy to build your own kernel packages from vanilla sources in Debian. I’m running the latest 7.0.x within a few hours of its release. The build takes about 30-45 minutes depending on how much time I spend on skimming the ChangeLog. YMMV.
I did that for a while because of compatibility issues with a newer laptop, it works but generally if there is no reason it's way easier to stay with the provided packages. Compiling weekly due to security patches becomes annoying over time for no real gain other than the version number
If you don't actually need all the drivers, you can use "make localmodconfig" to substantially reduce that. My local kernels build in 90 seconds on a 32-thread desktop machine :)
The kernel is a lot more stable than people think: I run the daily linux-next on my Debian stable gaming PC to look for bugs, and I don't find very many.
Wouldn't Forky/14 have this or newer when it releases next year? Debian moves slow - deliberately so, if you want fast use Arch or Fedora - but it does move.
Not a serious question but I'll give a serious answer anyway.
The last time I worried over which kernel was used in Debian Stable was... never. If I want a more recent kernel I run Debian unstable (Sid) which currently is at 7.0.12 (the current 'stable' kernel where 7.1 is 'mainline') but on my servers Stable (currently 'Trixie') does just fine with its 6.17.3 kernel. Debian 'Forky' will be released somewhere in 2027 with either a 7.0.x or 7.1.x kernel depending on how things go. The current kernel used in 'testing' (which will become 'stable' on the next release) is 7.0.10.
People don't usually understand that apt allows you to configure multiple sources across versions simultaneously, so you can e.g. run stable, but also selectively install from backports or unstable.
To do so, add the sources for trixie-backports and unstable, and add the following configuration (e.g. /etc/apt/preferences.d/trixie-sid-pin) so that the system knows which sources your prefer:
# Default to trixie
Package: *
Pin: release n=trixie
Pin-Priority: 990
# Very low priority for sid
Package: *
Pin: release n=unstable
Pin-Priority: 100
# Give backports medium priority
Package: *
Pin: release n=trixie-backports
Pin-Priority: 500
Now the system can access the latest kernel from unstable (and backports), while keeping everything else on stable:
Is there anything particularly interesting about this? The first number of the version changes when the second number gets too big, not for any other reason.
Yeah, it gets boring when the number change doesn't change and try improving everything at once, but the great thing is that freshness improves driven by number fomo and that tightens the improvement loop.
Exciting and risky things are always under flags, so if you really care you just build, configure, and bench your own kernel+system.
- "Anyway, possible slight hiccups in the merge window aside, the news
today is 7.1."
- "nothing particularly interesting or scary stands out, which is as it should
be."
Did anyone see an anime avatar flash by for a fraction of a second before the content loaded? What was that?
Anubis: https://github.com/TecharoHQ/anubis
blog post (pretty sure I've seen it on HN before) on the topic:
https://lock.cmpxchg8b.com/anubis.html
But not a very accurate blogpost. "Here's why this literally cannot work (in theory)" to denigrate a system that actually works in practice.
Anubis bot protection: https://anubis.techaro.lol
That’s Anubis. [0]
[0]: https://anubis.techaro.lol
> Linux 7.1 is also notable for its code removals. Driven by AI-assisted bug reporting, ISDN and other old network driver code was removed to avoid that influx of bug reporting against those very rarely touched or used drivers for obsolete hardware.
Moving really old and unused code out of the kernel just to get less AI-assisted bug reports is IMO one of the best consequence ever of AI.
I love it.
We should start trimming the fat out of everything.
Is it safe to assume we can see this in Debian Stable around 2036?
The most recent Linux kernel releases are: 7.1, 7.0, 6.19, 6.18, …:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_kernel_version_history
7.0 is already present in forky (current testing), and available as a backport for trixie (current stable):
* https://packages.debian.org/search?keywords=linux-image-amd6...
* https://packages.debian.org/trixie-backports/linux-image-amd...
The default kernel for trixie/stable is 6.12, initially released in November 2024, and officially supported upstream until December 2028.
Just hope there’s never a Lillypad version
I know it's a bit of a meme but I'm on Debian Stable and I am running the backport kernel, which is on version 6.19. So only one minor version away from the current 7.0.
I wish more people would consider Debian for their devices. It is a very stable system, which I appreciate, and, unlike Ubuntu, it was really an "it just works" experience, without any of the friction points that smaller distros have. I installed Debian Trixie on a very recent device (granted, all AMD for compatibility) when Trixie was still the Testing version, and all the necessary drivers were present.
Now if only I could figure out how to build packages and contribute back to Debian... Also if only AMD could get their NPU support for Linux figured out...
I’ll never understand why people like Ubuntu. It’s a really hard toss up for me if I’d rather be stuck with Ubuntu or windows.
Probably because it got popular as the easy Linux distro back in the 2000s and that label is sticking.
I remember that I attempted to install Debian on my laptop in 2009. It was ugly. I installed Ubuntu 8.04 and it was a totally different and much nicer experience. Because of that I've been on Ubuntu until they started pushing snaps very aggressively. I live booted Debian 11 and realized that its UI was exactly the same. I don't know when it happened during that dozen of years but there wasn't anymore a reason to stick to Ubuntu. I installed Debian 11 and got a faster machine with less background processes. I'm on Debian 13 now. I've been told that KDE is much better than what I attempted to use in 2014 so maybe I could give it a try, but it's unclear to me what I have to gain.
It’s fairly easy to build your own kernel packages from vanilla sources in Debian. I’m running the latest 7.0.x within a few hours of its release. The build takes about 30-45 minutes depending on how much time I spend on skimming the ChangeLog. YMMV.
I did that for a while because of compatibility issues with a newer laptop, it works but generally if there is no reason it's way easier to stay with the provided packages. Compiling weekly due to security patches becomes annoying over time for no real gain other than the version number
> The build takes about 30-45 minutes
If you don't actually need all the drivers, you can use "make localmodconfig" to substantially reduce that. My local kernels build in 90 seconds on a 32-thread desktop machine :)
The kernel is a lot more stable than people think: I run the daily linux-next on my Debian stable gaming PC to look for bugs, and I don't find very many.
I miss the days when my 486 took about 12 hours to compile a kernel
Or it took >15 minutes to generate PGP 2.x private keys due to entropy generation and prime calculations/tests.
what about your carbon footprint
I build using excess solar from my house. The build host is a small arm64 SBC that doesn’t require cooling in my passively cooled garage.
The resources behind your post likely have a larger carbon footprint.
Turn the shed light off overnight and you’re at net zero
Wouldn't Forky/14 have this or newer when it releases next year? Debian moves slow - deliberately so, if you want fast use Arch or Fedora - but it does move.
Not a serious question but I'll give a serious answer anyway.
The last time I worried over which kernel was used in Debian Stable was... never. If I want a more recent kernel I run Debian unstable (Sid) which currently is at 7.0.12 (the current 'stable' kernel where 7.1 is 'mainline') but on my servers Stable (currently 'Trixie') does just fine with its 6.17.3 kernel. Debian 'Forky' will be released somewhere in 2027 with either a 7.0.x or 7.1.x kernel depending on how things go. The current kernel used in 'testing' (which will become 'stable' on the next release) is 7.0.10.
People don't usually understand that apt allows you to configure multiple sources across versions simultaneously, so you can e.g. run stable, but also selectively install from backports or unstable.
To do so, add the sources for trixie-backports and unstable, and add the following configuration (e.g. /etc/apt/preferences.d/trixie-sid-pin) so that the system knows which sources your prefer:
Now the system can access the latest kernel from unstable (and backports), while keeping everything else on stable: I believe the kernel in backports gets updated only after it is live in unstable for at least a week, which lately still feels like forever.Is there anything particularly interesting about this? The first number of the version changes when the second number gets too big, not for any other reason.
If you have an ad blocker, https://www.phoronix.com/review/linux-71-features-changes is a nice summary.
Yeah, my favorite $6 Linux machine is now supported (somewhat). :)
What SoC?
Breaking: Linus is on travel.
Did I miss something about this or is it just another number?
Yeah, it gets boring when the number change doesn't change and try improving everything at once, but the great thing is that freshness improves driven by number fomo and that tightens the improvement loop.
Exciting and risky things are always under flags, so if you really care you just build, configure, and bench your own kernel+system.
- "Anyway, possible slight hiccups in the merge window aside, the news today is 7.1." - "nothing particularly interesting or scary stands out, which is as it should be."
So, a number.
He's just writing about the changes since last week. Not about 7.1 as a whole. No last minute scary things means 7.1 released as planned.
But 7.1 new features can still be exciting.