Linux kernel version history

This article documents the broad, wide version history of the Linux kernel, a free, open-source, and Unix-like kernel that is used on many computer systems and web servers worldwide. Since the Linux kernel's creation by Linus Torvalds in 1991, it had rapidly gained popularity as many developers started contributing to the project. The kernel became self-hosting as of version 0.11 in December 1991. The version 1.0.0 of the kernel was released on March 1994¹, which consisted of around 176,250 lines in the original unmodified source code. The most recent stable release of the Linux kernel is , which was released on .

This article documents the broad, wide version history of the Linux kernel, a free, open-source, and Unix-like kernel that is used on many computer systems and web servers worldwide. Since the Linux kernel's creation by Linus Torvalds in 1991, it had rapidly gained popularity as many developers started contributing to the project. The kernel became self-hosting as of version 0.11 in December 1991. The version 1.0.0 of the kernel was released on March 1994, which consisted of around 176,250 lines in the original unmodified source code. The most recent stable release of the Linux kernel is , which was released on . ==Explanation== In contrast to semantic versioning, the major version carries no intrinsic meaning for the kernel, as Linux promises stable interfaces and behavior even when the major version changes. However, since version 3.x, minor versions have been capped around 20 to avoid the false perception that changes between large minor versions (e.g. from 5.30 to 5.31) would be less voluminous or impactful than changes between smaller minor versions (e.g. from 6.1 to 6.2). Each feature release identified by the first two numbers of a release version is designated one of the following levels of support: Stable/Mainline; supported until next stable version and/or 3 months after that. Long-term support (LTS); releases are maintained for a few years. Super-long-term support (SLTS); releases maintained further for many more years by the Civil Infrastructure Platform (CIP). ==Overview== ==Releases 5.x.y== ==Releases 4.x.y== ==Releases 3.x.y== The jump from 2.6.x to 3.x wasn't because of a breaking update, but rather the first release of a new versioning scheme introduced as a more convenient system. ==Releases 2.6.x.y== Versions 2.6.16 and 2.6.27 of the Linux kernel were unofficially given long-term support (LTS), before a 2011 working group in the Linux Foundation started a formal long-term support initiative. ==Releases before 2.6.0== ==See also== Linux adoption Linux kernel History of Linux Timeline of free and open-source software ==References== ==External links== Official Linux kernel website Active kernel releases, on the official Linux kernel website Linux versions changelog, in Linux Kernel Newbies Kernel coverage at LWN.net

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