--- title: Linus Torvalds Says He Likes Using AI, While His New... description: Linus Torvalds pushed a new eight-patch kernel branch, noref-filemap-read-with-llm, built on Linux 7.3-rc6, that removes per-read reference counting on the... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/linus-torvalds-says-he-likes-using-ai-while-his-new-kernel-branch-credits-claude-code-irlkeudat twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Linus Torvalds Says He Likes Using AI, While His New Kernel Branch Credits Claude Code | daily.dev og:description: Linus Torvalds pushed a new eight-patch kernel branch, noref-filemap-read-with-llm, built on Linux 7.3-rc6, that removes per-read reference counting on the... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/linus-torvalds-says-he-likes-using-ai-while-his-new-kernel-branch-credits-claude-code-irlkeudat og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/IrLkEuDaT.png og:image:alt: Linus Torvalds Says He Likes Using AI, While His New Kernel Branch Credits Claude Code og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Linus Torvalds Says He Likes Using AI, While His New Kernel Branch Credits Claude Code **[It's Foss](https://daily.dev/sources/itsfoss)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Linus Torvalds pushed a new eight-patch kernel branch, noref-filemap-read-with-llm, built on Linux 7.3-rc6, that removes per-read reference counting on the page cache so concurrent threads reading the same file stop contending over a shared counter. Memory leaving the cache is held back briefly before reuse to keep this safe. On his own laptop, eight threads reading one file went from about 10 million reads per second to 30-33 million. The commit message, code, test programs, and review were credited to Claude Code working under his direction, following his earlier use of AI to fix an Intel Xe graphics driver bug. Speaking at Open Source Summit Europe in Prague, Torvalds said he now genuinely likes using AI as a tool, defended vibe coding as a way for newcomers to find joy in programming, but warned that AI-generated contributions are adding real burden to maintainers. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What performance improvement did Linus Torvalds get from his new kernel patch removing page cache reference counting? Eight threads reading the same file went from about 10 million reads per second to between 30 and 33 million, measured on his own laptop with some security protections switched off. The eight-patch series, built on Linux 7.3-rc6 and named noref-filemap-read-with-llm, skips the per-read counter update that was causing threads to contend with each other, instead delaying reuse of freed cache memory briefly to keep reads safe without locking. _Developers tracking kernel performance work can follow page cache optimizations like this one on daily.dev._ ### Did Claude Code help write a Linux kernel patch from Linus Torvalds? Yes, Torvalds credited Claude Code, working under his direction, with drafting the commit message, writing the code and test programs, and reviewing the known problems list for his eight-patch kernel series removing page cache reference counting. He ran the performance measurements himself. This follows his earlier use of AI in August to help fix a bug in the Intel Xe graphics driver. _Anyone weighing AI assistants for serious systems-level code can follow how kernel maintainers like Torvalds actually use them on daily.dev._ ### What does Linus Torvalds think about AI coding tools and vibe coding? He says he now genuinely likes using AI, a reversal from calling the AI industry '90 percent marketing and 10 percent reality' in 2024. He treats it as a tool for tasks he's bad at, cited a guitar pedal project interface as an example, and defended vibe coding as a way for newcomers to find joy in programming, while warning that AI-generated code is increasing the workload on maintainers. _Developers forming their own opinion on AI-assisted coding can track how practitioners' views shift over time on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Linus Torvalds "Did What I Preach", Used AI To Make Code Decipherable & Uncovered More Bugs](https://daily.dev/posts/linus-torvalds-did-what-i-preach-used-ai-to-make-code-decipherable-uncovered-more-bugs-tsqqcmos3) · Phoronix · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux), [#claude-code](https://daily.dev/tags/claude-code), [#vibe-coding](https://daily.dev/tags/vibe-coding) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/linus-torvalds-says-he-likes-using-ai-while-his-new-kernel-branch-credits-claude-code-irlkeudat) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Linus Torvalds Says He Likes Using AI, While His New Kernel Branch Credits Claude Code","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/linus-torvalds-says-he-likes-using-ai-while-his-new-kernel-branch-credits-claude-code-irlkeudat","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/linus-torvalds-says-he-likes-using-ai-while-his-new-kernel-branch-credits-claude-code-irlkeudat"},"datePublished":"2026-10-12T17:12:34.065Z","dateModified":"2026-10-14T23:07:06.496Z","description":"Linus Torvalds pushed a new eight-patch kernel branch, noref-filemap-read-with-llm, built on Linux 7.3-rc6, that removes per-read reference counting on the...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/f1ae5f145c30d5f5623abb439d553fd1?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/f1ae5f145c30d5f5623abb439d553fd1?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"It's Foss","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"It's Foss","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/582e3faed71842bfb9d3840a787d6700","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/itsfoss"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/linus-torvalds-says-he-likes-using-ai-while-his-new-kernel-branch-credits-claude-code-irlkeudat","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"linux,claude-code,vibe-coding","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"It's Foss","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/itsfoss"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Linus Torvalds Says He Likes Using AI, While His New Kernel Branch Credits Claude Code"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/linus-torvalds-says-he-likes-using-ai-while-his-new-kernel-branch-credits-claude-code-irlkeudat#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What performance improvement did Linus Torvalds get from his new kernel patch removing page cache reference counting?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Eight threads reading the same file went from about 10 million reads per second to between 30 and 33 million, measured on his own laptop with some security protections switched off. 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