Why Linus Torvalds Demands Early Patch Submissions in Linux 6.0 Development

Linus Torvalds announced the first release candidate of Linux 6.0, noting that aside from adding basic Rust language support, the new version brings few changes.

He urged kernel developers not to submit patches just before the merge window closes, saying that receiving a flood of pull requests in the final days is very annoying.

Linus compared this behavior to high‑school students rushing homework, insisting that such last‑minute habits should be abandoned after graduation.

Typically, after a kernel version is released, the next version undergoes a two‑week “merge window” during which developers can submit any changes they want to include.

He explained that the two‑week period gives him enough time to review patches, not to force developers to scramble on the last Friday of the window. Rushing at the deadline is a habit only high‑school students have.

According to community rules, developers should have their patches ready before the merge window opens rather than starting preparation during the window. While he understands occasional slack, he does not want anyone to treat the window’s closing time as a hard deadline.

Linus has raised this issue before and hopes developers will take it seriously.

In practice, many developers still upload patches at the last minute, creating a heavy review workload.

Related link: https://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/2210.2/00359.html