Linux kernel release process
E195196
The Linux kernel release process is the structured workflow and schedule by which new versions of the Linux kernel are developed, tested, stabilized, and officially published to users and distributions.
All labels observed (2)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Linux kernel mainline releases | 1 |
| Linux kernel release process canonical | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1724536 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Linux kernel release process Context triple: [Greg Kroah-Hartman, influences, Linux kernel release process]
-
A.
Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML)
The Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML) is the primary public forum where Linux kernel developers worldwide discuss design, development, patches, and coordination of the kernel project.
-
B.
Dracut
Dracut is a town in northeastern Massachusetts, United States, known for its suburban character and proximity to the city of Lowell.
-
C.
GNU Hurd
GNU Hurd is the GNU Project’s microkernel-based operating system server collection intended as a free Unix-like replacement, built to run on top of the Mach microkernel.
-
D.
Linux
Linux is a widely used open-source Unix-like operating system kernel that powers servers, desktops, mobile devices, and embedded systems around the world.
-
E.
The Cathedral and the Bazaar
The Cathedral and the Bazaar is a highly influential essay and book on open-source software development that contrasts centralized, top-down programming models with decentralized, collaborative approaches.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Linux kernel release process Target entity description: The Linux kernel release process is the structured workflow and schedule by which new versions of the Linux kernel are developed, tested, stabilized, and officially published to users and distributions.
-
A.
Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML)
The Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML) is the primary public forum where Linux kernel developers worldwide discuss design, development, patches, and coordination of the kernel project.
-
B.
Linux kernel community
The Linux kernel community is a global, collaborative group of developers and maintainers who design, implement, review, and support the core operating system kernel used by numerous Linux distributions and devices.
-
C.
Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel
Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel is Oracle’s optimized, enterprise-grade Linux kernel designed to deliver enhanced performance, stability, and support for Oracle workloads and cloud environments.
-
D.
Red Hat Compatible Kernel
Red Hat Compatible Kernel is a Linux kernel variant used in Oracle Linux that closely tracks and maintains compatibility with the Red Hat Enterprise Linux kernel.
-
E.
Dracut
Dracut is a town in northeastern Massachusetts, United States, known for its suburban character and proximity to the city of Lowell.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (51)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
software development workflow
ⓘ
software release process ⓘ |
| afterMergeWindow | first release candidate (rc1) ⓘ |
| aimsTo | provide a stable and reliable kernel for users and distributions ⓘ |
| appliesTo | Linux kernel ⓘ |
| documentedIn |
Documentation/process/ in the Linux kernel source tree
ⓘ
Linux kernel MAINTAINERS file ⓘ Linux kernel development process documentation on kernel.org ⓘ |
| finalReleaseCriteria | sufficient stabilization and low rate of serious bug reports ⓘ |
| finalReleasePublishedOn | kernel.org ⓘ |
| finalReleaseTaggedBy | Linus Torvalds in the mainline git tree ⓘ |
| governedBy | Linus Torvalds’ release decisions ⓘ |
| includesPhase |
final release
ⓘ
long-term support maintenance ⓘ merge window ⓘ release candidate phase ⓘ stabilization phase ⓘ |
| involvesRole |
distribution maintainers
ⓘ
stable maintainers ⓘ subsystem maintainers ⓘ testers and users ⓘ |
| ltsSelectionBy | kernel.org LTS maintainers and community ⓘ |
| ltsTypicalSupportLength |
at least 2 years
ⓘ
often 6 years or more for some LTS versions ⓘ |
| maintainedBy | Linux kernel maintainers ⓘ |
| mergeWindowControlledBy | Linus Torvalds ⓘ |
| mergeWindowInput | pull requests from subsystem maintainers ⓘ |
| mergeWindowPurpose | integration of new features and major changes ⓘ |
| overseenBy | Linus Torvalds ⓘ |
| produces |
long-term support (LTS) kernel releases
ⓘ
mainline kernel releases ⓘ release candidates tagged as -rc1, -rc2, etc. ⓘ stable kernel releases ⓘ |
| qualityAssuranceMechanism |
automated regression testing
ⓘ
bisecting regressions using git bisect ⓘ code review on mailing lists ⓘ |
| releaseCandidatePurpose | testing and bug fixing ⓘ |
| reliesOn | wider community testing of release candidates ⓘ |
| stableBranchMaintainedBy | stable maintainers such as Greg Kroah-Hartman ⓘ |
| stableReleaseInput | bug fixes backported from mainline ⓘ |
| stableReleaseNaming | same version number with additional patchlevel increments ⓘ |
| startsWith | opening of the merge window after a final release ⓘ |
| typicalMergeWindowLength | approximately 2 weeks ⓘ |
| typicalReleaseCandidateCycleLength | approximately 6 to 8 weeks ⓘ |
| typicalReleaseFrequency | roughly every 9 to 10 weeks ⓘ |
| usesInfrastructure |
automated build and test systems
ⓘ
git version control ⓘ kernel.org ⓘ
surface form:
kernel.org repositories
mailing lists such as [email protected] ⓘ |
| usesVersioningScheme |
odd minor numbers no longer indicate development-only releases
ⓘ
semantic-like versioning with major.minor.patch numbers ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: Linux kernel release process Description of subject: The Linux kernel release process is the structured workflow and schedule by which new versions of the Linux kernel are developed, tested, stabilized, and officially published to users and distributions.
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Linux kernel mainline releases