Linux 5.5-rc1 Kernel Released With 12,500+ Commits

Linus Torvalds has just issued the first release candidate of the Linux 5.5 cycle following the traditional two week long merge window.

See our newly-published Linux 5.5 feature overview to learn about all of the new changes and improvements in this kernel -- there's a lot.

In the 5.5-rc1 announcement, Linus comments that everything looks "fairly regular" and a "normal merge window" though a bit larger than usual by a commit basis. There is the usual driver churn, documentation improvements, new tooling, and a lot of code rework happening. The Linux 5.5 merge window has 12,500+ non-merge commits.

Linux 5.5 will debut as early stable around the end of January or early February if all goes well.