Reads
Torvalds tests Claude Code on a Linux memory-management branch
Linus Torvalds is using Claude Code to develop and test a Linux kernel patch series for small concurrent reads from one file. The experimental noref-filemap-read-with-llm branch avoids folio references in that page-cache path, targeting contention in memory management. The work could enter the Linux 7.4 merge window, but that decision remains open.
Phoronix reported on 11 October 2026 that Linus Torvalds had created the noref-filemap-read-with-llm branch in torvalds/linux.git. It appeared as he waited for Linux 7.3-rc7. Torvalds usually keeps his main repository focused on the master branch. He has also used AI for kernel debugging and tried Google's Antigravity for coding outside the kernel. Torvalds has called AI a useful tool.
The branch develops memory-management changes for page-cache reads without folio references. The target is a workload that performs small reads from one file across many threads, where folio reference counting creates contention. The patch series is reported to produce a significant improvement for that case.
In commit 4c0f3697118eb3a708ea79175f7f07c43339bfab, Torvalds said Claude Code helped produce the code, test programs, review work summarized in the patch message, and the first cover-letter draft. He directed that work and ran the measurements on his own machine. The branch remains under development. Its inclusion in the Linux 7.4 merge window had not been decided.
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