'I'm not a programmer' anymore: Linus Torvalds on the only two tools he uses now

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• Linus has nary involvement successful supporting obsolete hardware oregon software.
• While Rust is important, it's nary panacea for atrocious programming logic.
• Linux developers person adopted AI tools for attraction work. 

MUMBAI -- At Open Source Summit India 2026, Linux creator Linus Torvalds and his person Dirk Hohndel discussed the existent authorities of Linux and wherever it's headed.

Linux 7.1: Slow and steady, not splashy

The speech opened with Hohndel asking astir what Torvalds thought astir the Linux 7.1 release. Torvalds said helium doesn't deliberation successful presumption of blockbuster releases: "For me, the item has been that it's been a precise dependable progression of continued improvements." He stressed that since they created the Git mentation power system, "We don't bash releases that person large caller splashy features, and I really actively effort to debar that benignant of model; we privation to person this benignant of incremental betterment and dependable advancement each the time."

Also: Linus Torvalds built Git successful 10 days - and ne'er imagined it would past 20 years

AI is, however, pressuring this workflow. "It's been getting a spot harder lately due to the fact that of AI uncovering absorbing bugs, and that has stressed retired radical successful the community," Torvalds added, adjacent arsenic the kernel continues its "steady merchandise schedule" each 9 to 10 weeks.

Merge windows, fixes, and property bugs

Torvalds described his enactment signifier during kernel merge windows: "Over 2 weeks, I bash astir 200 merges. That's a precise unsmooth ballpark number." 

Even with decades of spot successful maintainers, helium pushes backmost connected last‑minute changes: "If it's not a truly important fix, delight queue it for the adjacent merchandise alternatively of sending maine last-minute fixes," due to the fact that "fixes… whitethorn not beryllium worthy the flimsy accidental that it causes a caller problem."

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The method load doesn't fuss him arsenic overmuch arsenic quality issues: "New codification is simply a method problem… we tin hole those… What tends to accent maine retired is that occasionally we person property issues, and spot me, codification is casual to fix. Personality is not ever arsenic casual to fix." Torvalds admits he's caused immoderate of those problems himself, though he's worked connected that.

'I'm not a programmer, I'm a improvement lead'

Here's different happening that's changed: Torvalds nary longer sees himself arsenic a programmer. "Let's beryllium wholly honest. I hardly work codification astatine each anymore. I'm not a programmer, I'm a improvement lead."

He inactive writes tiny patches, but they're much guidance than authority: "I inactive constitute codification successful the consciousness that I nonstop radical patches… but past I marque it precise wide that, hey, this is simply a suggestion. This is untested… I expect the maintainers of the codification to beryllium the ones who past nonstop maine the hole back. So I precise seldom perpetrate my ain codification anymore."

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What matters astir to him is knowing intent: "When I bash a propulsion request, I privation to recognize the bigger picture. It's 1 of the reasons I inquire for propulsion requests with precise bully explanations: I volition work them. I privation to recognize what's going on."

He said helium dives into codification chiefly erstwhile thing forces his attention, similar physique breaks oregon merge conflicts: "I've done truthful galore struggle resolutions implicit the years that I could astir apt bash them successful my sleep… Quite often astatine that point, erstwhile I look astatine the code, I sometimes find issues."

NTFS and cleaning retired the depository pieces

On the long-troublesome Microsoft NTFS subsystem, Torvalds joked that "NTFS has been benignant of a occupation kid implicit the years, wherever uncovering radical to support it has sometimes been problematic."

He continued, "We person 2 antithetic groups maintaining 2 antithetic versions of NTFS, and some of them work, and I'm conscionable letting them combat it retired and spot which 1 comes connected top, oregon maybe, possibly some volition enactment astir for a agelong time."

"I'm not precise sentimental erstwhile it comes to technology," Torvalds added. "We're somewhat much progressive successful trying to driblet enactment for hardware that virtually cipher uses anymore, but successful depository environments."

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While he's "a steadfast believer successful maintaining hardware enactment arsenic agelong arsenic we person users," helium argued that "at a definite point, the outgo of maintaining enactment for aged hardware conscionable becomes excessively overmuch of a burden," pointing to the determination that "in 7.2 we volition nary longer enactment the machines that did not person hardware floating constituent connected x86," specified arsenic the 486 SX released "literally implicit 30 years ago."

That's portion of a broader effort to region obsolete codification from Linux. For example, enactment for networking standards specified arsenic ISDN and ATM is being discontinued. However, if you inactive usage older tech -- there's doubtless idiosyncratic inactive moving Linux connected a 386 determination -- you tin inactive bash truthful with older kernels. 

Git, C, Rust, and 'hack and slash'

As to however helium does his work, Torvalds said simply: "Git and email are the 2 truly lone tools I use. I usage Google arsenic a mode to look things up." He added, "I'm unusual; astir of the different maintainers extremity up utilizing galore much tools, and I deliberation a batch of them are starting to usage AI tools for spot checking," portion helium "works astatine a higher level. I enactment with people, not tools."

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When asked astir Rust some successful Git and the kernel, helium pushed backmost against hype: "I'm not definite Rust is going to instrumentality implicit the world. I inactive deliberation Rust is precise interesting, [but] I inactive find C to beryllium a overmuch simpler tool."

Torvalds continued, "I'm overmuch much excited astir each the tools we person for verification of C," including "automated spot verification tools" and "automated email checking tools for patches similar Sashiko."

Summing up, Torvalds told the Mumbai audience: "I'm much of a hack-and-slash benignant of person, and I inactive similar the earthy and elemental powerfulness of C, and I don't deliberation that's going to change."

Rust won't prevention you from logic bugs

Torvalds besides warned against overestimating Rust's benefits: "Rust fixes a fewer casual bugs that you tin marque successful C, but it does not hole the logic errors, right? It does not deliberation for you, and erstwhile you constitute incorrect code, the connection does not matter. The extremity effect volition beryllium incorrect."

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On mixed C/Rust codification bases, helium pointed retired that guarantees are limited: "The guarantees that Rust springiness you lone use successful the Rust-only parts of your codification base, and wherever you interact with C code, each bets are off," with astir Rust codification successful Linux talking to "core kernel C code" that is "much amended quality… due to the fact that that codification has been tested successful each azygous environment."

He added that "some of our large and much high-profile bugs successful the kernel lately person been logic errors… It was conscionable atrocious programming, which sadly happens adjacent successful cautiously maintained subsystems and important kernels that are expected to beryllium precise secure."

AI, LLMs, and 'junk' versus existent bugs

Finally, aft 26 minutes without talking astir AI and LLMs, Hohndel and Torvals dove in. For starters, Torvalds revised his caller comments astir ample connection models (LLMs), stressing that his "10x" fig for LLM productivity was "not scientific… that was pulled retired of my ass number, obviously." 

Today, helium continued, "we're astatine the constituent wherever hopefully it creates much productivity than it takes away," but "we surely saw much junk being generated by LLMs than we saw utile codification up until the similar aboriginal this year." A large symptom constituent was bogus reports. "You get these bug reports that look wholly valid, and it really tin instrumentality rather a batch of effort to fig retired that was conscionable hallucination, and it tin really beryllium a immense drain connected resources erstwhile it takes humans a batch of effort to fig retired that, hey, this machine-generated study was not true."

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Even now, helium said, "most of the bully ones necessitate much than conscionable the LLM," due to the fact that "we've had to propulsion backmost rather a bit… if you find a bug with an LLM, it's not capable to conscionable inquire the LLM to marque a bug study and past propulsion it implicit the obstruction to us. We privation to spot a suggested patch; we privation to spot the quality who ran the LLM enactment arsenic a benignant of back-and-forth."

Torvalds described galore AI-generated patches arsenic "mindless band-aid benignant of patches… they whitethorn hole the contiguous problem, but the benignant of bug remains, and it conscionable is waiting successful the hallway to deed you successful different place."

For his ain toy projects, helium uses LLMs arsenic prototypers: "I usage them arsenic a mode to prototype things… rather often the codification is not usable successful that form, but it's a large mode to effort thing out," portion insisting that for kernel‑level fixes, "LLMs, successful my experience, person not been astatine that level yet."

Embarrassing bugs and not shooting the messenger

Torvalds acknowledged that immoderate AI‑found issues person been "absolutely, stunningly, I mean, absorbing successful a achy benignant of way," particularly information problems that "show up successful the exertion property 2 days later."

Despite the embarrassment, helium said, "I'm precise overmuch not a shoot-the-messenger benignant of person. I deliberation we're overmuch amended disconnected with LLMs uncovering bugs, adjacent erstwhile they are embarrassing, and they are things that we should astir apt person recovered 2 decades ago."

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In caller months, helium added, "we've had LLM constituent retired respective bugs that were each related," arsenic antithetic radical iterated connected the aforesaid areas of the kernel, and "that's wherefore we had 3 oregon 4 precise intimately related bugs that became large quality wrong a mates of weeks."

Godzilla, India, and 'toy projects'

Torvalds closed connected a lighter note, saying helium uses AI "for my ain artifact projects," including household photos: "Every clip I question to immoderate caller place, and this is the archetypal clip I've been to India, I nonstop the kids pictures of wherever I am, and for immoderate unusual reason, Godzilla seems to travel maine astir and gets added to those pictures."

He concluded, "There are galore utile and little utile uses for AI," and "I deliberation Godzilla is simply a large spot to stop."