Torvalds says AI-driven work is now arriving in the Linux merge window rather than as late fixes
Linux 7.4-rc1 follows a merge window of almost 20,000 commits, about a third more than usual.
Linus Torvalds has posted the first release candidate for Linux kernel version 7.4. In his weekly kernel update, he called it a 'BIG' merge window, with almost 20,000 commits compared with the usual figure of about 15,000. Torvalds said he believes the reason is AI-assisted development. He said he was 'much happier' to see the 'flood of AI triggered work' land during the merge window than to see it show up mostly as extra fixes during the release-candidate period, when the kernel is supposed to be stabilizing. He said he hopes the large number of commits is a sign that AI-generated fixes are becoming part of normal development and that the project has found a 'much healthier model' for handling them. The Register adds that machine-made patches still often get rewritten before they are accepted. For maintainers of one of the most widely used open-source projects, the shift matters because changes that arrive in the merge window get the full test cycle, while a stream of late fixes can unsettle a release that is meant to be stabilizing. The report gives no breakdown of how many 7.4 commits came from AI tools.