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By Zayden R., September 18, 2026
Lorenzo Stoakes has released a series of patches that promise to reduce Linux kernel build times by up to 70%. This is a significant update for developers looking to enhance their workflow efficiency.
Linux kernel developers have something to cheer about as Arm engineer Lorenzo Stoakes unveils a series of patches that could drastically reduce kernel build times. The third revision of these patches, comprising 20 updates, targets bottlenecks in the Linux kernel build process, potentially slashing incremental build times by up to 70%. This could be ready just in time for the upcoming Linux 7.4 release.
The patches, which have been rebased against the latest upstream Linux Git, address various inefficiencies identified with the help of AI. This collaboration between human ingenuity and AI-driven insights is a boon for developers who often find themselves waiting for builds to complete. As Phoronix reports, the improvements show promising results across different hardware architectures. For example, Apple Silicon's M2 SoC sees a 55% faster incremental build time when using Clang, while AMD's EPYC and Threadripper processors also exhibit substantial gains.
These enhancements are not just about incremental builds; even full kernel builds and no-op builds see significant reductions in compile times. On the Apple M2, a full kernel build is 10% faster, and a no-op build is up to 76% faster. Such efficiency improvements could reshape how developers approach kernel development, allowing them to focus more on coding and less on waiting.
For sysadmins and developers compiling the Linux kernel from source, the anticipated time savings are not just a luxury but a necessity in today's fast-paced development environments. The patches are currently under review on the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML), and if all goes well, these optimizations will be part of the Linux 7.4 release. This update marks a significant stride in the quest for more efficient development tools.