Linus Torvalds officially released the fifth release candidate (RC5) for the upcoming Linux Kernel 6.17 on 7 September 2025. All signs suggest this release candidate is progressing smoothly, with Linus noting that things "remain normal". Both the diffstat and commit counts appear "entirely sane".
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A Look at the Notable Updates in Linux Kernel RC5
While most patches are small, one particular change stands out: the DLink/Sundance driver was resurrected.
This revert brings back a substantial 2,000 lines of code, marking it as the "one-off oddity" of this release candidate.
Beyond this unusual return, the remaining changes are "very much normal".
Developers focused their efforts on critical areas, delivering fixes primarily in:
- Drivers: You'll find updates for networking, GPU, and sound drivers. Additionally, some "unusual pcmcia noise" involved removing old, dead code.
- Tooling: Important fixes landed for
perfandselftests. - Various other areas: This includes improvements across filesystems, architecture, and memory management (MM).
Linus Torvalds' Persistent Frustration with "Useless Garbage"
Beyond the technical updates, Linus also took the opportunity to voice his long-standing frustration with "Link:" entries in commit messages.
He firmly labels these as "useless garbage" when they simply point back to the original submission email, adding no fresh details.
In the Kernel 6.17-rc5 announcement mail, Linus explained his annoyance: when reviewing questionable code or chasing down bug reports, he often follows these "allegedly helpful" links, hoping for deeper insight.
However, if the link merely leads to the original email, it only "added human cost" and wasted his valuable time.
He stressed that tooling, which often automatically adds these links, "should not be used to increase the human burden. Tooling should help, not hurt".
Instead, Linus advocates for "something useful" in these links. For example, he wants them to point to a bug report explaining the root cause of a commit or a discussion that clarifies the reason for the change.
He specifically highlighted an io_uring fix during this 6.17-rc5 cycle, where a "promising 'Link:' argument" proved entirely pointless, wasting his time once again.
His message is clear: links must provide additional relevant information, not just duplicate what's already present.
The Kernel 6.17 Release Cycle So Far: A Brief Overview
The journey towards Linux 6.17 has been steady, with each release candidate bringing its own set of improvements:
- 6.17-rc1 (10 August 2025) started strong with "fairly healthy" stats, even though Linus worked through some issues during his travels.
- 6.17-rc2 (17 August 2025) was notably calm, marking one of the smallest rc2 releases recently. Fixes primarily targeted drivers, filesystems, and core networking.
- 6.17-rc3 (24 August 2025) balanced out the tiny rc2 by being "a bit larger than usual." It brought more driver updates, additional
selftests, and increased Rust support. - 6.17-rc4 (31 August 2025) continued to feel "pretty normal," featuring a slightly larger fix series for the Intel idpf network driver and some arm64 KVM updates, alongside many smaller changes.
Download and Test Linux 6.17 RC5
With rc5 now available, Linus encourages everyone to continue testing. You can download the latest Linux Kernel 6.17 RC4 from the Kernel.org website or the Linus Torvalds's git tree.
Your active participation helps ensure that Linux 6.17 releases "in a timely manner and in good shape".
Overall, the development cycle for 6.17 looks robust and on track, despite the occasional "oddity" and Linus's outspoken feedback on commit practices.
The final Linux Kernel 6.17 version is expected to be released on September 28, 2025.
