On March 10, 2024, Linus Torvalds, the creator and main developer of the Linux kernel, announced the release of a new stable version 6.8. The release was released according to the established schedule, two months after the previous stable version 6.7, released in early January 2024.
The source code for Linux 6.8 is available for download on the official website kernel.org. Torvalds also posted a release commit on GitHub and Makefile.
The new version contains many changes, updates and improvements, as well as fixes for previously discovered bugs (Linux 6.8 changelog).
Among the new features:
In his announcement letter, Linus Torvalds commented:
"This release is not as large-scale as the previous 6.7, but rather returns to the average size typical of the last few years. Among the most significant changes in Linux 6.8 is the new Xe DRM driver, but the bulk of the changes are various updates and fixes across the entire codebase."
Torvalds points out that this is the last major release of the kernel where the number of git objects is less than 10 million-in Linux 6.8 there are 9,996,000. Other branches - especially linux-next-have obviously already confidently crossed this limit. Of course, this fact is not particularly important from a technical point of view, but rather is a tribute to the tradition of tracking large numerical milestones, Linus Torvalds added.
After the release, the Linux 6.8 kernel will be used in new versions of popular Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Fedora 40, and other spring builds.
The source code for Linux 6.8 is available for download on the official website kernel.org. Torvalds also posted a release commit on GitHub and Makefile.
The new version contains many changes, updates and improvements, as well as fixes for previously discovered bugs (Linux 6.8 changelog).
Among the new features:
- Added support for new AMD Zen 5 hardware
- Added new features for Intel Lunar Lake
- Early support for AMD color management code
- Enabled Intel Xe DRM driver as part of experimental support with current Intel graphics
- Added Imagination PowerVR Rogue DRM driver
- Initial support for the Raspberry Pi 5 graphics driver
- Support for a range of ARM-based handheld game consoles
- Support for the Nintendo Switch Online controller
- Improved configuration of the kernel scheduler
- Improved TCP performance by about 40% when dealing with multiple simultaneous network connections
In his announcement letter, Linus Torvalds commented:
"This release is not as large-scale as the previous 6.7, but rather returns to the average size typical of the last few years. Among the most significant changes in Linux 6.8 is the new Xe DRM driver, but the bulk of the changes are various updates and fixes across the entire codebase."
Torvalds points out that this is the last major release of the kernel where the number of git objects is less than 10 million-in Linux 6.8 there are 9,996,000. Other branches - especially linux-next-have obviously already confidently crossed this limit. Of course, this fact is not particularly important from a technical point of view, but rather is a tribute to the tradition of tracking large numerical milestones, Linus Torvalds added.
After the release, the Linux 6.8 kernel will be used in new versions of popular Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Fedora 40, and other spring builds.
