Linux 7.0 Credits Now Honor The Creator Of Linux-Next

Written by Michael Larabel in Linux Kernel on 22 February 2026 at 05:05 PM EST.

There's the usual flurry of last minute fixes and other items being herded into the Linux 7.0 codebase today right ahead of the merge window being closed with the imminent Linux 7.0-rc1 release. Among that last minute work is now recognizing Stephen Rothwell's contributions to creating and maintaining Linux-Next over the past eighteen years.

Stephen Rothwell stepped down in mid-January from maintaining Linux-Next. He still plans to be around the Linux kernel community but in a less grueling role than creating and maintaining Linux-Next since 2008.

Linux-Next for those unaware is a testing/queuing area where new patches can be found that are aiming for being submitted for the next kernel merge window. The various "-next" subsystem Git branches and the like feed into Linux-Next for a leading-edge area where the various latest patches are accumulated before their eventual pull requests to Linus Torvalds as part of the merge windows. In effect, a nice development tree in working towards ultimately all coming together in Linus Torvalds' Linux Git tree. It helps developers working on cross-subsystem changes as well as users/testers who want to test the very latest development code before it hits Linux Git without having to manually deal with all the different Git topic branches.

Mark Brown has taken over from Stephen Rothwell in maintaining Linux-Next since January. In further honoring Stephen Rothwell's contribution of creating and maintaining Linux-Next from 2008 to 2026, a subtle but important recognition is now in place in Linux's CREDITS file.

The Linux kernel's CREDITS file, traditionally listing contributors who have made significant impacts to the kernel's development, now includes Stephen Rothwell's name alongside a brief description of his role in creating and maintaining Linux-Next. This recognition comes as Linux 7.0 prepares for its final release candidate, marking the end of an era for one of the kernel's most important infrastructure projects.

Linux-Next has been instrumental in preventing merge conflicts and ensuring smoother development cycles. By providing a staging area where subsystem maintainers can test their changes together before submission to Linus Torvalds, it has significantly reduced the friction in the kernel development process. The project has processed hundreds of thousands of patches over its lifetime, making it one of the most critical behind-the-scenes components of Linux kernel development.

The transition of maintainership from Rothwell to Brown represents a changing of the guard in the kernel community, but the recognition in Linux 7.0 ensures that Rothwell's foundational work will be remembered as part of the kernel's official history.