Linus Torvalds has just released the Linux 6.17-rc1 kernel, a few hours ahead of his usual release time since he's currently in Europe. This marks the end of the Linux 6.17 merge window, and many exciting changes were merged this cycle. Notably, Linux 6.17 is expected to provide support for Ubuntu 25.10 and other late-2025 Linux distributions.
Some quick highlights for the Linux 6.17 merge window:
Intel Xe3 graphics for Panther Lake are not enabled by default.
Standardize keycodes for "Performance Boost" keys on related laptops,
The gconfig kernel configuration editor has been updated to use GTK3, various filesystem performance improvements,
Adding more Rust language,
Attack vector control makes it easier to manage relevant CPU security mitigations,
Multi-GPU preparation for SR-IOV and Project Battlematrix for Intel Battlemage graphics,
New ARM and RISC-V SoC support and many other changes.
Linux 6.17 is another busy development cycle, but no updates to the Bcachefs file system have been incorporated. Someone submitted a Bcachefs pull request containing the new feature code, but it was not merged and Linus Torvalds did not comment.
Feature changes to RISC-V were also rejected this cycle, another notable surprise.
Linux 6.17-rc1 is now open for testing, and if additional release candidates are not necessary, the stable version of Linux 6.17 should be released in late September or early October.
Linus Torvalds posted a 6.17-rc1 mailing list thread. There was nothing special in the mailing list message, and he didn't comment on Bcachefs plans.