Linux 6.14 Released

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Mar 24, 2025,
updated Apr 02, 2025

• LWN ☛ Linux 6.14

  So it's early Monday morning (well - early for me, I'm not really a
  morning person), and I'd love to have some good excuse for why I
  didn't do the 6.14 release yesterday on my regular Sunday afternoon
  release schedule.
  
  
  I'd like to say that some important last-minute thing came up and
  delayed things.
  
  
  But no. It's just pure incompetence.
  
  
  Because absolutely nothing last-minute happened yesterday, and I was
  just clearing up some unrelated things in order to be ready for the
  merge window. And in the process just entirely forgot to actually ever
  cut the release. D'oh.
  
  
  So yes, a little delayed for no good reason at all, and obviously that
  means that the merge window has opened. No rest for the wicked (or the
  incompetent).
  
  
  Below is the shortlog for the last week. It's nice and small - not
  only was there no last-minute issue yesterday, the whole last week was
  pretty calm. The patch is dominated by some amd gpu updates, and even
  those are pretty small. The rest is random small changes all over.
  
  
  Judging by my pending pile of pull requests, 6.15 will be much busier.
  
  
            Linus
  

• LWN ☛ The 6.14 kernel is out

  Linus has released the 6.14 kernel, a bit later than expected: [...]

Linuxiac:

• Linux Kernel 6.14 Released, Here’s What’s New

  Linus Torvalds announced the official release of the new Linux kernel 6.14, introducing a wealth of improvements and novel features.

  To begin, many gamers and Wine enthusiasts will be thrilled about the new NT synchronization primitive driver. Windows NT systems use synchronization methods that differ quite a bit from UNIX-like OSes, often causing overhead when emulating them under Linux.

  This driver cuts through that overhead, enabling faster and smoother performance, especially for gaming workloads. In everyday language, this means less lag and more consistent gameplay when running Windows titles on Linux.

GoL:

• Linux kernel 6.14 out late due to 'pure incompetence' - don't get too excited about Linux gaming boosts

  Linux kernel 6.14 has arrived today, and a day later than it was expected. As usual there's lots new from supported hardware to various improvements.

CNX Software:

• Linux 6.14 release - Main changes, Arm, RISC-V, and MIPS architecture - CNX Software

  Released about two months ago, Linux 6.13 added lazy preemption, support for atomic writes, various other improvements in BTRFS, F2FS, and EXT4 file systems, the removal of ReiserFS, build system optimizations such as AutoFDO (automatic feedback-directed optimization) and Propeller, and more.

The Register and OMG Ubuntu:

• Linus Torvalds forgot to release Linux 6.14 for a day

  Linux kernel development boss Linus Torvalds has admitted his own “pure incompetence” led him to forget to deliver version 6.14 of the project.

  Torvalds usually delivers new Linux kernel release candidates and full releases on Sunday afternoon, and documents each with a post. If he is traveling for work or pleasure, he usually gives advance notice so penguinistas don’t worry if his posts and releases don’t appear at the usual time.

  His Sunday March 16th post contained no advice of unusual posting times, instead promising “I expect to release the final 6.14 next weekend unless something very surprising happens.”

• Linux Kernel 6.14 Released with Boost for Linux Gaming - OMG! Ubuntu

  Interestingly, Linux 6.14 is one the smallest kernel updates in terms of commits (not lines of code) for some time. It is also the kernel version that will be included in Ubuntu 25.04, released next month.

  Announcing the promotion to stable on the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML) Linus Torvalds explains why this release has landed a day later than expected

  “So it’s early Monday morning (well – early for me, I’m not really a morning person), and I’d love to have some good excuse for why I didn’t do the 6.14 release yesterday on my regular Sunday afternoon release schedule,” he writes.

Marius:

• Linux Kernel 6.14 Officially Released, This Is What’s New

  Linux kernel 6.14 is now available for download with new features, enhanced hardware support through new and updated drivers, improvements to filesystems and networking, and much more. Here’s what’s new!

Two more:

• Linux Kernel 6.14: Enhanced Drivers, Security, Performance Improvements

  The recent release of Linux kernel 6.14 represents the first new version since the late January 6.13 release. Linus Torvalds released the latest version today after a brief unexpected delay Sunday, March 23, 2025. It represents another series of small but crucial improvements spread across various parts of the kernel. Linux kernel 6.14 has been in release candidate status since early February, and now it’s ready for prime time.

  Once again, we see driver improvements, architecture updates, filesystem enhancements, virtualization capabilities and more as Linux continues to advance deeper into secure, scalable and performant computing. Find a deeper dive into all the features in the changelog.

• Linux kernel 6.14 offers extra support for future Rust drivers

  The latest release of the Linux kernel, version 6.14, has been released slightly later than planned. This version contains the controversial functionality to write future drivers in Rust.

  The release of the Linux kernel v6.14 was delayed by one day due to the ‘personal incompetence’ of Linux guru Linus Torvalds. Instead of being released last Sunday, it appeared yesterday, Monday, March 24, 2025, despite the fact that the release date had already been announced a weekend earlier.

  More important than this delayed release is the new functionality that v6.14 of the Linux kernel brings. One important new feature is that more options have been added to write drivers in Rust soon. These features have recently been the subject of a heated debate between supporters and opponents of more Rust-based drivers, instead of sticking to traditional C/C++ for the open-source OS.

It's FOSS:

• Linux Kernel 6.14 Arrives With Performance Gains for AMD, Intel, and RISC-V

  Marking the second Linux kernel release of 2025, Linux 6.14 has arrived right on time, packed with plenty of upgrades and refinements.

  It comes two months after the previous kernel release, following the usual development cycle.

  [...]

  As a non-LTS release, Linux 6.14 arrives with a shorter support period of around 9–12 weeks, before it reaches its inevitable end-of-life phase. Those looking for long-term use should opt for Linux kernel 6.12 instead.

How-To Geek:

• Linux Kernel 6.14 Released With Improvements for Gaming and AI

  Version 6.14 of the Linux kernel arrived Monday and brought with it several optimizations and security improvements that are bound to make the Linux computing experience smoother.

Linux Journal:

• Linus Torvalds Acknowledges Missed Release of Linux 6.14 Due to Oversight

  Linux kernel lead developer Linus Torvalds has admitted to forgetting to release version 6.14, attributing the oversight to his own lapse in memory. Torvalds is known for releasing new Linux kernel candidates and final versions on Sunday afternoons, typically accompanied by a post detailing the release. If he is unavailable due to travel or other commitments, he usually informs the community ahead of time, so users don’t worry if there’s a delay.

  In his post on March 16, Torvalds gave no indication that the release might be delayed, instead stating, “I expect to release the final 6.14 next weekend unless something very surprising happens.” However, Sunday, March 23rd passed without any announcement.

  On March 24th, Torvalds wrote in a follow-up message, “I’d love to have some good excuse for why I didn’t do the 6.14 release yesterday on my regular Sunday afternoon schedule,” adding, “But no. It’s just pure incompetence.” He further explained that while he had been clearing up unrelated tasks, he simply forgot to finalize the release. “D'oh,” he joked.

Ji M:

• Linux Kernel 6.14 Released! How to Install in Ubuntu

  Linux Kernel 6.14 was released yesterday on Monday! Linus Torvalds announced it in lkml.org: So it’s early Monday morning (well – early for me, I’m not really a morning person), and I’d love to have some good excuse for why I didn’t do the 6.14 release yesterday on my regular Sunday afternoon release schedule.

SJVN focuses on Windows:

• Linux kernel 6.14 is a big leap forward in performance and Windows compatibility

  It's nice to know I'm not the only one who can blow a deadline. Linux Torvalds confessed that he'd love to have had "some good excuse for why I didn't do the 6.14 release yesterday on my regular Sunday afternoon release schedule. … But no. It's just pure incompetence. Because absolutely nothing last-minute happened yesterday, and I was just clearing up some unrelated things in order to be ready for the merge window. And in the process just entirely forgot to actually ever cut the release. D'oh."

  Despite the minor delay, Linux 6.14 arrives packed with cutting-edge features and improvements to power upcoming Linux distributions, such as the forthcoming Ubuntu 25.04 and Fedora 42.

  The big news for desktop users is the improved NTSYNC driver, especially those who like to play Windows games or run Windows programs on Linux. This driver is designed to emulate Windows NT synchronization primitives. What that feature means for you and me is that it will significantly improve the performance of Windows programs running on Wine and Steam Play.

Collabora:

• Kernel 6.14: Enhanced hardware capabilities, improved performance & more!

  The kernel release emphasizes the continuing growth and maturity of the GNU/Linux ecosystem and delivers new features, improvements, and optimizations that everyone will be eager to explore. See where Collabora's kernel team contributed to this release.

Linux Magazine:

• Linux Kernel 6.14 Released

  The latest GNU/Linux kernel has arrived with extra Rust support and more.

Gaming challenge:

• Fixing a Steam Deck OLED bug for the Linux kernel 6.14 release was a major challenge

  With the Linux kernel 6.14 out now, I noted in my quick-look overview about a bug that was fixed for the Steam Deck OLED model. Collabora have given a little more info on their work for this issue and how it was a challenge.

Opinion piece:

• Linux 6.14, an almost forgotten release

  But we did not forget about it, so here’s our Linux 6.14 blog post!

In Slashdot:

• 2025-03-24 [Older] Linux Kernel 6.14 Officially Released

Late:

• Linus Torvalds admits 'pure incompetence' for missing the new Linux 6.14 kernel deadline but all is forgiven as the update is great news for non-Windows gaming

  While Microsoft's Windows OS dominates the PC gaming market, the rampant success of the Steam Deck is doing sterling work at turning gamers towards Linux. The open-source operating system has been given a kernel update that contains at least one change that's potentially great news for PC gamers—enough to forgive the fact that Torvalds himself missed the deadline for the release of the update, albeit by a measure of hours.

  I'm not being in the least bit critical about Torvalds skipping his usual release schedule (Sunday afternoons) and I only mention it as the man himself blames the delay on his own "pure incompetence" because "absolutely nothing last-minute happened yesterday, and I was just clearing up some unrelated things in order to be ready for the merge window. And in the process just entirely forgot to actually ever cut the release. D'oh."

Bootlin:

• Linux 6.14 released, Bootlin contributions inside

  Linux 6.14 was released last week, and as usual, we recommend checking out the LWN articles covering the 6.14 merge window (part 1, part 2) to get a good sense of the main new features and updates in this release.