- Linux is finally documenting how to choose who will step in for its longtime leader
- Decades of stability masked a zero bus factor problem at core management
- A formal organizer role replaces assumptions during sudden and messy leadership gaps
The Linux kernel community has existed for more than three decades under the guidance of one person, Linus Torvalds, the creator of the Linux kernel, who has been at the helm of affairs since 1991.
But after many years without a written fallback, a formal process now exists to handle leadership changes if the current maintainer steps aside.
The succession plan will only be used if Torvalds suddenly leaves a vacuum and there is no smooth handover – in this situation the first step is to choose an ‘Organizer’, a role assigned to either the most recent Maintainers Summit organizer or the chair of the Linux Foundation Technical Advisory Board.
How the replacement process would begin
Once named, the organizer has a limited window to initiate structured discussions with maintainers who attended the most recent summit.
If too much time has passed since this gathering, the Advisory Board steps in to decide who to invite, with flexibility to include additional maintainers where necessary.
After discussions begin, the invited group has two weeks to agree on a way forward, with the outcome then shared publicly through established mailing lists, keeping the wider community informed.
The process is deliberately procedural rather than personality driven, relying on people already trusted to maintain the subsystem.
This approach reflects how many Linux distros already manage management changes, although the kernel itself has been an exception for years.
Linus Torvalds has repeatedly noted that many core maintainers have been active for decades, reducing the risk of knowledge loss.
At the same time, the project has long had a bus factor of zero, which means that a single unexpected event can cause disruption.
While Torvalds has previously expressed concern about the number of maintainers, he has also stated that skilled developers continue to emerge and gain influence over time.
The new plan does not change that dynamic, but it acknowledges the structural risk more directly.
The existence of a written process does not guarantee consensus during a real transition, especially in a society known for strong opinions.
It also does not identify a successor in advance, leaving uncertainty until the moment arrives. However, it reduces ambiguity during a crisis and avoids improvisation under pressure.
Linus Torvalds is only 56 years old; therefore, he probably won’t leave soon, but this process formalizes the inevitable: he will go one day.
For a project of this scale, relying on an informal agreement may not be enough and can be a ticking time bomb.
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