Linux kernel 4.8 RC8 is out for public testing

Sep 26, 2016 02:20 GMT  ·  By

It's still Sunday in the U.S., so Linus Torvalds has just published his weekly announcement to inform us all about the availability of the eighth and last RC (Release Candidate) development snapshot of the upcoming Linux 4.8 kernel.

According to Linus Torvalds, Linux kernel 4.8 RC8 is the last stop for this cycle, and it appears to be a small and quiet patch that includes mostly random and minor fixes to the issues highlighted by testers since last week when the seventh Release Candidate build was announced. Check out the appended shortlog for more details.

"So as already mentioned last week (and hinted at as a possibility), here's RC8. Things actually did start to calm down this week, but I didn't get the feeling that there was no point in doing one final RC, so here we are," says Linus Torvalds. "I expect the final 4.8 release next weekend, unless something really unexpected comes up."

Linux kernel 4.8 to hit the streets on October 2, 2016

This is it, guys, now that the last Release Candidate of Linux kernel 4.8 is out, the development cycle is officially closed, and we should be able to get our hands on the final version next Sunday, October 2, 2016. However, it will take some time to arrive in the main software repositories of various GNU/Linux operating systems.

We believe that the Solus team will be the first to bring the Linux 4.8 kernel packages to their users, and Ubuntu 16.10 (Yakkety Yak), which releases October 13, 2016, will be powered as well by Linux kernel 4.8. Until then, you can download the Linux kernel 4.8 RC8 sources right now via our website or directly from the kernel.org website.