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Linux kernel — the operating-system core that manages hardware and system resources

OSS scale score Not calculatedOSS health 78Update pace 2,660 commits/30d
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OSS scale score is an unbounded metric that log-compresses and weights Stars, Watchers, Forks, and Contributors. Discovery score is the current OSS scale score minus the score at discovery. Update pace is commits in the last 30 days, growth momentum is the OSS scale score difference within the recent observation window, and OSS health is a 0–100 rating based on available recency, Community Health, and release data.

Stars
249,556
Primary language
C
License
GPL-2.0-only WITH Linux-syscall-note
Repository last updated
Sep 19, 2026

Overview

The Linux kernel manages CPUs, memory, devices, processes, filesystems, networking, and other core services used by software running on Linux. This repository is the kernel source tree and serves developers, researchers, security engineers, maintainers, hardware vendors, and system administrators. It is not a Linux distribution itself.

Features and best fit

Based on official documentation; not hands-on tested · Content checked:

Study core operating-system subsystems from source

The tree contains implementations and documentation for memory management, scheduling, networking, filesystems, power management, device drivers, and other kernel facilities.

Sources: [2]

Use role-specific documentation for development and debugging

The README links to development-process, Driver API, administrator, security, maintenance, and patch-submission documentation for different kernel workflows.

Sources: [2]

For kernel development, research, and low-level systems work

The source is relevant to hardware enablement, operating-system research, performance and security analysis, stable-kernel maintenance, and distribution engineering.

Sources: [2]

Prepare recovery options before installing a self-built kernel

The official trimmed-build guide calls out backups, Secure Boot, build dependencies, disk space, and installation considerations. Keep a known-good boot path before replacing a running kernel.

Sources: [4]

Official sources

  1. [1]torvalds/linux repository(2026-09-20)
  2. [2]Linux kernel README(2026-09-20)
  3. [3]Linux kernel COPYING(2026-09-20)
  4. [4]Linux kernel trimmed build guide(2026-09-20)
Supplemental curator note

This is the kernel source tree rather than a Linux distribution installer. When experimenting with builds, follow the official build guide and prepare a recovery path before replacing a running kernel.

Try it in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Review the official build guide

    Check backups, Secure Boot, required build tools, and disk space before compiling.

    https://docs.kernel.org/admin-guide/quickly-build-trimmed-linux.html
  2. 2

    Configure for the current system

    Use the trimmed-build path to derive a smaller configuration from modules used by the current system.

    yes "" | make localmodconfig
  3. 3

    Build the kernel

    Verify a successful build first. Before install or reboot, keep a known-good kernel and recovery path available.

    make -j $(nproc --all)
Check the official README

Growth

Growth trends · Last 30 days

249,556 Stars

Trend data is still being collected.

Development activity

Last 90 days · weekly

Commits (last 30 days)
2,660
Open PRs
0
Issues opened
0
Issues closed
0
PRs opened
0
PRs merged
0

Issues

0 / 0

Jun 23Sep 20
Issues openedIssues closed

Pull requests

0 / 0

Jun 23Sep 20
PRs openedPRs merged

Maintenance

Median first response
Not specified
Issue response rate
No eligible issues

Based on up to the 100 newest issues opened by external users in the last 90 days. A first comment from an OWNER, MEMBER, or COLLABORATOR counts as a response; issues whose full comment history cannot be checked are excluded. The median and response rate update weekly.

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GitHub data

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Stars
249,556
Forks
65,193
Watchers
8,429
Open issues
0
Primary language
C
Repository last updated
Sep 19, 2026
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