There are a number of kernels marked as 'stable', which one is stable?

There are a number of reasons there are multiple kernels marked as 'stable'. The stable series kernels stem from a conversation that happened in 2004, it has evolved into a number of kernels that are currently being maintained under the 'stable' moniker.

These kernels have patches that are backported to them, mainly in the form of driver updates and security fixes. Some of these trees have been declared to have longer life cycles than others. Kernel.org, currently, considers a 'stable' tree current given the following criteria:

• There has been a TAG in the associated GIT tree within the last 6 months
• The tree originates under the /stable/ directory for the Linux Kernel

After 6 months the tree will leave the main listings for kernel.org, though it is still available by going directly to its GIT tree, or its associated releases. This leads to trees like 2.6.27.y still being considered stable and recent due to the fact that it's had a TAG within the last 6 months.

Is there an RSS feed for the latest kernel version?

Yes, and you can find it at http://www.kernel.org/kdist/rss.xml.

Why are there files that are dated tomorrow?

All timestamps on kernel.org are in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). If you live in the western hemisphere your local time lags behind UTC. Under Linux/Unix, type date -u to get the current time in UTC.

Can I get an account on kernel.org?

Kernel.org accounts are not given away very often, usually you need to be making some reasonable amount of contributions to the Linux kernel and have a good reason for wanting / needing an account. If you really feel that you should have an account please e-mail the following to keys@kernel.org:

• full name
• email address
• desired username
• reason for account
• reference to work you've done
• PGP/GPG public key fingerprint (NOT an ssh key)
  • Key should be signed by as many kernel developers as you can get
  • Accounts will not issued until key is suffciently signed
  • Key must have been uploaded to public key servers

The Kernel.org admin team will then review your request and let you know the decision.

Please note that The Linux Kernel Organization, Inc. reserves the right to refuse service to anyone, for any reason.

I have cool project X, can you guys mirror it for me?

Probably not. Kernel.org deals with the Linux kernel, various distributions of the kernel and larger repositories of packages. We do not mirror individual projects, software, etc as we feel there are better places providing mirrors for those kinds of repositories. If you feel that kernel.org should mirror your project, please contact ftpadmin@kernel.org with the following information:

• name
• project name
• project website
• detailed project description
• reason for wanting us to mirror

The Kernel.org admin team will then review your request and talk to you about it. As with any kind of account on kernel.org it's up to the discretion of the admin team.

How does kernel.org provide its users access to the git trees?

We are using an access control system called gitolite, originally written and maintained by Sitaram Chamarty. We choose gitolite for a number of reasons:

• Limiting of ssh access to the system
• Fine grained control over repository access
• Well maintained and supported code base
• Responsive development
• Broad and diverse install base

As well at the time of deployment the code had undergone an external code review.

How do I create an -rc kernel? I get "Reversed patch detected!"

-rc kernel patches are generated from the base stable release.

For example: to create the 2.6.14-rc5 kernel, you must:

• download 2.6.13 (not 2.6.13.4)
• and then apply the 2.6.14-rc5 patch.

Yes, you want 2.6.13, not 2.6.14. Remember, that's an -rc kernel, as in, 2.6.14 doesn't exist yet. :)

Where can I find kernel 2.4.20-3.16?

Kernel version numbers of this form are distribution kernels, meaning they are modified kernels produced by distributions. Please contact the relevant distributor; or check out http://mirrors.kernel.org/.

I need help building/patching/fixing Linux kernel/modules/drivers!

Please see the Kernel Newbies website.

There is also a wealth of knowledge on many topics involving Linux at The Linux Documentation Project (http://www.tldp.org)

For finding or reporting bugs, look through the archives for the various Linux mailing lists, and if no specific list seems appropriate, try the browsing the Linux Kernel Mailing List.