Well, folks, there's now a strategy in place to manage the Linux kernel project if Linus Torvalds or any of the other key maintainers aren't able to carry out their duties. In a document titled "Linux kernel project continuity," a clear process for what happens next has been laid out.
If, for whatever reason, progress on the torvalds/linux.git repository is affected, someone has to get things moving within 72 hours. This person could either be the one who organized the most recent Maintainer Summit or the chair of the Linux Foundation's Technical Advisory Board (TAB).
They will be tasked with pulling together the people who were invited to the last summit, along with members of the TAB. If there hasn't been a summit in the past 15 months, the TAB decides who should be invited to the meeting.
The group can then bring in other maintainers if they need help with some specific area of expertise. They will have to figure out a way to manage the top-level kernel repository (linked above) going forward while staying in line with the project's and the community's expectations.
Once they have convened and worked out the necessary steps, they have a two-week period to let the Linux community know what's happening.
This whole thing came together after the 2025 Linux Kernel Maintainer Summit in Tokyo. Dan Williams, who's a kernel maintainer and works at Intel, drafted the document based on discussions there.
In a post-Linus era, many expect the job of leading Linux to fall on Greg Kroah-Hartman, one of the most trusted kernel maintainers after Torvalds. Not to mention, this is the first formal succession process in the project's 30+ year history, and Linus himself signed the commit that made it official.
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Sourav Rudra
