--- title: The 7.3 kernel has been released | daily.dev description: Linus Torvalds released the Linux 7.3 kernel on schedule, describing it as a record-breaker with 18,765 non-merge commits from 3,021 developers, 807 of them... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/the-7-3-kernel-has-been-released-ulaxswcs3 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: The 7.3 kernel has been released | daily.dev og:description: Linus Torvalds released the Linux 7.3 kernel on schedule, describing it as a record-breaker with 18,765 non-merge commits from 3,021 developers, 807 of them... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/the-7-3-kernel-has-been-released-ulaxswcs3 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/uLaXSwcS3.png og:image:alt: The 7.3 kernel has been released 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. # The 7.3 kernel has been released **[LWN.net](https://daily.dev/sources/lwn)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Linus Torvalds released the Linux 7.3 kernel on schedule, describing it as a record-breaker with 18,765 non-merge commits from 3,021 developers, 807 of them first-time contributors. Notable additions include binfmt_misc extensions, group-scheduling improvements for large systems, the new failfs filesystem, the fchroot() system call, global per-CPU data for BPF programs, completion of the sched_ext subscheduler feature, working-set tracking for virtual machines, alternative data-stream support in ntfs3, and numerous SMB server improvements. The merge window for 7.4 opens next, though Torvalds noted his schedule will be irregular due to a family vacation. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What new features are included in the Linux 7.3 kernel release? Linux 7.3 adds binfmt_misc extensions, group-scheduling improvements for large systems, a new failfs filesystem that deliberately fails all operations, the fchroot() system call, global per-CPU data for BPF programs, completion of the sched_ext subscheduler feature, working-set tracking for virtual machines, alternative data-stream support in ntfs3, and numerous SMB server improvements. _Track kernel release details like these on daily.dev before planning an upgrade._ ### How many developers contributed to the Linux 7.3 kernel release? The Linux 7.3 release brought in 18,765 non-merge commits from 3,021 developers, 807 of whom were first-time kernel contributors, making it a record-breaking release by commit and contributor count. _Developers gauging kernel community momentum can follow stats like these on daily.dev._ ## Community take How the wider developer community reacted, aggregated from 2 discussions and 126 comments across hackernews, lobsters (as of 2026-10-19). **TL;DR:** Discussion centers less on the kernel features themselves and more on whether AI/LLM-assisted contributions are creeping into kernel development, alongside tangential threads on Time Machine-over-SMB support and the new failfs sandboxing filesystem. **Sentiment:** 20% positive · 35% mixed · 45% skeptical **The case for** - Some argue AI tools are now a normal part of a rigorous engineering workflow and shouldn't automatically be dismissed as slop. - The kernel's AI policy of judging patches purely on technical merit regardless of authorship is seen by some as sensible and pragmatic. - failfs is viewed as a clever, fine-grained sandboxing mechanism for statically-linked processes. - In-kernel SMB server finally enabling Apple Time Machine support is seen as a notable, if reverse-engineered, improvement. **The pushback** - Several commenters worry that AI-generated or AI-assisted patches are introducing more bugs (one citing ~1.7x higher bug rates) and eroding review rigor. - Some see the framing of 'record' commit/contributor counts as a hollow vanity metric similar to past LOC-counting controversies. - Time Machine over SMB is called historically unreliable and painful, with implementations seen as reverse-engineered workarounds rather than solid support. - failfs is criticized as an overcomplicated, easily bypassed approach compared to proper capability-based security. - Concerns that kernel maintainers quietly dropped the requirement to disclose AI-assisted contributions, reducing transparency. **By community** - hackernews (heated): Debate split between people defending AI-assisted kernel contributions as inevitable and responsibly managed, and others insisting it's introducing careless 'slop' into critical software, alongside sprawling side threads on SMB/Time Machine support and the new failfs filesystem. **Hottest debate:** Whether AI/LLM-assisted code contributions in the kernel represent responsible tooling adoption or risky 'slop' that undermines review quality. **Open questions** - How exactly is contributor responsibility enforced when a submission is substantially AI-generated? - Will removing the requirement to disclose AI assistance reduce transparency about which models produce higher-quality code? - Will in-kernel SMB/Time Machine support actually prove more reliable than existing Samba-based solutions long-term? **Highlights** > The rate at which AI introduces bugs is higher than human ones about 1.7x more bugs than humans. Human slop is equally as bad, but this is not what Linus chose in this case, he chose to accept the higher risk of 1.7x more bugs using LLMs which lead to the introduction of LLM slop. I don't care if it is Linus or anyone else, slop is slop human or not, with LLMs it is far worse. > — [colesantiago on hackernews · 3 comments](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50150339) > It's increasingly the other way around, actually. You are being sloppy if you don't use the tools available to you. Including AI, static code analysis, testing tools, etc. to check if your work is any good. That doesn't mean you have to surrender to the AI tools and blindly generate everything and then commit without testing or any form of validation. That would be sloppy. But then if you manually write your code and did that, that would be sloppy too. Whether you manually type in all your code or have it generated is immaterial. What matters is the work you do to ensure it all works as advertised and is fit to be merged. The kernel developers are probably a bit further in their thinking then some developers. They've been dealing with many thousands of contributors for decades. Git was invented by Linus Torvalds specifically to deal with ensuring only the best patches make it into the kernel. Somebody posted a video with Greg Kroah-Hartman last week or so commenting on how he's been dealing with all the AI generated security bug reports. His key point is that AI generated reports are meaningless unless they come with a suggested fix as well. If you are going to generate the report, you might as well generate the fix. And it's a lot easier for him to review if the fix fixes anything worth fixing then to piece together a fix from a lengthy report. The larger the report, the less likely it is to get any attention. If the person contributing can't articulate why the fix is needed or how it works, they just reject the change and toss it back. That strikes me as very pragmatic. Judge a change on its merits. Not on how it was created. A report without a suggested fix is relatively meaningless. > — [jillesvangurp on hackernews · 2 comments](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50150054) > You can see the curreny Linux AI policy here: https://docs.kernel.org/process/coding-assistants.html Broadly it says: you can use AI as much as you like. You have to disclose use of AI. You, as a person, not the AI, are responsible for the quality of Linux kernel submissions. > — [leonidasrup on hackernews · 4 comments](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50150391) > For sandboxing: https://hackaday.com/2026/08/07/this-filesystem-is-born-to-f... A process which is chrooted into failfs cannot open new files. It is limited to the set of filesystem file descriptors it already has open (presumably set up before the chroot or inherited into the process from some container runtime). > — [rwmj on hackernews · 1 comments](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50149675) > Apple refuse to pay Microsoft the license for their SMB stack and have dropped open source Samba due to license conflicts with GPL, and so have developed their own implementation (SMBX). This is the reason it is so buggy, and there are loads of articles and posts all over the internet about it. Heres one example from the top of google. https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/18sjnwb/state_of_mac... > — [alt227 on hackernews](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50150717) **Source threads** - [hackernews](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50149392) · 262 points · 126 comments - [lobsters](https://lobste.rs/s/4oz3sk/7_3_kernel_has_been_released) · 6 points · 0 comments ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Kernel prepatch 7.3-rc6](https://daily.dev/posts/kernel-prepatch-7-3-rc6-xuxajhzyq) · LWN.net · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Linux 7.0-rc3 Released: "Some Of The Biggest In Recent History"](https://daily.dev/posts/linux-7-0-rc3-released-some-of-the-biggest-in-recent-history--hyn7dy7pw) · Phoronix · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#open-source](https://daily.dev/tags/open-source), [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux), [#filesystems](https://daily.dev/tags/filesystems) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/the-7-3-kernel-has-been-released-ulaxswcs3) ```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":"The 7.3 kernel has been released","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-7-3-kernel-has-been-released-ulaxswcs3","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-7-3-kernel-has-been-released-ulaxswcs3"},"datePublished":"2026-10-18T23:47:37.257Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T17:08:22.257Z","description":"Linus Torvalds released the Linux 7.3 kernel on schedule, describing it as a record-breaker with 18,765 non-merge commits from 3,021 developers, 807 of them...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--VDukGCjf--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2002","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--VDukGCjf--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2002","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"LWN.net","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":"LWN.net","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--4jjE7GIK--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774960833/logos/lwn?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/lwn"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-7-3-kernel-has-been-released-ulaxswcs3","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"open-source,linux,filesystems","timeRequired":"PT2M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"LWN.net","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/lwn"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The 7.3 kernel has been released"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-7-3-kernel-has-been-released-ulaxswcs3#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What new features are included in the Linux 7.3 kernel release?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Linux 7.3 adds binfmt_misc extensions, group-scheduling improvements for large systems, a new failfs filesystem that deliberately fails all operations, the fchroot() system call, global per-CPU data for BPF programs, completion of the sched_ext subscheduler feature, working-set tracking for virtual machines, alternative data-stream support in ntfs3, and numerous SMB server improvements. 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