This article documents the version history of the Linux kernel.
Each major version – identified by the first two numbers of a release version – is designated one of the following levels of support:
5th SLTS with 10 years of support through 2035.[14] Used in Debian 13 "Trixie".[15][16]
Used in RHEL 10.0 [17]
The CFS scheduler was the de facto standard for 16+ years
ReiserFS is now declared to be obsolete and flagged for removal in 2025.
The one last minute change was made to the credits of ReiserFS as requested from the original developer.
August 2033[42]
4th SLTS release (which CIP[48] is planning[42] to support until August 2033)
6.1.28 is named Curry Ramen[49]
Named Superb Owl[78]
Named Trick or Treat[91]
January 2031[42]
3rd SLTS release (which CIP[109] is planning[42] to support until January 2031)
Named "Dare mighty things"[110]
5.4-rc5 is named Kleptomaniac Octopus[124]
5.2 is named Bobtail Squid[131]
January 2029[42]
4.14.1 is named Petit Gorille[157]
4.10-rc6 was named Fearless Coyote[168]
Nobuhiro Iwamatsu & Pavel Machek[42]
The jump from 2.6.x to 3.x wasn't because of a breaking update, but rather the first release of a new versioning scheme introduced as a more convenient system.[211]
3.16.1 was named Museum of Fishiegoodies[231]
RHEL 7.x
Named Unicycling Gorilla[271][272] 3.8.5 was named Displaced Humerus Anterior[273]
3.2 to 3.5 was named Saber-toothed Squirrel[299]
Versions 2.6.16 and 2.6.27 of the Linux kernel were unofficially given long-term support (LTS),[308] before a 2011 working group in the Linux Foundation started a formal long-term support initiative.[309][310]
RHEL 6.x
Vindictive Armadillo[346][347] Releases between 2.6 and 2.9 were named 2.Man-Eating Seals of Antiquity[348]
2.6.28 was named Erotic Pickled Herring[359]
2.6.23-rc7–2.6.23–2.6.24 was named Arr Matey! A Hairy Bilge Rat![376] (TLAPD 2007) 2.6.24.1 was named Err Metey! A Heury Beelge-a Ret![377]
2.6.22-rc5–2.6.22 was named Holy Dancing Manatees, Batman![384]
2.6.18: RHEL 5.x
2.6.17-rc6–2.6.17 was named Crazed Snow-Weasel[408]
The 2.5 kernels were development kernels[455]
The 2.3 kernels were development kernels[455] 2.4.9: RHEL 2.1 2.4.10: Featured a complete rewrite of the Virtual Memory Management (VMM) subsystem.[462] 2.4.21: RHEL 3.x
First version released under the GPL[498][500]
First release where Minix isn't needed anymore[503]
The 3.4.113 version of the Linux kernel has been finished in Oct 26, 2016 and it's currently marked as EOL (End of Life) version.
The original 'containers' name was considered to be too generic – this code is an important part of a container solution, but it's far from the whole thing. So containers have now been renamed 'control groups' (or 'cgroups') and merged for 2.6.24.