Linus Torvalds released the fourth release candidate (RC4) for Linux Kernel 7.2 on July 19, 2026. Even though many developers are currently on summer vacation, the pace of work remains surprisingly steady.
Embracing the "New Normal"
In the Linux 7.2-rc4 release announcement mail, Linus Torvalds noted that he expected things to slow down during July. However, the number of code changes remains high, which Linus now describes as the "new normal" for the project.
This version is not a small update. Most of the changes are small "one-liners," but they add up to a significant amount of polish for the system. For example, the CAN/BCM (Broadcast Manager) system received several important fixes.
Additionally, the team added more tests to the kernel's self-testing suite to ensure everything runs smoothly.
RISC-V and s390 Improvements
This release includes a few exciting updates for specific computer architectures.
- RISC-V Improvements: Users might notice that the kernel size for RISC-V has shrunk significantly. This happened because developers relaxed certain rules for how functions align when they disable specific tracing features. Furthermore, a new fix helps prevent errors when the system sets up its memory maps.
- s390 Fixes: The s390 architecture received a fix for its checksum library. This update ensures that older machines without special hardware features can still calculate data correctly.
Networking and Driver "Noise"
The networking update arrived late a little bit than usual this week because of various industry conferences. Despite the slight delay, it brings important fixes for Bluetooth, Wireless, Netfilter, and IPsec.
Meanwhile, the AMD GPU driver continues to show a lot of activity. While this driver is massive, most of the "noise" in this update involves moving code around or adding helpful comments rather than adding giant new files.
Scaling to 43 Million Lines
Day by day, Linux kernel project is getting big. At the start of the 7.2 development cycle, the Linux kernel tree officially passed 43 million total lines. The current count sits at 43,898,743 lines, which includes over 33 million lines of actual code.
The AMD graphics driver remains the largest single component, making up more than 6.3 million lines of the entire tree. This growth shows no signs of stopping, even as developers remove support for very old hardware like the i486 processor.
Download and Test Linux Kernel 7.2 RC4
Now that the fourth release candidate is out, the focus remains on stability. Linus Torvalds has issued his usual call to action: "Go forth and test". The enthusiasts and developers can grab the latest Linux 7.2-rc4 code from the from the Official Linux Kernel Archives or Linus Torvalds' Git tree and start testing.
By testing RC4 on various hardware, the community helps find bugs before the final version arrives.
If the development cycle stays on track, we can expect a stable release of Linux 7.2 in late August 2026.
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