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Posted
by
BeauHD
nuary 28, 2026 @08:25PM
from the succession-plan dept.
The Linux kernel community has formalized a continuity plan for the day Linus Torvalds eventually steps aside, defining how the process would work to replace him as the top-level maintainer. ZDNet's Steven Vaughan-Nichols reports: The new "plan for a plan," drafted by longtime kernel contributor Dan Williams, was discussed at the latest Linux Kernel Maintainer Summit in Tokyo, where he introduced it as "an uplifting subject tied to our eventual march toward death." Torvalds added, in our conversation, that "part of the reason it came up this time around was that my previous contract with Linux Foundation ended Q3 last year, and people on the Linux Foundation Technical Advisory Board had been aware of that. Of course, they were also aware that we'd renewed the contract, but it meant that it had been discussed."
The plan stops short of naming a single heir. Instead, it creates an explicit process for selecting one or more maintainers to take over the top-level Linux repository in a worst-case or orderly-transition scenario, including convening a conclave to weigh options and maximize long-term project health. One maintainer in Tokyo jokingly suggested that the group, like the conclave that selects a new pope, be locked in a room and that a puff of white smoke be sent out when a decision was reached.
The document frames this as a way to protect against the classic "bus factor" problem. That is, what happens to a project if its leader is hit by a bus? Torvalds' central role today means the project currently assumes a bus-factor of one, where a single person's exit could, in theory, destabilize merges and final releases. In practice, as Torvalds and other top maintainers have discussed, the job of top penguin would almost certainly currently go to Greg Kroah-Hartman, the stable-branch Linux kernel maintainer. Responding to the suggestion that the backup replacement would be Greg KH, Torvalds said: "But the thing is, Greg hasn't always been Greg. Before Greg, there was Andrew Morton and Alan Cox. After Greg, there will be Shannon and Steve. The real issue is you have to have a person or a group of people that the development community can trust, and part of trust is fundamentally about having been around for long enough that people know how you work, but long enough does not mean to be 30 years."
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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
byAnonymous Coward writes:
...Lennart Poettering. The Linux will be insured to grow capably under his caring and kind tutelage. Ideally he adds DirectX and helps unify the current fractuous state of Linux into a stable, standardized monoculture via an MS Linux distro.
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bywildstoo ( 835450 ) writes:
I thought the same but then in a twist development they suddenly seem to want to remove the second amendment, so... I guess that's something.
byRujiel ( 1632063 ) writes:
"We need a leader that will do FOSS like a BUSINESS!"
byTomahawk ( 1343 ) writes:
But "getting things done" doesn't mean "deleting half of the code base because they don't understand it".
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bygeekmux ( 1040042 ) writes:
Just one rule - No Republicans!
C'mon now. You only caught them one time standing at the bottom of the series-of-tubes internet slide waiting for the code to come out.
It wasn't that funny.
* snort *
byHnT ( 306652 ) writes:
> no Republicans
Ah yes, the tolerant, peaceful, kind and inclusive people are at it again!
Democracy is only fine as long as these people get their every single whim⦠such tolerance, much inclusion!
byZ80a ( 971949 ) writes:
How about no politicians in general?
Someone that actually care about the kernel instead of using it to grab power or enforce it's worldview would be quite a good start.
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byunixisc ( 2429386 ) writes:
Actually, it's a perfect opportunity to split the GNU and Rust fans
On the GNU side, resume work on HURD, borrowing from Linux whatever possible. On which microkernel to use, maybe just take Minix 3.2, fork and relicense it under GPL 3, and then build HURD on top of it. Then have all the GCC utilities, including Emacs, on top of it, and make Emacs the default UI to the system. Would be a great pure FSF/GNU compliant platform
On the Rust side, or rather, the side of those who believe in removing GPL fro
bypackrat0x ( 798359 ) writes:
Rust can't fix systemd. It can only fix a (small) subset of systemd.
byunixisc ( 2429386 ) writes:
Rust actually has major shortcomings, not the least of which is that its spec is not frozen/finalized. But that hasn't stopped major projects from reinventing the wheel in Rust. I'm not talking about using Rust to write new applications: I'm talking about rewriting time tested software in Rust, such as the GNU core utilities and so on. The only reason to do that is religious
byGravis Zero ( 934156 ) writes:
Where's the clickbait headline that reads, "Kernel Cummunity Hatches Plans to Ditch Linux Torvolds"? Did the punch-up guy call in sick?
bywill4 ( 7250692 ) writes:
The kernel team should keep the leadership small since there are many, many people who would use a public position as Linux public face to turn the Linux project into a political platform far away from operating systems and computers.
Typically, those will ask for representation on the board in the name of fairness, then nominate like-minded activists, sit quietly for a few years while continually getting like-minded activists on the board. When they have a board majority, they turn the organization into a political one advancing political and social causes well outside of the original purpose of the organization.
It has been done to many single issue nonprofits before, which change the nonprofit from its original mission to one of agitation for a different cause favored by the activist board members.
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byMirddes ( 798147 ) writes:
the activist behaviour you describe is already rampant within open source.
byAnonymuous Coward ( 1185377 ) writes:
Care to give an example?
bychrylis ( 262281 ) writes:
Mozilla.
byunixisc ( 2429386 ) writes:
Gnome, KDE, Xorg
byMirddes ( 798147 ) writes:
any time anyone mentions lunduke. REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
byHnT ( 306652 ) writes:
This has already started, the parasites have already infested every possible host and held their first struggle-sessions and demanded kow-tows.
bygeekmux ( 1040042 ) writes:
The kernel team should keep the leadership small since there are many, many people who would use a public position as Linux public face to turn the Linux project into a political platform far away from operating systems and computers.
Perhaps this is all the more reason the Top Penguin should be bestowed with a requisite military rank to minimize the effects of politics.
The name, is Kernel. Korn Kernel.
Colonel Kernel, at your service.
bygeekmux ( 1040042 ) writes:
Where's the clickbait headline that reads, "Kernel Cummunity Hatches Plans to Ditch Linux Torvolds"? Did the punch-up guy call in sick?
(Robin "Lifestyles" Leach) "The name Linus in the Linux world wears a crown that ab-solutely bedazzles headlines, complete with a staggering 237 pieces of flair, worth a brain-smashing 'round a gold brick amount of cred in the community.."
Queen Elizabeth was hardly pulled around by the hype train. The Nerd King, needs no such introduction.
bydavidwr ( 791652 ) writes:
If there is a conclave, they should only be allowed to use paper/pencil and other analog equipment and a computer that has only Microsoft Windows installed and no way to install anything else.
*horrors*
byleonbev ( 111395 ) writes:
I hope that they announce the new kernel maintainer with a ritual burning of a Microsoft Surface laptop with Copilot AI!
Once we see the white smoke from the Lithium fire, only then will be know that the reign of the new leader of open source has begun!
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bygeekmux ( 1040042 ) writes:
I hope that they announce the new kernel maintainer with a ritual burning of a Microsoft Surface laptop with Copilot AI!
Once we see the white smoke from the Lithium fire, only then will be know that the reign of the new leader of open source has begun!
I almost feel like I should confess something now.
Technical query for the man pages; Does masturbating to porn using BSD count as blasphemy? Asking for a professional arm wrestler turned potential martyr looking for salvation.
byCommunityMember ( 6662188 ) writes:
Business continuity is a critical part of any serious larger organization, and the board needs to have a plan in the case the leadership has a bus event. While the kernel did have various plans, formalization is just part of the proper process of the board. While some such plans are not public (we never saw Berkshire Hathaway's plans, but Warren Buffet said they existed (although i am going to guess they changed over the years, as Charlie Munger was no longer a viable candidate)), they still must exist.
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bygweihir ( 88907 ) writes:
Indeed. This is nothing special, just some smart people planning ahead. Also, Linus (or any other core-team member) may become unavailable long-term for a number of reasons. Smart people plan for that, wayyyyy ahead of it becoming urgent.
byjbeaupre ( 752124 ) writes:
Years ago I founded a company and was raising capital. The bus scenario would always come up and we would describe our well thought out plan for replacing me. The response was unenthusiastic.
One day I flippantly replied "I won't care about your money, because I'll be dead." Then would go on to describe the plan. That bit of frank honesty combined with a thoughtful plan made raising money much easier.
bybackslashdot ( 95548 ) writes:
His claim for asylum based on Finland forcing him to use Windows is no longer valid. It was shaky at best in the first place.
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bysinkskinkshrieks ( 6952954 ) writes:
This is normal. The title is misinformational clickbait.
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byDerci ( 101537 ) writes:
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bygeekmux ( 1040042 ) writes:
This is normal. The title is misinformational clickbait.
It’s normal to want to address the “bus factor”.
It’s not really normal (or wise) to start thinking about that problem a decade after the fact. As if the proverbial bus would have been less catastrophic before.
Succession planning isn’t, until it accounts for Shit Happens.
bygeekmux ( 1040042 ) writes:
While I can understand and respect wanting to address the “bus factor”, I wanted to address this for a moment:
..the job of top penguin..
Do the *NIX Nerds really think they’re going to ever be respected as a Year-Of-The-Desktop OS, with a CEO named as Top Penguin?
This is like waking up in 1995 and learning that Bill Gates legally changed his name to Microsoft Bob. With predictable effect.
bywildstoo ( 835450 ) writes:
1. He's not a CEO.
2. Top penguin is a jokey title used in this article and nowhere else.
3. Even if it wasn't, people don't choose their OS based on the title of the person running the organisation.
4. Even in your Gates scenario, the "predictable effect" would be absolutely nothing.
bygeekmux ( 1040042 ) writes:
Top Penguin sounds like the kind of shit someone might ironically add to their business card soon. Just for 21st Century shits and clicks sake.
30 years ago people admonished the idea of even adding "geek" to a business name, as it sounded a bit too unprofessional.
The difference now? If Mark Zuckerberg started his infamous social media company tomorrow it would be called DumbFucks instead of Facebook.
byclovis ( 4684 ) writes:
Ask for volunteers to donate parts to replace whatever is worn out in the original Linus unit.
A ship of Theseus kind of thing.
byBongo ( 13261 ) writes:
Plutarch and a daily patch of stem cells says it'll work.
byunixisc ( 2429386 ) writes:
He should start training an AI to do what he does, be it Claude or any other. That way, his presence will be permanent, Linux will remain the unix of Linux forever, even after he's asleep w/ the fishes
byBu11etmagnet ( 1071376 ) writes:
https://www.crummy.com/writing... [crummy.com]
bygroobly ( 6155920 ) writes:
There will be blood.
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